SAN FRANCISCO -- Since he arrived in San Francisco in 2020, Gabe Kapler has tried to redefine the way his pitchers are talked about.
Kapler at first spoke of putting pitchers into "buckets," and over time that transformed into the Giants using "bulk innings guys." On Sunday morning, he referred to it as using a "featured guy."
"I'd just prefer to use that terminology," he said. " 'Bulk' just doesn't necessarily have the same ring. These guys work really hard to put themselves in a position to help us win baseball games. It just kinda feels right."
It's a step in a more aesthetically pleasing direction, although it is still not perfect. Ross Stripling, the so-called "featured guy" on Sunday, pointed out a flaw after the Giants won 4-3 in 11 innings.
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"I like that phrase, but the devil's advocate would be that it doesn't ensure that you're getting bulk then," he said, laughing.
Stripling did end up getting the bulk of the action, but he still wasn't necessarily the one featured. The winning pitcher on Sunday was fellow starter-turned-reliever Tristan Beck, and it was a very deserved "W."
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Beck returned from Triple-A and jumped right into the fire, stranding the free baserunner in the 10th inning and again in the 11th. After the Giants left the bases loaded in the 10th, they packed them again in the 11th and won on Joc Pederson's single to right. The walk-off was the Giants' second straight, giving them a series win over a hot Red Sox club that operates like an East Coast version of what Kapler and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi have built.
The series was close throughout, but in the end, the Giants had just a bit more pitching. Stripling and Sean Manaea combined to give up one run over nine innings of bulk/featured work this weekend, and the Giants also got 4 1/3 shutout innings from their two openers, Ryan Walker and Sean Manaea.
Still, with the offense struggling to come up with a big hit, they needed extras for a second straight one-run win. That meant an odd realization for Beck, a starter at Stanford and throughout the minor leagues.
All of this is new to the Giants' staff, with some -- like Stripling -- adjusting better than others. But Beck had never pitched with a runner on second in extra innings before. It fit him like a glove. Beck notched two strikeouts in a scoreless 10th and one more in the 11th.
"It was a little more comfortable than I thought it would be," he said.
Beck credited Manaea and Stripling for helping make the transition easier for younger pitchers, saying their success "gives you a little bit of a blueprint." That was an appropriate word on Sunday, because this might be a blueprint to how the Giants get through the second half and a brutal August schedule.
They have two days to try and add to their starting staff, but the prices have been high, so much so that -- until recent injuries to Anthony DeSclafani, Keaton Winn and Carson Whisenhunt -- it seemed like it would even make sense for them to sell a pitcher or two. The Giants have received calls on most of their veteran starters who now are in the bullpen, per sources, but thus far it's been a quiet stretch ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
Heading into the final couple of days, they look like a roster that needs a bat much more than pitching. They held a good Red Sox lineup to eight runs over the weekend, repeatedly coming through in big spots.
After the win, Kapler said it was a rare July series that had some playoff vibes. If the Giants are to host actual playoff games, it probably will be because of a pitching staff that isn't built in a traditional way, but is just as effective. With Sunday's win, the Giants improved to 14-4 when using an opener this season. The "featured guys" are taking part in a lot of handshake lines.
"It's a really challenging team to play against," Kapler said of the Red Sox. "Our pitching was phenomenal through the series and continues to be very tough and very flexible."
