SAN FRANCISCO — When the series began Friday, the Orioles had lost back-to-back series for the first time this year. Their pitching team had 12 runs against Cleveland Wednesday while the bullpen gave up 11 runs.

But on a weekend when they faced a San Francisco Giants team that had won four of their last five series and was 11-5 in their previous 16 games, the Orioles won two out of three games against the Giants.

Their pitching team restored order despite playing three more games without Cedric Mullins and the final 15 innings of the series without Gunnar Henderson, who left Saturday’s game with lower back problems. The good news is that manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday he was doing better and seemed confident Henderson could play in the Milwaukee series, which begins tomorrow night.

O’s pitching gave up runs two, four, and three in the series at Oracle Park, allowing for nine runs with 21 hits in the 10-walk, 34-strikeout games.

Right-hander Tyler Wells peaked in his career with nine strikeouts on Sunday, but all the Ks also helped his pitch count increase and he left the game after 5 1/3 innings with 102 pitches. Mike Baumann, Yennier Cano, and Austin Voth covered the last 3 2/3, allowing for a hit and a run.

The O’s’ Pen gave up two runs in 10 2/3 against San Francisco after ending the Cleveland series badly at home.

“I think it’s great for them,” Wells said. “It’s a season of ups and downs for many of us. We will experience ups and downs. But overall they have recovered well and hopefully that keeps us on track.”

Of his nine days of strikeouts, Wells said, “I think it was a combination of different things. I think me and (catcher James) McCann agreed most of the time. Every time he pitched and got to the spot where he wanted the pitch, I would try to find him there every time. I didn’t try to knock out a lot of people today. I was just trying to achieve my goals and luckily it worked out that way.”

The Orioles are now 37-22 overall and 20-10 away. They are 8-2 away in the away series and after that latest win, Hyde said he wasn’t sure why his club were playing so well away from home this season.

“I do not know the answer. I think we have a lot of professionals who are ready to play. Come prepared to the park and like I said I’ve come here many times and this is not an easy place to play. So to get two out of three here, that’s a good series for us,” Hyde said.

Lester’s big hit, Lester’s big day: Henderson’s failure yesterday opened the door for the Orioles to start Josh Lester at third base. And Lester, who went 5-0 in his first two major league games for Detroit last September, scored his first MLB goal in the O’s jersey.

During Baltimore’s third inning with six runs, he hit a 3-2 pitch, loading the bases into midfield for a two-run single. A third run was counted due to a game error and a 3-0 lead became 6-0.

Lester, 28, a 13th-round draft pick for the Tigers in 2015, waited 795 minor league games and 2,988 at-bats for his first base hit in the big league. And it was big for the Orioles.

“Someone who’s never been on the top prospect list,” said Hyde, clearly touched by Lester’s background and history. “Someone who gets drafted in the 13th round. Look around the big leagues, there are a lot of guys like that. His story is great, he grew up in a baseball family. I’m grinding at Triple-A right now. Gunnar cannot go today. He gets a start. Huge success, great success for us. One that we honestly didn’t understand. I got a big hit that gave us some breathing room, and it did.”

Lester said of his particular achievement and moment: “Obviously, I’ve looked forward to this my entire life, ever since I was five years old and playing baseball. Even better, it came at an important point in the game with a couple of guys.

“I think I might have passed out a bit. Obviously just a surreal moment. I spent a lot of time in the minor leagues and a little bit in the big leagues last year. But getting that first hit is just a huge moment. I’m confident in my ability and in my chance to come back and take a hit, but it’s a huge load off your shoulders and a big smile on your face when it does.”

He definitely made his contribution.

“Absolutely. No matter how much you travel in the minor leagues, fast or slow, scoring the first goal and moving up to the big leagues is everyone’s dream. But to spend so much time in the minor leagues and kind of Fighting through it definitely means a lot to me,” said Lester, who is now 1-8 in MLB.

He said he would give the ball to his parents or maybe send it to his fiancee.

He also discussed how we’ve seen in an O’s organization full of prospects that this year also saw some older players like Ryan O’Hearn and Lester get their chances. Both have since celebrated great successes for the club.

“I think it’s a testament to the organization. Obviously player development is intense. The Triple A team is full and the Double A team also has some people and the player development is really good. But when we bring in people who they think can contribute to the win – and I think when you talk to O’Hearn – we’re both just here to help the big league team do as much as we can to win,” added Lester.

Kjerstad moves up: The Orioles promote Heston Kjerstad from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. He earned a 3-4 win with an RBI in Bowie’s 14-10 loss to Harrisburg on Sunday.

In 46 games this season with the Baysox, 2022 Arizona Fall League MVP Kjerstad hit .310/.383/.576/.959 with 10 doubles, three triples, 11 homers and 23 RBIs.

Norfolk have today off and will open their next series Tuesday night at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

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CINCINNATI, OHIO – MAY 09: Luis Castillo #58 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Great American Ball Park on May 09, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Could he be a Giants trade target? (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The San Francisco Giants could stand to add some pitchers to their starting rotation. Here are three they should target this season.

The San Francisco Giants finished the 2021 season with the best record in MLB, but ended up losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series. This year, the Giants are 22-15 entering May 20 and sit three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West.

If the Giants want to make a run at the postseason, they have to consider making additions to their starting rotation. Here are three names that they should target leading up to the trade deadline.

Giants trade rumors: Luis Castillo

FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray has said in the latest episode of ‘The Baseball Insiders’ podcast that the Giants need to upgrade their pitching, and brought up that they have done well in bringing in former Cincinnati Reds pitchers. That is when Murray wondered if Luis Castillo would be an option for the Giants.

Castillo has been thrown in to trade speculation for years, but the team was determined to keep him. General manager Nick Krall said prior to the start of the season that they have no plans on moving him. That has changed as of late, as Peter Gammons tweeted that the Reds are willing to other teams regarding Castillo and Tyler Mahle.

This season, Castillo only played in two games due to right shoulder soreness, and owns a 5.59 ERA and 1.138 WHIP.

Joining the Giants could do wonders for Castillo, as he’ll get way more run support than he has currently with the Reds.

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Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon throws against the Houston Astros during Game 4 of a baseball … [+] American League Division Series Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y Huh)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The San Francisco Giants wasted no time bolstering their pitching staff following the resumption of MLB activity.

Over the weekend the Giants signed free agent LHP Carlos Rodon to a 2 year $44 million deal. They signed RHP Carlos Martinez to a MiLB deal on Sunday. Additionally, they announced the signing of RHP Jakob Junis to a one-year Major League deal this afternoon.

Following the departures of both Kevin Gausman and Johnny Cueto, the Giants’ main priority this offseason was ensuring those innings were replaced. While it may be hard to replicate the quality of the innings Kevin Gausman provided the Giants, Rodon may have been the best pitcher available on the market to approach that.

An underrated factor of the Carlos Rodon signing, is adding another left handed starting pitcher to the mix. This will hopefully have a positive impact on how the Giants’ bullpen is structured and utilized.

Last season, Alex Wood served as the Giants only left handed starter while Sammy Long, Scott Kazmir, and Connor Menez picked up the other starts. The four combined for 36 starts from LHP.

Having an additional LHP in the starting rotation, with the potential of Carlos Rodon, could be advantageous for the Giants. This may help them ease the workloads of their left handed relievers heading into the 2022 season.

By having another LHP in the rotation, the Giants will be able to piggy back or contrast a RH reliever depending on match ups more frequently than they did last season. Additionally, this will also impact how opponents’ structure their lineups for the myriad of pitching match ups the Giants can throw at them.

While Wood and Rodon are not arms that the Giants would use to follow an opener, they both have durability issues. Wood made the third most starts of his career (26) and Rodon made the second most starts of his career (24) in 2021. There may be cases where they pitch a limited amount of innings to protect their arms and that is where innings eaters like Carlos Martinez and Jakob Junis could be valuable.

In terms of right-handed relievers, the Giants only really have options of the short order variety. By adding two right handed pitchers with starting experience, they now have two right handed bulk options that could be really effective as swing men and spot starters.

Additionally, the Giants’ reputation for rehabilitating wayward pitchers gives another reason for fans to be optimistic. Both Martinez and Junis have flashed to varying degrees in the past, but have fallen on hard times. Perhaps a change of scenery and new pitching coaches will help them become more consistent moving forward.

The way pitching staff have been utilized over the past few seasons, it is not unusual for top tier teams to have a pitching staff with 7-9 capable starting pitchers. With the Giants’ pitching acquisitions over the weekend the Giants have been able to achieve that. This doesn’t even mention the impact returning arms like Tyler Beede and Sammy Long may have on the pitching staff.

Once again, Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris have decided to stack the back end of their rotation and the long relief corps of their pitching staff to see which pitchers seize the open roles.

Carlos Rodon’s high AAV contract represents a more modern approach to achieving high pitchers that also have a high level of volatility. $22 million per year seems like a high price tag, but in order to avoid long term liability, this is a very smart move for the Giants. Now Rodon will have an opportunity on an unusual 2-year “prove it” deal, and the Giants will not be on the hook financially for years to come.

Furthermore, if the Giants sputter and can’t repeat last year’s success, Rodon has a player option to vacate his deal provided he pitches 110 innings in 2022. This is the future of pitcher contracts it seems.

All in all the Giants wasted no time addressing what was going to be their biggest area of ​​need this offseason. After re-signing Alex Wood and Anthony DeSclafani, they’ve added Rodon, Junis, Martinez, and Alex Cobb to join emerging ace Logan Webb in a suddenly deep starting rotation. Now if the Giants’ pitching coaches can tap into whatever they’ve been tapping into the past two seasons, the Giants will be in an excellent position to roll again in 2022.

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For the second time in his career, Matt Carasiti is a member of the San Francisco Giants organization. However, unlike his first time with the organization, the 30-year-old right-hander is hoping to have the opportunity to actually show what he can do on the hill.

The San Francisco Giants have signed Matt Carasiti to a minor league contract

On January 6, 2020, Carasiti was signed by the San Francisco Giants to a minor league deal that included an invite to spring training. His stint with the Giants was short-lived, however, as he underwent Tommy John surgery a little over two months later, just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought Major League Baseball to a halt.

He was released by the Giants after the surgery, but was picked up by the Boston Red Sox a year later as part of a minor league deal. Before and after signing this contract, Carasiti worked on developing his fastball (at more speed than ever before) to combine it with an already developed forkball that could also be a weapon.

While Carasiti didn’t have time in MLB with the Red Sox, he does have experience with the Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners on a major league mound, throwing over 25.1 total innings in 2016 (Rockies) and 2019 (Mariners). 30 games ) seasons. Results were better with Seattle in a shorter sample size (4.66 ERA in 11 games vs. 9.19 ERA in 19 games with Colorado), but that was before Tommy John had surgery and a remodeled elbow that showed promise for a Carasiti -Moving to the new look was forward.

Since being drafted in the sixth round by the Rockies in the 2012 MLB draft, Carasiti has been a member of five different organizations. He has appeared in 250 minor league games and started 34 of them early in his career before moving to the bullpen where he has 81 career saves.

The Giants will take a look at what Carasiti can possibly bring them in spring training, and then will likely start the season in the minor leagues. However, if he can master both fastball and forkball, look to San Francisco to give him a chance in the Big League bullpen sometime in 2022.

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RJ Dabovich was a strikeout machine in his first season as a pro. The 23-year-old right-hander overwhelmed opponents with a two-pitch mix, fanning out 62 and allowing only 15 hits in 32 and a third innings between High-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond. Arizona State University’s fourth-round 2020 selection put those numbers up in 31 relief missions, a workload cut by five weeks on the shelf due to a slight back strain. Currently, Dabovich is number 26 in the San Francisco Giants system and represented the Scottsdale Scorpions in Saturday’s Fall Stars Game.

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David Laurila: They had the highest strikeout rate (48.8%) among minors that year. Are you even surprised at how dominant you were?

RJ Dabovich: “I am a little. I mean, I had never really been a ‘rummage through’. At Arizona State, I was a sophomore starter and had eight or nine Ks for every nine. Nothing too crazy. The move to the Bullpen has taken it a bit to the extreme [13.1 per nine]but it wasn’t like that this year.

“After I got drafted by the Giants, I got this pitch plan for what they wanted me to do. They said my K Rate was going to go up, but I had no idea she was going to jump like this. So I definitely surprised myself how well I implemented my plan, the plan they made for me. “

Laurel: How did it come about that you moved to the ASU bullpen?

Dabowitsch: “[Then-pitching coach] Jason Kelly felt my path would get me in the bullpen. I was a little annoyed at first because everyone wants to be the starter and pitch on Friday night. But when he said that I could influence the team over three games instead of just on Fridays – and it helped my development as he saw me as a replacement in the professional ball – I was fully for it. And my things ticked a little, so it turned out to be the best. “

Laurel: Did you see yourself as a power pitcher back then?

Dabowitsch: “More or less. I had a power fastball back then … for college anyway. I was 94 to 97-98 [mph]. “

Laurel: That was with a four sewing machine, right?

Dabowitsch: “Yes, and that’s when I really started to continue the four-seams. That fall, we started talking about it for the first time, “Hey, if you twist your hand just a little bit more in the direction of the 12 o’clock axis, you’ll be carrying a little more. That will help your breaking balls play a little better. ‘

“I forget his exact title – pitching analytics or quality control – but this guy helped me realize that when I was at the Cape last summer I got more swing and miss when I wore the fastball than I did did I had a little more sink. So we hammered this all of fall and all of spring leading into the COVID-shortened year. That was the starting point for my fastball.

“I didn’t have a power break ball in college. I had a kind of wacky curveball and a short, tight slider. When I was drafted, the Giants wanted to morph the two and do a hard downer-slider. It’s technically a curveball, but it’s a firmer curveball in the 84 to 86-87 range. It goes really well with my fastball to screw up the swing decision for the batsman. This is what I do most of all: messing up the swing decision-making process. That leads to the strikeouts. “

Laurel: You were introduced to pitching analytics in college and have evolved from there …

Dabowitsch: “Yes, that’s when we started touching it. After the COVID draft, I went to this gym – Push Performance in Guadalupe [Arizona] – and the pitching guy there had a really good understanding of analytics. He somehow refined my little understanding to a somewhat deeper one. And again the Giants helped me plan the pitch. Here we really went into the analytics page. “

Laurel: How have you improved the hand luggage on your four-sewing machine?

Dabowitsch: “Finger placement changed a bit, and then trunk position was a big deal for me. I was really upright. It always came out at 1:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the axis. It was really as easy as thinking of a side crunch, almost – like crunching my left side and getting the trunk tilt so that 1:10 turns into 12: 30-12: 45. “

Laurel: Do you have a lot to carry

Dabowitsch: “I have an average of 19 to 21” [inches], and if it’s really good, it’s in the 22-23 range. So I would say that I drive pretty decent on my fastball. I come over barrels. “

Laurel: What about the speed?

Dabowitsch: “It’s somewhere between five and seven, up to eight, nine. I think I had a 99.8 this summer. here [in the AFL] it was exactly in the range of 96-98. There were some fives, but I like to tick it off a little when I can. It’s always cool to throw a little harder. “

Laurel: Back to your breaking ball, how did you fix it?

Dabowitsch: “The thought process is that the harder I throw it, the less time a hitter has to make a decision. For me … my hand is very square so it stays right behind the ball. That’s why I get that four-seam ride. That was always my problem with the curveball: I couldn’t get up to get that spin up.

“In the Giants, I basically had to twist my hand – spear my finger and put my middle finger in the direction of the left-handed batter’s box. We call it a Palm Forward Spike Curveball. That’s the official name they used to describe it. Basically it holds the palm forward and just tears the seam down and tosses it as hard as I can.

“At first it was like a gyroscope – it spun like a ball and fell down – and then finally I just started to feel it in my hand. I got a little bit on top to get that downward twist and a bit of bite at the end. “

Laurel: The Giants didn’t want a top …

Dabowitsch: “It’s not so much that they didn’t want it, but that it’s better if there is a bit of topspin. With topspin I can throw it both at the top of the zone and at the bottom and get the same effect. If it’s a top, it just spins up and hangs there. Downstairs it still works so if it turns into a top at times, it’s not the end of the world as long as I throw it away. But if I want to land it for a shot, it has to have this topspin. “

Laurel: Is it a high spin breakball?

Dabowitsch: “Nothing crazy. It’s probably around 24-26. It’s nothing like 3,000 [rpm] or something special. And somehow it doesn’t look that good on Rapsodo. It’s negative – 4 break and 30% spin efficiency – or whatever it is – but the way it plays with my fastball and the way it tunnels with my fastball gets the swings and misses. “

Laurel: Do you have a third key in your repertoire?

Dabowitsch: “Until now no. I want to perfect this two-step mix and see where this takes me and then make adjustments from there. If I need to add a third pitch, I’ll speak to it [Coordinator of Pitching Sciences, Matt] Daniels and [Director of Pitching, Brian] Bannister and see what they think. But right now it is perfecting the two-pitch mix, being confident, and using the fastball at the top of the zone and the curveball at both the top and bottom of the zone. It’s about having a 50/50 mix as much as possible and only attacking hitters. “

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