Giants can’t complete the sweep, D’backs walk off against Mark Melancon
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PHOENIX — If each start is a new test for Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson, the rookie is doing everything in his power behind the scenes to give himself a chance to pass.
Anderson didn’t receive the final grade he was looking for in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Diamondbacks on Sunday, but the right-hander has a clubhouse full of veterans convinced that brighter days are ahead.
“He’s a bulldog,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “What he’s shown me is that he’s willing to learn. He’s willing to listen. He’s asking the pitching coaches, the analytical guys, he wants scouting report information.”
Anderson allowed three hits and two runs in his first six innings of work Sunday, but earned the trust of manager Bruce Bochy to take the mound in a tie game in the seventh inning. Halfway through a stretch of 20 games in 20 days, the Giants need their starters to save an exhausted bullpen, but Bochy said his decision to send Anderson back to the mound was not simply a reflection of his relievers’ fatigue.
Anderson earned the right to continue pitching.
“The way he maintains his stuff, he’s got the strength and stamina you like from a starter deep in a game,” Bochy said.
Neither Bochy nor Anderson wanted to stress an overworked bullpen on Sunday, but an extra-inning game made it inevitable.
Anderson’s impressive day could have unraveled after he allowed a single and a double to open the seventh, but Reyes Moronta entered and did his best Harry Houdini impression. The right-hander threw a wild pitch that skipped all the way to the backstop, allowed a towering fly ball that landed halfway up the right field bleachers and still escaped the jam unscathed.
Vogt collected Moronta’s wild pitch and tagged out Eduardo Escobar as he was trying to score from third to secure the first out of the inning.
“Just how we practiced it in spring training,” Vogt joked.
After Nick Ahmed hit a groundout to Brandon Crawford with the infield pulled in, Moronta gave up a long flyball to pinch hitter Domingo Leyba that narrowly missed hitting the right field foul pole. With the go-ahead run standing on third, Moronta threw a 3-2 slider past Leyba to end the inning and give the Giants a chance to complete a sweep.
“Our bullpen has been absolutely dominant all year and I don’t think they get enough credit for what they do,” Anderson said. “The whole bullpen has just been great.”
Entering Sunday’s series-finale, right-hander Mark Melancon ranked among the most consistent Giants relievers this season. Arm injuries that wiped out parts of each of his first two seasons prevented Melancon from ever having a chance to live up to the expectations that come with the four-year, $62 million contract he signed prior to the 2017 season, but Melancon has been one of the steadier forces in the Giants’ bullpen this season.
The one test Melancon hadn’t passed is pitching on back-to-back days, but with the game tied 2-2 in the 10th, Bochy called on him to send the game to the 11th.
He couldn’t keep the line moving.
D’backs first baseman Christian Walker hit a leadoff single, advanced to third on back-to-back walks including one of the intentional variety and scored the game-winning run on a walk-off single into left field by Tim Locastro.
The run snapped a 13-inning scoreless streak for Giants relievers that began on Thursday night when Melancon threw a scoreless eighth inning in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
“He’s strong,” Bochy said. “It’s not so much back-to-back days, but I think you look at the usage on some of these guys.”
The Giants hoped Melancon’s fourth appearance in seven games on their road trip would extend the game, but his hiccup coupled with a bad day for the Giants’ offense prevented the club from securing its first three-game sweep of the season.
After scoring at least seven runs in each of their past three games, the Giants were limited to just four hits on Sunday, including a game-tying home run from Kevin Pillar in the seventh that gave the center fielder sole possession of the team lead with 10 on the season.
The Giants have known for weeks that they’ll have to fight through offensive inconsistencies, but in a season where they’re devoted to finding building blocks for the future, the club learned an important lesson about its top pitching prospect.
“He’s hungry and man, he’s a competitor,” Vogt said. “You can see it in his demeanor, you can see it in his face, he’s a guy, he just seems to be getting better with each start. That’s the sign of somebody who’s going to be really good for a long time.”