ARLINGTON, Texas — After finishing his pregame press conference Saturday, Giants manager Bob Melvin scanned the field looking for his opponent, Bruce Bochy. The Texas Rangers dugout was empty, but a few minutes later, Bochy came out and searched the Globe Life Field turf for Melvin. Eventually, the two made contact behind the goal.
Melvin and Bochy have had plenty of back-and-forth over the past two decades, sometimes sharing a glass of wine after a Giants-Athletics game. They stood talking for about 15 minutes, and at times it seemed as though they just wanted to vent their frustrations. During the three-game series in Arlington, it was easy to see the frustrations that were building up between them.
For three straight days, Bochy spoke at length about a lineup that has not only been riddled with injuries but has also been underwhelming for more than two months. On Sunday, the Rangers finally broke through, scoring five runs early on to win 7-2 with ease, but it also exposed Melvin’s biggest problem right now.
The Giants were supposed to be built around a strong pitching staff and solid defense, but their ERA is 25th in the major leagues. Keaton Wynn returned from a forearm injury on Sunday but allowed seven runs, further improving that ERA.
There’s an irony in the current situation: The Giants have listened to fans when it comes to opening pitchers and bullpen pitchers, and the new coaching staff doesn’t seem keen on those pitchers, but now they’re enjoying success with the Eric Miller-Spencer Howard duo in one spot of the starting rotation.
Melvin is waiting for Blake Snell to return, hopefully sometime this month, and Robbie Ray isn’t far behind in his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Alex Cobb should be an option at some point in the second half of the season. For now, he’s banking on Wynn for a spot in the rotation and hoping for better days to come.
“It’s too early to talk about that,” Melvin said when asked if Wynn could assume a long-inning role. “He’s had some success, but pitching multiple innings (in the rotation) is going to be tough, especially back-to-back games. But after those three games against Houston, we have some rest days coming up. We’ll see how it goes.”
Team staffers don’t have to look far back to see how trust can pay off. Wynn was great in his final three starts in April, but has given up 24 runs in his four starts since. The problems started right away on Sunday, when his first pitch after returning from the disabled list was hit in the helmet by Rangers leadoff hitter Marcus Semien.
“Obviously, I was a little shaken up,” Wynn admitted.
The Rangers scored three runs in the inning, the third on a double steal. Semien hit a two-run homer in the second inning and then his performance took a nosedive from there.
Wynn will be rethinking the plan. He said he threw the split ball less often on Sunday, and his fastball velocity was down a bit. His velocity was mostly 94-95 mph, topping out at 96, but that was partly according to plan in his first start back from an arm injury.
“I’m not too worried about that,” Winn said, “Obviously I wasn’t trying to max out my gun today. I’m just trying to be smart about it.”
Given the weakness of the National League as a whole, the Giants can afford to be a little more patient. If Wynn can regain his April form, the team will be in much better shape. Wynn said he will take a closer look at the numbers in the coming days before next weekend’s game against the Los Angeles Angels to see if he can find a solution.
Ray is heading back to the Bay Area to make some rehab appearances with the San Jose Giants and Sacramento RiverCats. Snell will be on the mound when the Giants return home, and he may start down the rehab path as well. The Giants gave Wynn one rehab appearance in hopes that he could iron out some issues. He looked good in the bullpen and on the mound, but the results didn’t translate.
“We’re trying to get our starting pitchers rehabbing so they’re ready to go,” Melvin said. “He obviously wasn’t in control early on and they gave up some hits early on and gave up some runs. He gave up five runs in the second inning, which put him in a little bit of a pinch, but we’re hopeful he’ll be better next time.”
Download and follow the Giants Talk podcast
