In six of the Giants’ 13 wins in the month of June, they’ve erased deficits in the seventh inning or later.
They’ve bursted out of no-hit bids, played small ball and launched a walk-off tank into the bay.
Their latest completed comeback came against Josh Hader and the Padres, when their dynamic trio of rookies — Patrick Bailey, Luis Matos and Casey Schmitt — set the table by reaching base. Then Joc Pederson, in the type of adverse matchup that has clouded him for essentially his entire career, drew the game-winning walk.
The Giants lead MLB with 137 runs scored in the seventh inning or later. Time and time again, they’ve proven that no lead is safe. They’re seemingly are never out of a game.
“I think it speaks to the tenacity of the team,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said of his club’s comeback capacity. “And also to the fact that you get a bigger sample size — you get more at-bats in a game, and that’s when the true colors of the offense are going to come out. And I think they have, in a lot of ways, in the biggest moments.”
The Giants’ .795 team OPS in the seventh inning or later leads MLB. The Padres, who short-circuited in both of the first two games of their series late, are last in MLB (.609) in those clutch situations.
There must be some intrinsic phenomenon at work in the Giants’ clubhouse. The influx of young talent must be invigorating the team. The veterans’ ability to keep things in perspective in a long season must keep things loose. There’s a collective buy-in — reminiscent in shades of the 107-win season. In good and bad times, the team feels drama-free, which has been a common theme of Kapler’s Giants clubs.
But more than any intangible, the Giants’ roster is more fully formed than last season. There’s more athleticism on the diamond, the defense has vastly improved and the order, even while multiple players have been sidelined by injury, has dangerous bats sprinkled throughout.
“It’s at least in part because of the confidence and the belief these guys have in each other,” Kapler said. “The toughness to go down in a game and feel like you can come back and score runs. Part of the reason you feel that confidence is because the talent is there. You can’t have just the grit, just the confidence, just the togetherness without the talent.”
Earlier in the year, when the Giants offense seemed to struggle, many pointed to a lack of timely hitting. The club kept coming up just one big hit away, it felt like.
During that stretch, Kapler maintained that he wanted his players to keep the same approach regardless of situation: identify a pitch to drive, swing through the ball and hit a liner up the middle.
Things have turned in SF’s favor. Their .284 batting average with runners in scoring position ranks fourth on the year and ignores some of the small ball shenanigans they’ve pulled off; Patrick Bailey and Brandon Crawford have each put down safety squeezes this month.
With runners in scoring position in the seventh inning and beyond, San Francisco is hitting .296 — second behind Miami.
“Right now, we’re fighting,” Mike Yastrzemski said after his walk-off Splash Hit on Monday. “It doesn’t feel like we’re grinding, if that makes sense. We’re grinding out wins, but it doesn’t feel like we’re getting beaten down in the process. It feels like we’re kind of lifting each other up though the process. It feels like we’re trying to do it for each other.”
Just as important as clutch hitting, though, is the Giants’ stellar bullpen. Without it, San Francisco wouldn’t have all these opportunities to mount comebacks.
In manager’s offices across the country, there are white boards with a bullpen hierarchy listed in dry-erase marker. They get updated daily. Who’s up? Who’s down? Who’s available or not? Who’s the best option against this pocket of the opposing order? Against a lefty? For multiple innings if the starter can’t get out of the fourth inning?
The Giants’ board is full of names of pitchers who Kapler can trust. It’s like a cheesy Ampersand t-shirt of solid arms:
Tristan Beck &
Keaton Winn &
Taylor Rogers &
Sean Manaea &
Tyler Rogers &
Ryan Walker &
Jakob Junis &
Camilo Doval.
Scott Alexander and John Brebbia are injured, but they’ve also been reliable. The Giants have nine relievers with ERAs below 4.00 (excluding Brandon Crawford), production that would impress even The Core Four.
In April and May, everything was out of whack. The Giants’ ground ball-heavy pitching staff gave up an absurd amount of home runs. Their travel schedule wore down everyone, even as they refused to use it as a crutch publicly.
Since June 1, Giants relievers have a 2.21 ERA — second-best in MLB.
Both sides of the ball were on display Tuesday night in what has become the classic blueprint. The Giants fell behind, a long reliever (Beck) came in and prevented the opponent from building on their lead, and the Giants’ late-inning offense swooped in to save the day.
In the ninth, there was trust and sacrifice, sound process and results.
Schmitt, who’d walked once in his first 133 plate appearances, spoiled multiple Josh Hader offerings to earn ball four off while pinch-hitting for Brandon Crawford. And Pederson, in the left-on-left matchup, fouled off a perfectly located fastball to put more pressure on Hader, who again crumpled in Oracle Park.
“You can never count us out,” Pederson said postgame. “I think that’s what great teams are made of. Your back’s up against the wall. We’ve faced some good pitchers over the past couple weeks that have dominated us for five innings and we’re behind in the game. But we find a way to claw back. Our bullpen’s doing a great job holding them there. It’s been fun to be a part of. We’ve got 26 guys pulling on the same string. It’s a pretty powerful thing.”
That’s how to capture some 2021 vibes.
