SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants came into the 2022 campaign with a bullpen composed almost entirely of holdovers from last season, when their relievers led the Majors with a 2.99 ERA.
But the unit looks quite different now compared to the beginning of the year.
Only three of the 10 members of the Giants’ Opening Day bullpen were on the active roster for Wednesday night’s 6-3 win over the Rockies at Oracle Park: Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers and John Brebbia.
A combination of injuries (José Álvarez, Sam Long) and underperformance (Jake McGee, Dominic Leone, Tyler Beede, Zack Littell) left the Giants without many of their key cogs from last year, but the turnover has created opportunities for several newcomers to come in this September and show that they can be part of the mix heading into 2023.
The potpourri of arms got the job done on Wednesday, as five relievers combined to hold the Rockies to four hits and help the Giants pick up their eighth win in their last nine games. With a 16-10 record this month, San Francisco will now have to go 4-3 the rest of the way to finish the season at .500.
Here are three standouts as the Giants improved to 77-78:
John Brebbia
The Giants have been holding regular bullpen games in September to fill the hole in their rotation left by the injury to Alex Wood, who was shut down for the year with a left shoulder impingement earlier this month. Most of those games have been started by Brebbia, who has served as the opener six times this month.
The 32-year-old veteran continued to thrive in the role on Wednesday, retiring Yonathan Daza, José Iglesias and Ryan McMahon in order to set the tone for the Giants in the first inning. Brebbia has now delivered nine scoreless innings in his nine outings as an opener this year, lowering his ERA to 2.77 over 72 appearances, tied with the Braves’ A.J. Minter for the most in the National League.
“He’s very comfortable in that role, and every time he takes the mound, you can tell that he’s got a lot of confidence in the first inning of games,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I think it’s in part because Brebbia is a guy who prepares. He has a routine and he has a rhythm. He can stick with that thing knowing that he has an exact start time. In fact, he was in the dugout a few minutes before the start of the game and was counting down the seconds before he was able to go out on the mound. He’s pretty fun to have around.”
Sean Hjelle
With lefty Jarlín García landing on the paternity list prior to Wednesday’s game, the Giants recalled Hjelle from Triple-A Sacramento and gave him another look as a bulk-innings pitcher against the Rockies. The 25-year-old rookie ended up being credited with his first Major League win after delivering four solid innings, earning a postgame “one-of-everything shower” as a reward from his teammates.
“There was some Red Bull, orange juice, mayo, ketchup, mustard, baby powder,” Hjelle said. “I think there was one beer mixed in there. It was great. I’m going to feel gross for a couple of days.”
Hjelle’s seventh appearance of the season got off to a shaky start, as he issued a leadoff walk to C.J. Cron after relieving Brebbia in the second. Cron advanced to second on a wild pitch and was nearly thrown out at third after Hjelle fielded a comebacker off the bat of Sean Bouchard, but rookie David Villar dropped the 6-foot-11 right-hander’s throw, putting runners on the corners with one out.
Hjelle followed by inducing a potential inning-ending double-play ball from Elehuris Montero, but he ended up throwing the ball into center field, allowing Cron to score an unearned run. Still, Hjelle managed to maintain his composure and limit the damage, yielding only a fifth-inning solo shot to Alan Trejo the rest of the way.
“Just took a breath,” Hjelle said. “You guys saw me make that throw into center field. The game got a little fast on me there. Just taking a breath and realizing, ‘I’m going to keep getting ground balls and we’re going to make the plays.’ The defense is going to make the plays, and they did.”
Shelby Miller
A one-time All-Star and former first-round Draft pick, Miller went nearly an entire year without pitching in the Majors before having his contract selected from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday. The 31-year-old veteran is certainly looking like he belongs in the big leagues, striking out five over two scoreless innings in his second appearance with the Giants.
Miller has now punched out 12 of the 18 batters he’s faced since being called up, becoming the only Major League pitcher in the modern era to have back-to-back outings with at least five strikeouts in less than three innings with no walks or runs allowed, according to STATS.
“Shelby has been really impressive,” Kapler said. “It’s pounding the strike zone, it’s moving the ball up and down with his heater. I think he’s kind of getting opposing hitters comfortable looking for a slider and then delivering a really quality strike with his fastball and getting a ton of punch with it. He’s doing an extraordinary job.”