LOS ANGELES - Given how many pitching changes Bruce Bochy is making these days, it was hardly a surprise that there was some confusion in the communication to the bullpen. When Bochy had to pull Johnny Cueto because of a left groin strain, George Kontos came sprinting out of the bullpen. Bochy looked up and yelled toward the dugout, angrily tapping his left arm to signal a different pitcher.
As Kontos jogged back to the bullpen, Steven Okert entered. He was supposed to kick off a parade to the mound. He ended up as the first of a highly effective trio that closed out a 2-0 win over the Dodgers. For Bochy, this was a light night of trips to the mound.
"I'll be honest," he said. "I like outs."
Okert, Will Smith and Sergio Romo picked them up in bunches. They looked so sharp during their respective turns that Bochy eschewed the usual left-right-left-right moves and let three straight relievers handle an inning or more, a rarity for this bullpen.
The three combined for 3 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit while striking out seven. It was simple. It was effective. It was needed.
"For us as a team, yes this is huge," Romo said. "For us to just come out and get a win, man … you're trying to build momentum."
San Francisco Giants
[RECAP: Instant Replay: Giants fight off injuries, take down Dodgers]
The Giants hoped to put the foundation down Monday, but a one-run lead was blown in the ninth. Tuesday's game didn't get off to a particularly encouraging start. Cueto pitched well, but he was pulled in the sixth with an injury that won't be fully diagnosed until after a Wednesday morning MRI. Eduardo Nuñez homered, but his mate on the left side of the infield - Brandon Crawford - suffered a dislocated left pinky finger that will cost him at least a day or two.
The Giants got good news with Crawford, who thought he broke a finger on a slide into third. They're hoping for a similar result with Cueto, who said it felt like a crab was biting his leg.
Health won't matter, though, if the bullpen keeps giving up leads. That's why Tuesday was so encouraging, and the domination started with a fresh face.
Okert has put together a very strong month as a call-up, the exception being a homer he gave up last week against the Padres that put the finishing touches on one of those pesky blown saves. The Giants think he can be a big part of the future, and Okert showed off tantalizing talent while stranding two of Cueto's runners in the sixth.
Yasiel Puig swung through a 94 mph fastball to end his at-bat. Enrique Hernandez struck out on a cutter, a pitch Okert learned from Madison Bumgarner. Okert admitted to having some butterflies, but they didn't show as he got the Giants through the sixth and seventh.
"Pitching is pitching," he said. "I've got this defense behind me. I've got (Buster) Posey behind the plate. Guys were coming up and saying, 'Hey, let's do this.'"
Okert was so sharp that Bochy let him bat in the top of the seventh so he could pitch in the bottom of the inning.
"He gave us what we needed in a one-run game," Bochy said. "He just did a terrific job, with righties and lefties."
Smith might be the prototype for Okert as a big lefty who can face hitters swinging from both sides. He came over at the deadline and at first had trouble settling in, and late Tuesday, he admitted that he might have pressed in August.
"Being the new guy, you want to show what you can do," he said.
The rest of the National League West is now seeing what Bobby Evans and his staff saw in Smith. He struck out two in the eighth, extending his scoreless streak to 14 appearances. Smith said Okert helped get his juices flowing.
"He did his job and we kept passing the baton back until the last out was made," he said.
Romo, a former closer for the Giants, ended up running the anchor leg, but that wasn't always set in stone. Brandon Belt's solo homer in the top of the ninth provided an insurance run, and provided Bochy with the confidence to let Romo face two lefties in the ninth. As Javier Lopez warmed up, Romo threw a slider past Chase Utley to end the game. The save was his first of the season.
"Obviously that's uplifting for me personally," he said. "I'm ready to go from the sixth inning on from here on out."
All of Bochy's relievers are, and while the committee has struggled all month, Wednesday's win was a big step in the right direction. It pushed the Giants into a three-way tie with the Mets and Cardinals atop the wild card race.
It is too soon for players to worry about tiebreakers and play-in games and all that. Perhaps it's not a time to worry, period. Romo, his eyes lighting up, tried to put this roller-coaster ride in perspective.
"It's fun for baseball," he said. "Who wouldn't be interested in three teams fighting for two spots? It's really fun."
That hasn't always been the case over the past month. The Giants have had an unbelievable number of sour walks to the team bus, but the shutout lifted the clubhouse. Even Kontos was able to find humor in his very public U-turn. He insisted that a team executive ask the league to count his jog through the outfield grass as a hold.
"I stepped on the field," Kontos said, smiling. "That's an appearance."
