SAN FRANCISCO — When he met with the media after Monday’s game, Bruce Bochy wouldn’t say which right-hander would start Tuesday night for the Giants. Half an hour later, after a meeting between Bochy and the front office, Tyler Beede was picked to make his MLB debut. Johnny Cueto will be pushed back a day and start Wednesday.
Why did the Giants play this one close to the vest all afternoon and night? It’s unclear. But one thing is certain: Beede will need more help than Derek Holland got on Monday night. Cueto will, too.
Holland struck out eight and allowed two runs in six innings, but the Giants made Zack Godley’s curveball look like the best pitch in baseball. They fell 2-1. Through nine games, they have failed to score more than one run in six of them.
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“We’re getting shut down a little more than we should,” Bochy said.
Godley struck out nine over seven shutout innings. He threw his curveball 47 times and got 15 swinging strikes. Seven other curves fell in for called strikes. His former teammate, Gregor Blanco, was one of the many who struck out. Godley whiffed six the first time through the order. Blanco said he was curious to see what Godley’s out pitch would look like from the batter’s box rather than from behind him.
“He’s got one of the best curves I’ve seen,” Blanco said. “It looked like a cutter and then all of a sudden it disappeared.”
So, for the most part, has a lineup that was supposed to be rebuilt.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants scored 10 runs against the Mariners on Wednesday and seven against the Dodgers on Saturday. Other than that: 1, 1, 0, 0, 4, 1, 1.
The futility wasted a strong effort from Holland and two relievers, including rookie Roberto Gomez, who threw two scoreless innings. After the game, Gomez was optioned back to Triple-A to clear a roster spot for Beede.