© John Hefti | 2021 Aug 30
Gabe Kapler sat in the dugout two hours before Monday’s game and fielded questions from reporters for over 20 minutes. Just one of them was about the 2021 Milwaukee Brewers.
The focus was on bigger matters than San Francisco’s opponent that happens to be leading the National League Central, and happened to start Cy Young contender Corbin Burnes on Monday. There was a COVID-19 outbreak to address; just hours after Kapler thought he had five healthy starters, Alex Wood (COVID-19) and Johnny Cueto (cold/flu-like symptoms) hit the injured list.
There was also the newest Giant, former All-Star José Quintana to wrap about. The team took batting practice and infield like normal — though a few wore masks — but even that didn’t go smoothly. Second baseman Tommy La Stella was scratched from the lineup an hour before first pitch, replaced by Triple-A callup Jason Vosler.
Tumult swirling around the team loomed as the Brewers jumped out to an early lead and Burnes kept the Giants’ order quiet. The uncertainty and chaos leading up to Monday’s ballgame didn’t doom San Francisco (84-47) against the Brewers, but it surely didn’t help either in SF’s 3-1 loss.
Baseball can be a reflection of America, both its beauty and its harsh realities. For some, it can be a distraction. Kapler has only managed in San Francisco during the two pandemic seasons. That can lead to some introspection.
“Baseball is a lot,” Kapler said pregame. “It’s been the majority of my life. It’s not everything. I think players really need to be reminded of that. I personally need to be reminded of it. It’s a beautiful sport and I love how wrapped up we get in the sport for 200, 250 calendar days. And honestly for a lot of us, it’s every calendar day of the year. But you deal with a season like last year, in particular, and just remember that there are things that are way bigger than baseball.”
Wood is “pretty broken up” about his positive test and feeling symptoms, but not hospitalized, Kapler said. Cueto was supposed to start, but has a headache, sore throat and other flu-like symptoms. Donovan Solano is still in a New York hotel room, watching his nutrition and performing quarantine workouts with weighted medicine balls.
Many teams have had to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks, but the Giants were far from whole Monday.
José Álvarez, starting in place of Cueto, allowed his first earned run since July 9 — he’d gone 20 scoreless appearances since then. Christian Yelich’s double down the first base line was the first hit Álvarez had allowed in his last nine appearances including Monday, and Omar Narváez’s single later scored the 2018 MVP in the first inning.
Milwaukee got to Álvarez again in the second, with starter Corbin Burnes slapping an RBI single into left field. Even though Álvarez has experience as a starter, being called upon as a last-minute opener is a challenging proposition.
Jay Jackson relieved Álvarez with two outs in the second. Milwaukee had a 2-0 lead, runners on the corner and their best hitter, Avisail García, up. Jackson smiled as he walked off the field after striking out García with an outside 1-2 fastball.
While the Giants played a bullpen game, the Brewers had the luxury of their ace, Burnes. Burnes routinely got ahead in counts, then painted the corners with his high-90s cutter or looping low-80s curve. The cutter in particular has become one of the most dominant pitches in the game this year, and the Giants had front-row seats to it.
Corbin Burnes, Patented 96mph Back Door Cutter. ✂️
Arguably the prettiest pitch in baseball. pic.twitter.com/8Atjjfkost
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 31, 2021
Even without its expected starter, San Francisco’s committee handled Milwaukee’s lineup well enough to win. But Burnes brilliantly fanned nine Giants hitters and walked none in six innings before Brandon Belt and Kris Bryant knocked him out of the game with consecutive hits in the seventh.
Belt scored in the seventh on a Brandon Crawford single, but the Giants fizzled with runners on first and second with no outs. Despite all the outside factors, it felt like October baseball.
But Milwaukee responded with a run in the top of the eighth after Dominic Leone walked Omar Narváez to lead off the inning. The damage could’ve been worse, too, with Jace Peterson’s ground rule double later in the inning holding Rowdy Tellez at third when he could’ve walked from there to home
Milwaukee’s setup man Devin Williams prevented SF from generating any substantial threats in the eighth. John Brebbia, called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Monday in response to the Cueto and Wood COVID news, pitched the top of the ninth for shorthanded San Francisco. Then super-closer Josh Hader, despite allowing a leadoff double to Kris Bryant, collected a hard-earned save.
So yes, baseball was played Monday night in Oracle Park — and elite, competitive baseball at that. The Brewers outplayed the scrambling Giants, staving off their seventh-inning push. The loss may cost the Giants in their division race with the Dodgers. But in a world with a deadly pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes and conflict overseas, it’s not everything.
“There is a lot going on in the world,” Kapler said pregame. “I think it’s a good reminder and an opportunity to focus on those things and just kind of come back to center a little bit. You’ve got this very cool pennant race and we’re in such a good spot, and there are other things that also need attention. It’s good for us to spend a little time thinking about those things.”
