The Giants got the result they wanted Monday night, but the way Tony Vitello handled the late innings left plenty to question.
San Francisco beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4, yet the game turned when Vitello asked Dylan Smith to keep going after a sharp eighth inning.
Smith had cruised through that frame, so Vitello sent him back out for the ninth. The move blew up quickly.
Three of the first four batters reached, José Fermín delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Smith did not even finish the inning. Reiver Sanmartín had to come in and get the final out just to stop the bleeding.
The Giants still walked away with the win, thanks in part to Jason Foley. He worked two innings and allowed only an unearned run, which only made the obvious question harder to ignore: if Foley was available, why wasn’t he used in the ninth in the first place?
This has been a recurring issue for San Francisco. The bullpen lacks reliable options, especially relievers with the stuff, strikeouts and control needed to handle leverage spots.
The Giants also haven’t had dependable left-handed relief help, outside of Erik Miller’s dominant July before he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. That reality makes bullpen management a brutal assignment, and it’s fair to give Vitello some grace over the final two months of the season.
Still, Monday night was another example of pushing a reliever too far. Smith has gone beyond three outs only twice this season, and one of those times came in this game, when he threw a season-high 35 pitches. That kind of usage carried real risk, and it showed.
To Vitello’s credit, Smith has been one of the few bright spots in a bullpen that has mostly been a disaster. It makes sense to lean on a pitcher who has given you something. But there’s a difference between trusting a reliever and asking him to do more than he’s been doing all year.
The Giants have already been burned by trying to squeeze extra outs from pitchers who aren’t built for it. With a lead, the cleaner path is usually one inning and then a fresh arm. Foley was right there, and he ended up proving he could handle that spot.
In Other News...
Dodgers Just Lost Their Biggest Threat At The Worst Time
The Dodgers are suddenly without Shohei Ohtani at a time when every game carries extra weight, and that matters in a division race that San Francisco has been trying to keep close. Los Angeles placed Ohtani on the 15-day injured list because of injuries to his left knee, right biceps, and neck, a move manager Dave Roberts said the club delayed as long as it could before finally making it.
For the Giants, the timing is notable because Ohtani has been the kind of presence that can alter a series with one swing or one outing, and now the Dodgers will have to navigate the stretch without him. He is not eligible to return until at least Sept. 23, and Roberts confirmed he will not pitch again this season, leaving Los Angeles to adjust on the fly as the calendar tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Bullpen Shakeup May Be Just Getting Started
The Giants kept their bullpen churn going by claiming right-hander Duncan Davitt off waivers from the Braves and clearing space by designating Spencer Bivens for assignment. It was another sign that San Francisco is still sorting through the edges of its relief group, where the mix of roster pressure and uneven results has left little room for patience.
Ryan Walker, Tristan Beck and Seth Lonsway are among the other names that could be pushed into the same conversation as the club tries to keep its 40-man roster workable. For a Giants staff that has been forced to juggle personnel while chasing better late-game reliability, the next move may matter just as much as the last one. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Just Sent Loyal Fans A Telling Late-Season Offer
The Giants are leaning on one of the oldest levers in the business for the final month of the season: rewarding the fans who keep showing up. Season ticket holders are being offered a credit worth 15% of their tickets value for attending select home games down the stretch, a small but notable gesture aimed at keeping the ballpark populated and engaged as the schedule winds down.
There is a little more on the table, too, if the Giants can finish the night with a win, as the credit grows by another 5% and lands in the holders ticketing account for future purchases. The catch is in the fine print, since the offer only applies to tickets actually used by the season ticket holder or forwarded directly to another account, not ones flipped on secondary marketplaces, a detail that tells you exactly which fans the team is trying to reward. [Read more 🡒]