Giants’ pitching powerhouses lead to win over Guardians Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
Baserunners don’t matter if you can’t drive them in, a lesson the Cleveland Guardians learned the hard way after being repeatedly smothered at key moments by the Giants’ pitching staff on Friday night.
Seven different pitchers took the mound for San Francisco, and Cleveland was never able to land a decisive blow in a big moment against any of them, managing just two runs despite accumulating 11 hits and five walks in The Giants’ 4-2 victory about the Guardians.
As the Giants’ rotation deals with a slew of injuries, Erik Miller was the starter before quickly escaping a first-inning jam after the Guardians had runners on the corners with one out and cleanup hitter Josh Naylor at the plate.
On one pitch, Miller got Naylor to hit a hard grounder to shortstop Nick Ahmed, who stepped on second before firing to first base, completing an inning-ending double play in the first of a handful of jams San Francisco’s pitchers were able to escape.
Spencer Bivens He pitched three solid innings, working out of trouble with minimal damage after the Guardians racked up four straight hits to start the fourth inning.
Ryan Walker earned the win, entering the game with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the sixth inning before inducing a fielder’s choice and an inning-ending strikeout to eliminate Cleveland’s strongest chance to light up the scoreboard.
The heroics didn’t end there, as Taylor Rogers made a big play when the Guardians had the tying run on second base with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Rogers got Bo Naylor to ground out to second, setting up Camilo Doval for a save situation in which, yes, you guessed it, the flame-throwing right-hander had to escape a self-induced jam.
After allowing the first two runners to reach base, Doval struck out. All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez before getting Josh Naylor to hit into a game-ending double play.
Cleveland had 11 runners in scoring position against San Francisco, but couldn’t get a single one across the plate, which ultimately told the story of the game according to Giants manager Bob Melvin.
“They (Cleveland) went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position,” Melvin told reporters at Progressive Field. “They had a lot of guys on base, a lot of traffic and we ended up making some big pitches when we had to. That was the story of the game.”
“We ended up making huge shots when we had to, that’s the story of the game”
Bob Melvin praised the bullpen after sealing today’s victory over the Guardians image.twitter.com/SDDIOmlR39
— San Francisco Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 6, 2024
Melvin praised his bullpen’s clutch performance, gleefully summing up its ability to repeatedly escape danger inning after inning.
“They’re (Cleveland) pretty relentless with the pressure they put on you,” Melvin said. “Sometimes, you have to make big pitches, obviously (Ryan) Walker was huge in the seventh. Tyler (Rogers) has two on base in the eighth. Obviously, the first two guys get on base in the ninth.
“You just have to keep going and make good throws in traffic.”
Friday’s win was San Francisco’s eighth in its last 11 games, moving the Giants within one game of .500 and three games behind the San Diego Padres for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
While reinforcements are on the horizon with the returns of Blake Snell and Robbie Ray right around the corner, a win like tonight’s could provide a significant morale boost for a pitching staff that has endured a tough time during the first half of the 2024 MLB season.
