SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants seemed to be trending in the right direction after putting together a solid 5-5 road trip that featured a series split against the Brewers and a series win over the Cubs.
But they haven’t been able to build on that momentum since returning home, dropping two in a row to the Nationals while leaving a combined 25 runners on base over that span.
With the Giants sitting 14 games under .500 at 27-41 entering Wednesday, these are the questions on fans' minds:
What's the plan to address the dire pitching situation? -- @j-nametag.bsky.social
While the Giants have struggled to cash in on scoring opportunities against the Nationals, their offense has ticked up in recent weeks. They entered Wednesday fifth in the Majors in runs scored over the last 30 days, but they haven’t been able to sync that up with consistent pitching, as they also rank 27th in the Majors with a 5.12 ERA over that span.
San Francisco’s rotation got a big boost with the return of Logan Webb, who has a 0.93 ERA in three starts since coming back from the injured list and does a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the pitching staff. But the club’s bullpen has looked porous in June, logging an MLB-worst 7.96 ERA with 25 walks over 31 2/3 innings over nine games this month.
The Giants didn’t invest heavily in their bullpen over the offseason, so those results aren’t entirely surprising. Caleb Kilian and Keaton Winn have emerged as nice pieces, but the lack of dependable back-end arms has burned the team repeatedly this year.
One option could be to bring erstwhile closer Ryan Walker back into the mix, as he’s recorded a 1.93 ERA in eight appearances for Triple-A Sacramento since being demoted to the Minors on May 10. The Giants were hoping Jason Foley -- one of the club’s two offseason bullpen additions -- would be ready to come off the 60-day IL this week, but the former Tigers closer was recently shut down from his rehab assignment after experiencing fatigue in his surgically repaired right shoulder.
It will be interesting to see how the Giants decide to move forward with Tyler Mahle, who threw to hitters at Oracle Park on Tuesday and will be eligible to return from his left hamstring strain as soon as Thursday. Mahle went 1-7 with a 6.04 ERA in 11 starts before landing on the 15-day IL, but the time off might have given him a chance to work on some adjustments. The question now is whether he’ll slot back into the rotation or be shifted to the bullpen once he’s ready to come back online.
