SAN FRANCISCO -- How do you evaluate the Giants' first half of the 2022 season? It certainly could have been better, but it also could have been a lot worse. Insert adjective here.
The one that Giants manager Gabe Kaper used prior to Sunday's first-half finale against the Milwaukee Brewers is probably pretty spot on.
"It was fine," Kapler said matter-of-factly. "We have a better brand of baseball in us than we showed in the first half and at the same time, I think we're in a fine position. We've stayed in a strong position to push for the playoffs."
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SIGN UP HERE Looking back on the first half of the season, there were surprises both good and bad. One of the positives was the emergence of outfielder Luis González, who quickly established himself as one of San Francisco's best pure hitters early on this season before landing on the injured list in late June.
Oddly enough, one of the early-season disappointments in catcher Joey Bart has since transformed into a positive heading into the second half.
"I think Luis González stands out, he's been a dependable bat in our lineup for a good portion of the first half, I don't think we necessarily planned for that, so that's a good surprise," Kapler explained. "I think Joey [Bart's] recent performance is reason to be optimistic. Our starting pitching has been excellent all the way through the first half. I don't think that's a big surprise, but I think it's notable."
One area where the Giants need to improve is in one-run games. In the first half, San Francisco was a measly 12-19, the sixth-worst winning percentage in all of baseball. That's a major disappointment compared to the MLB-best 31-17 record they posted in one-run games last season.
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The Giants have been shorthanded throughout the first half of this season and a healthier squad in the second half gives Kapler extra motivation for more success in close games.
"I think if you look at us in one-run games in the second half, we have the opportunity to be a better team in those games in the second half," Kapler added. "I actually think we're a more complete team right now than we were a month or six weeks ago, in large part because we've gotten healthier.
"[Brandon Crawford] is a core piece of our team and he not being healthy is notable, but it's possible that we're going to come out of the break with a fully healthy rotation sans Anthony [DeSclafani] replaced by [Jakob] Junis which feels pretty good. Our bullpen is in pretty good shape, I think if you said this is going to be our bullpen at the beginning of the season ... I still feel confident in our bullpen. I think our position player group is starting to come together. I think we have an opportunity to play better in the second half in those one-run games."
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Winners of six of their last eight games, the Giants head into the break playing well and pitching even better. San Francisco's starters have allowed just five earned runs over the last 46 innings pitched and better outings from the back-end of the rotation, specifically Alex Wood and Alex Cobb and the return of Jakob Junis, should provide the Giants with a consistent rotation out of the break.
Logan Webb will toe the rubber on Sunday against the Brewers, looking to continue the streak of success from Giants starters and head into the break taking three of four from Milwaukee.
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