The San Francisco Giants dropped their seventh home game in eight tries on Monday night, falling 6-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park. The bullpen surrendered four runs in the seventh inning. A night earlier, they had given up four in the eighth.
Back-to-back collapses. A 3-8 record. And a manager who had heard enough of the noise.
After the game, Tony Vitello was asked about the difference between a bullpen loss and any other kind of defeat.
“I would say it’s painful just to lose,” Vitello said.
Another Bullpen Implosion
Adrian Houser had pitched well and was sent back out to begin the seventh inning against Justin Crawford and Trea Turner. Both singled. Lefty Ryan Borucki entered from the bullpen to face Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
It did not go according to plan. Borucki walked Schwarber on four pitches. Harper pulled a fastball past Rafael Devers to tie the game. Due to the three-batter minimum, Borucki then had to face right-handed Alec Bohm, who doubled to give the Phillies a lead they would not relinquish.
Borucki did not mince words after the game.
“I’ve been preparing for that moment the last two days, and I knew what the pocket was going to be,” Borucki said. “You can’t start by walking Schwarber on four pitches.”
He went further when reflecting on what the collapse meant for a pitcher who had otherwise done his job.
“We should have won that game, and I didn’t do my part to get the job done,” Borucki said.
It was the kind of honest accountability that is easy to respect. It does not change the result, though.
A Bullpen Without Solutions
GettyManager Tony Vitello of the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants did not prioritize the bullpen in the offseason, operating under the belief that a combination of returning arms and young pitchers would eventually give them reliable late-game options. That belief is being tested early.
Vitello delivered a positive injury update before Monday’s game, noting that right-hander Joel Peguero has begun a rehab assignment, lefty Sam Hentges is not far behind, Jason Foley has advanced to bullpen sessions, and Reiver Sanmartin has started a throwing program.
“It’s weird to have momentum on the injury list, but it’s a good group of arms,” Vitello said before the game.
The problem is that none of those arms were available Monday night. And without them, the Giants are running out a bullpen that has no defined closer, no continuity in the seventh or eighth, and no margin for error against quality lineups.
The Phillies closed out Monday’s game with Jose Alvarado, Brad Keller, and Jhoan Duran. The gap between what Philadelphia rolled out and what San Francisco has available right now is significant.
What It Means for the Giants
GettyLuis Arraez and manager Tony Vitello of the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants are 3-8 and off to their worst home start since the opening year of Oracle Park. The bullpen is the headline concern, but the offense is not helping. San Francisco managed just two hits over the final five innings on Monday.
It is a combination that makes close games nearly impossible to win. The lineup is not putting games out of reach early, and the bullpen is not holding leads late. Until one of those problems is solved, the losses will keep coming.
The returning arms offer genuine hope. Peguero, Foley, and Hentges could all make a real difference when they are healthy. The question is whether the Giants can stay afloat long enough for that reinforcements to arrive.
Final Word for the Giants
Two painful nights. Two fourth-inning leads blown in the late innings. A manager who is not interested in splitting hairs about how they lost.
The bullpen help is coming. It cannot arrive soon enough.
Vitello said it best. It is painful just to lose.
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