SAN FRANCISCO – Through the first three games of the season, the Giants played in three one-run games.
The season-opening series against the Miami Marlins also provided two save situations for manager Gabe Kapler, who elected to use Camilo Doval on Opening Day and Dominic Leone. If you had Leone in a betting pool to get the Giants’ first save of the year, you’re a winner.
Doval gave up three runs in his season debut and blew the save, but still has the most electric arm out of all of Kapler’s top-level closing options, which also includes Leone, southpaw Jake McGee and submariner Tyler Rogers.
“(It’s important) having those interchangeable guys in the bullpen and for Kapler to be able to have trust multiple guys – not even just us four – but the whole bullpen,” McGee said. “On days where a couple of us are down or we need rest, it’s going to help us in the long run, it’s going to help us win a lot more games. A lot of other bullpens aren’t as deep as ours in that way, to where we have multiple guys who can close any time. I think it’s a lot of for them putting us in the best matchups to succeed, too.”
While a closer-by-committee approach might create some discontent among some bullpens, it doesn’t sound like it should be a problem for this group. Manager Gabe Kapler and his staff have also earned the trust of his players by proving his meticulous, matchup-based approach works during last year’s 107-win season.
“Nobody’s selfish. Everybody’s willing to do whatever role they’re thrown into,” Leone said. “I would go ahead and just say just about everybody we have down there is capable of closing games. That’s what made our group so good last year and that’s what’s gonna make us really good again this year, is that 1 through 9, all of our guys are ready to go and have enough talent confidence and talent to get the job done.”
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McGee said he played in a similar situation with the analytic-driven Tampa Bay Rays earlier in his career, when he would split ninth-inning duties with Brad Boxberger.
Defined roles can certainly help a reliever, but McGee and Leone said by the sixth or seventh inning they’re usually mapping out the potential matchups and who could get the call from Kapler.
Each guy brings a different wrinkle. Doval and Leone are both righties who use fastball-slider combos, while Doval occasionally flirts with triple digits and also incorporates a cutter. McGee is the lone southpaw by Rogers' knuckle-scraping delivery is unique in today's game.
“Even when I was in Tampa, it was kinda like how me and Rogers’ did it last year, when it and Boxberger in Tampa,” McGee said. “Like, ‘These are your guys. If they come up in the eighth, then you’ll pitch the eighth. These are are your guys and if they come up in the ninth, then you’ll pitch in the ninth.’ It kinda flip-flops. … A lot of guys know their pockets of hitters and you see it coming up and you see the starter’s coming up to the end of his pitch count it’s gonna be me or this guy, or this guy, depending on the pocket.”
