Beck receives a big opportunity after another short-lived start originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO — It was Cal night at Oracle Park on Thursday, but for the final five innings, the loudest fans in orange and black were representing a longtime rival.
Former Stanford star Tristan Beck made his MLB debut, and because so many of his college friends live or work in the city, his cheering section went 35 deep when he took the mound.
Beck came out of the bullpen in the fourth and ended up going the distance, pitching 5 1/3 innings in a 9-4 loss to the New York Mets. The outing was the longest by a Giants pitcher making his debut over the past five seasons, which was a silver lining on another disappointing night for the organization.
It also highlighted one of the biggest issues in this 6-12 start.
Beck’s outing was the ninth-longest of the year by a Giants pitcher even though it came out of the bullpen. He was forced into action because Sean Manaea’s night blew up in the fourth, and that’s been a theme for the rotation.
In a third of the Giants’ games this season, Gabe Kapler had to take the ball from his starting pitcher before he completed four innings. A Giants starter has gone more than five innings just eight times through 18 games.
That would be a problem for any team. It’s particularly concerning for one built around what was supposed to be a strong rotation. The Giants led the Majors in FIP last year, and while they lost Carlos Rodón, they shelled out $50 million to Manaea and Ross Stripling and came into the season six-deep.
Eighteen games into the year, Giants starters have combined for a 3.60 ERA. But they’re also averaging just five innings per start as a group.
“I think our starters are going to be fine and I think they’re going to start pitching deeper into games,” Kapler said. “A lot of that has to do with continuing to throw strikes, be efficient, that’s going to allow them to get deeper into games. This is a rotation that’s very capable of that and I don’t have any concerns.”
The rotation will likely be fine over the long haul, but the early efficiency issues have contributed to a start that’s put the Giants in a deep hole. They’re one of just three National League teams with fewer than seven wins, joining the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. That’s not the company they expected to be keeping this season.
The bad vibes were there early Thursday, as Manaea took a 96 mph liner off his calf in the first and a 109 mph liner off his hip in the second. Trainer Dave Groeschner came out twice but Manaea was fine both times. The Mets knocked him out in a more traditional way in the fourth.
Manaea hit two batters and gave up two homers in the long inning. He walked off having thrown 88 pitches to record just 11 outs.
“It starts with throwing everything for strikes and getting guys to swing at stuff and not getting them in advantaged counts where they have a better idea of what’s coming,” Manaea said. “I think that takes care of a lot of things.”
Thursday’s start was a bit similar to Manaea’s previous one, when he threw 82 pitches in 3 1/3 innings. One of the rotation’s short starts this year was because of an injury to Alex Wood, but the Giants still had four others where their starter threw 75-plus pitches and didn’t make it out of the fourth.
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Beck threw 81 pitches on his first night in the big leagues and was charged with four earned runs, but in a game where not a lot went right, he provided some life for the dugout. The 26-year-old right-hander, acquired four years ago in the Mark Melancon trade, reached 95-96 with his fastball and showed off a good slider.
The Giants didn’t get the necessary depth from their starter, but after a long trip, they could at least find something to celebrate in Beck. His first time out, he saved a bullpen full of guys who have had a long couple of weeks.
“That was really good work,” Kapler said. “A lot of strikes, a lot of first-pitch strikes, and going after some really talented hitters. They got to him over the course of his outing but I think that was just a function of the Mets being a good lineup with quality hitters from the right side and from the left side.
“I thought Tristan was composed the entire time. The moment wasn’t big for him. His major league debut, and I thought he did a really good job overall.”
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