San Francisco Giants reliever Ross Stripling throws a pitch that Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez hits in the eighth inning for a 3-run home run, tying the game at 5 on Saturday, April 8, 2023 at Oracle Park in San Francisco : 5. California (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
MIAMI — If there was a bright spot in the Giants’ loss Tuesday night, it had to be the seven outs recorded by Ross Stripling. After three tough games early in the season, Stripling made his first clean game in a Giants uniform, and he’s only going to become more important over the next two weeks.
Barring “something unforeseen,” Stripling will take the rotational spot vacated by Alex Wood, who was put on the 15-day injured list after straining his left hamstring with a bunt in the third inning Tuesday night, manager Gabe said Kapler before the series finale on Wednesday against the Marlin.
Though Kapler gave up six homers and posted a 9.00 ERA in his first three appearances, he said he has “a lot of faith” in the 33-year-old right-hander, who along with Sean Manaea is one of two newcomers to the pitching team both signed at two-year free-agent contracts worth $25 million last winter.
“I’m very confident that we’re going to look back on the early-stage struggles that Ross had and it’s going to be just a small blip on the radar screen,” Kapler said. “I think the biggest key to Strip is counting leverage. It’s the first pitch strikes. It is the overall hit percentage. Both have been better in the last few games than at the start of the season.”
Stripling pulled back seven of the nine sluggers he faced and knocked out three while allowing a pair of hits but no runs. His sliders were down and gone, his changeups broke deep and in, and he populated the top of the hitting zone with his heaters. Stripling, known for his spot-on lead, put all his pitches where he wanted them for the first time this season.
“It’s my game,” Stripling said. “Obviously if I’m there I’ll have more success than if I’m not. If I can dial in my arsenal like that, it will do better than it has done so far.”
Stripling also dropped the alternate switch he had experimented with during spring training and his first two appearances this season. While using the field, which has more breaks than his primary changeup, to register strikeouts from Aaron Judge and Josh Donaldson, he missed the strike zone too often and fell behind on counts.
“It was just inconsistent,” Stripling said. “It’s inconsistent in my bullpens, it’s inconsistent in my catch game, and the only thing I’m not is inconsistent. So if it robs me of my only strength, which is throwing strikes, I can’t have it.”
The final straw was the home run he allowed Salvador Perez, who came up with a version of the switch that Stripling felt was well executed.
“Salvy hit the homer,” Stripling said, “and I was like, alright, I’m fine.”
So his arsenal ranges from six to five pitches. Or in other words, just the kitchen sink – not the plumbing as well.
While Stripling has plenty of experience between bullpen and rotation, which has essentially been his role at Toronto for the past three seasons, he signed with San Francisco in part because he was promised consistent starts. After a brief stint at the bullpen, he’s happy to return to the rotation and is confident he’ll stay there.
“That’s why you signed me and Sean,” Stripling said. “One of us can jump right in and keep the rotation going without feeling like we’re taking a step back in any way. … It made sense to lean on me early on in that role just because I’m comfortable with it and have done it before. But I always had the feeling that my arsenal was better suited as a starter.”
Beck Debuts: Between Stripling, Manaea, Jakob Junis and Sean Hjelle, the Giants were built to withstand the wear and tear of their initial pitching staff. This morning around 6:30 am further help for the red eye arrived. Stanford product Tristan Beck was recalled to take Wood’s spot on the list to complement her pitching depth.
Beck was first called up and received numerous hugs Wednesday morning at the Giants clubhouse and Tuesday night at the Triple-A Sacramento dugout. Scratched from his scheduled start and observing the situation in Miami, Beck had an idea of what River Cats manager Dave Brundage would tell him in the first inning of their game Tuesday night.
“It was kind of surreal,” said Beck, 26. “There was definitely that mid-sentence moment when I realized no one wanted to mess with me. He kinda got all the words out and I’m sitting there and it just hit me for a second. It was pretty cool man. It was pretty cool.”
Acquired from Atlanta in the Mark Melancon trade, Beck followed up a strong spring with a 3.38 ERA in his first three starts in Sacramento, where he is one of only a handful of pitchers with a sub-4.00 ERA and more strikeouts than walks was. (Other 40-man options, Cole Waites and RJ Dabovich, have combined to allow 16 runs in 8.0 innings with 17 walks to just six strikeouts.)
Considering Beck flew cross-country and the Giants will make the return trip after Wednesday’s game, they considered holding a train until they got back to San Francisco. But Kapler has relied on his own feelings as a player: “Players will always be excited, even if traveling in a major league uniform is a little uncomfortable. Somehow the adrenaline carries you through.”
And, Beck added, a cup of coffee.
Despite the late announcement and the overland trip, Beck has been able to bring his family to Miami if he makes his debut. His older sister Megan also boarded a red-eyed cross-country flight Tuesday night, while it was an easier trip for his younger brother Brendan, a pitching prospect in the Yankees system who is based in Tampa.
Long DFA: Left-hander Sam Long, who was last called up for action after a precipitous fall as a consistent contributor in 2021 and 2022 on Wednesday. Despite posting a 4.55 ERA in 40 games over the past two seasons, Long has struggled to miss racquets in spring training and continued his first four games at Triple-A.
Long, 27, was a 40-man casualty as the Giants made way for outfielder Cal Stevenson, whom they acquired from Oakland for cash.
While the Bay Area neighbors have had a few small trades in recent years, they still haven’t had a player-for-player since 1990, when Ernest Riles was traded from the Giants to the A’s in exchange for Darren Lewis and Pedro Peña. Player swap complete.
Stevenson, a Fremont native, batted .348/.483/.435 in seven games with A’s Triple-A partner. The 26-year-old Stevenson has batted .294 .409 .420 over more than four minor league seasons since he was drafted by Toronto in the 10th round in 2018. He was selected for Triple-A Sacramento.
