A September like this can be an audition for young players, but also valuable pieces of data to consider for more established players.
The 2023 Giants roster is far from certain. But it does already have four starting rotation spots filled with Logan Webb, Alex Wood, Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani.
How might Jakob Junis factor into next year’s picture? His next few starts to close out the year could help crystallize an answer.
Junis had a 2.63 ERA when he first hit the injured list in mid-June. He hasn’t been the same since, and a trainwreck August put his ERA at 4.04 entering Saturday.
Against the Phillies and in front of a shaky defense, Junis made his second consecutive 4.1-inning start. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits and two walks in a 5-4 Giants (63-68) victory.
“I thought I threw the ball well today,” Junis said postgame. “I didn’t get great results. Thought the slider was better, definitely, at times. Got some swing-and-miss with it. Fastball, swing-and-miss. I thought we executed a lot of pitches that didn’t fall our way necessarily.”
The back-and-forth game saw five lead changes, several head-scratching moments and dearth of clutch hitting. The Giants used their entire bench and 23 overall players. The teams combined to go 8-for-34 (.235) with runners in scoring position and left 19 on base. It ended with Camilo Doval’s 19th save — a four up, four down affair.
Both defenses were far from midseason form to set the tone. Noah Syndergaard chucked a swinging bunt into foul territory in right field. Brandon Crawford committed his 16th error of the season while forcing a barehanded throw wide of LaMonte Wade Jr. at first.
Each miscue led to early unearned runs. Another Phillies tumble, when Rhys Hoskins couldn’t corral a Crawford grounder behind the first-base bag, gave the Giants a 3-2 lead.
Then Junis gave the lead right up. To lead off the fourth, Bryson Stott drilled a changeup into McCovey Cove for a solo home run. It was the one mistake pitch Junis threw, he said.
“The same thing happened in Minnesota to a lefty: I yanked a changeup, got hit for a home run,” Junis said postgame. “Definitely got to try to dial that in this week, get back to throwing that down in the zone where I want it. Keep it out of the honey hole for the lefty batter.”
Junis returned for the top of the fifth to face the top of Philadelphia’s order a third time. He didn’t get any help from his defense, as Joc Pederson lost a fly ball in the sun and Thairo Estrada couldn’t flag down a flared single in shallow center field.
Even though numbers have advanced and account for things like expected batting average and exit velocity, evaluating a pitcher in such a subpar defensive environment can’t be easy.
Junis didn’t allow any more runs, but also didn’t make it out of the inning as Scott Alexander replaced him to face lefty Bryce Harper.
When he’s at his best, Junis’ slider is an oxymoronic sharp and slow. He throws the slider almost 50% of the time; hitters know it’s coming but still weren’t able to square it up in the first half of the year.
That changed since returning from the hamstring injury that shelved him in June. At one point, he said he wasn’t sure why it was coming out of his hands so hot. He told Eno Sarris of The Athletic he might still be seeking full trust in his landing leg.
There have been games — seven strong innings against Arizona on Aug. 16 — when the pitch returns to form, but Junis hasn’t been able to deliver it consistently. In five August starts, Junis posted a 7.13 ERA.
Saturday, Junis generated six whiffs on 38 sliders. He’s in the 93rd percentile in walk suppression, but handed out two free passes in the first inning. A lack of his best stuff compounded poor batted-ball luck.
Junis exited in a 3-3 game. There had already been three lead changes. There would be two more and additional strangeness. Both left fielders — Pederson and Kyle Schwarber — lost a routine fly ball in the sun. Jean Segura threw home on what should’ve been an inning-ending double play ball. Estrada whiffed at a pitch that hit him in the shin.
To take the lead in the sixth, the Giants deployed four straight pinch hitters, leading to six new players entering the game. Pederson, who extended his hitting streak to eight with two RBI singles, walked in the go-ahead run against lefty Brad Hand.
SF’s edge held with strong enough relief work from John Brebbia, Jarlin García, Alex Young and Camilo Doval. They combined to strand Phillies in scoring position in the seventh and eighth, and Doval worked a four-out save with the help of Austin Slater’s tumbling snag.
But as the Giants remain a miracle away from the playoff conversation, games like Saturday’s serve primarily as entertainment. Individual developments like Junis can shape the future of his career and the direction of the club.