The Giants faced a marathon of a day against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park, but Camilo Doval was up for the challenge.
San Francisco's All-Star closer became the first Giant to record two saves on the same day since Robb Nen on July 4, 2000, securing the team's sixth and seventh straight victories -- and he didn't think twice about it.
After Doval earned a save in the Giants' 4-2 victory, a game carried over from Monday's rain postponement, Kapler told reporters following their later 11-10 win he had planned on using the closer again in the second contest, thanks largely in part to Doval's hunger to take the mound once more.
"It was going to be based on the situation of the game. If we had a clear save situation where he was definitely the guy, we were going to go to him," Kapler said. "This is really about a player saying, 'I want this opportunity.' We, generally speaking, wouldn't do that if a player was like, 'Eh, not keen on that idea.' And there were pitchers in the first game who needed the second game off.
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"But Camilo was in on it, and more than in on it, and you could see it when he was warming up. I mean, it was really coming out of his hand well during warmups, and he was throwing hard. Looked like all of his normal stuff and didn't take any step back, so thought he did a really nice job."
Doval retired three straight batters to earn his first save of the day in the 10th inning, and in the second game, he protected the Giants' one-run lead by forcing Spencer Steer to ground into a double play with runners on first and second, earning his MLB-leading 30th save of 2023.
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After the game, he told NBC Sports Bay Area's Carlos Ramirez, Laura Britt and George Kontos what the rare feat meant to him on "Giants Postgame Live."
"He says he's thankful, he thanks God for everything he has right now," Ramirez said, translating Doval's answer from Spanish to English. "Just take advantage of every opportunity the team gives him, and just go out and do his job."
Doval said he told Kapler he was "ready for whatever comes" -- a mindset the coach noticed not only from his closer, but the Giants as a whole on a "challenging" Tuesday night. When LaMonte Wade Jr. left the second game in the bottom of the fourth inning, Joc Pederson replaced him at first base after preparing for such a situation in spring training.
"Joc is a total pro and his mindset is just whatever the team needs any time, and I think it's actually pretty infectious," Kapler said. "Other guys follow that lead -- whatever the team needs, any time. We had starting pitchers potentially talking about going down to the bullpen in case we got through Doval. ...
"You really did see the selflessness of this team come out today. It wasn't the easiest game, obviously, there was some tougher pitching performances and not always our best at-bats, but as a team, I think we came together really nicely in that game."
It was a historic day on countless fronts for the Giants and MLB at large -- Tuesday was the first time since at least 1901 that four games on the same day featured both teams scoring 10 or more runs. It's certainly a moment Doval won't forget, and the Giants' team-first mindset will only help them as their second-half playoff push persists.
