SF Giants activate Luke Jackson, seek consistency from their bullpen

SAN FRANCISCO — In a tight game with a division rival, Erik Miller, Sean Hjelle and Nick Avila was not the bullpen combination Bob Melvin preferred to use Sunday afternoon. But after it required all of their leverage relievers to deliver a win the previous day, the three rookies were the arms he had available.

Miller surrendered the two decisive runs, and three scoreless innings tossed by Hjelle and Avila were moot in a 5-3 loss to the Diamondbacks. After the game, Melvin informed Avila that he was going back to Triple-A. When Luke Jackson was activated from the injured list Monday, Avila was the corresponding move.

“It’s a big piece for us,” Melvin said of adding Jackson, 32, who had been sidelined since his back locked up in the first series of the season.

“Especially in stretches like we’re in right now,” Melvin continued, “where it feels like we’re down two guys every day, we’re having to pitch some guys that are normally pitching in down games that are pitching in close games, like yesterday, so it’s great to have another guy back that has pitched late in games, pitched in up games and in a set-up type role. It’s great to have him back.”

Jackson threw two scoreless innings in a pair of rehab appearances with Single-A San Jose this week.

Mitch White, acquired this week in a waiver trade with Toronto, is expected to arrive Tuesday, further shaking up a group that has been the second-worst in the majors. The 5.56 ERA the Giants have gotten from their relievers is lower than only one team, the Phillies (5.78).

It doesn’t help that when Jordan Hicks somewhat miraculously made it through five innings — “I didn’t think he was going to get through five,” Melvin acknowledged of his starter who had thrown 85 pitches through four — he was the Giants’ first starting pitcher to do so since Logan Webb in the opening game of the home stand.

Melvin has asked his relievers to cover 77⅔ innings, not even in the upper two-thirds of bullpen usage leaguewide, but more than half of those have gone to Avila, Miller, Landen Roupp or Kai-Wei Teng, four rookies who all made their major-league debuts this season.

In the 40 innings they have pitched, the Giants have allowed 33 runs (31 earned).

The numbers begin to look better when focusing on the core of the bullpen — Camilo Doval (3.00 ERA), Taylor Rogers (2.84), Tyler Rogers (2.89) and Ryan Walker (3.75) — a bucket Jackson presumably falls into.

Limited to those innings, Giants relievers have a 4.06 ERA. Still only good for 19th in the majors, but a big improvement from the 6.98 mark from the four first-year pitchers.

Three games below .500 entering Monday’s series opener against the Mets — who, by the way, own the majors’ best bullpen, with a 2.95 ERA — there just haven’t been a lot of high-leverage chances for the Giants’ top relievers. They have entered when already trailing 36 times, sixth-most in the majors, compared to 33 times when tied or holding a lead, the third-fewest in the majors.

When entering with runners on base, the Giants are doing the worst job of keeping those runs from crossing the plate. On average across the league, about 35% of inherited runners score, but the Giants’ rate is a league-high 54%, one of only two teams to allow at least half their inherited runners to score.

Overall, Melvin described the results from his bullpen as “a little spotty.”

“But I think a lot of it has had to do with who’s available on particular days, too. Getting a guy like Luke back is good,” Melvin said. “At times we’ve been great. And at times, not so good. Just like our team. We haven’t done anything great yet. But it’s coming.”