D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
There was not a ton of drama, and Jake McGee did not pitch long enough to drum any up.
The Giants’ de facto closer was summoned with one on and two outs to get Sam Hilliard, the potential tying run. It took three fastballs — none low in the zone — and three whiffs, and San Francisco could properly celebrate Johnny Cueto’s excellence in Friday’s home opener.
The lefty said there are not any more emotions that go into pitching against Colorado — he’s on his third NL West team, so he has a familiarity with just about everyone he will regularly face this season. And yet, the manner in which he easily retired his former team has to remind why the Rockies are his former team and not current.
McGee was traded from Tampa to Colorado before the 2016 season and for two years he was a solid option out of the bullpen, posting a 3.61 ERA in 2017. He signed a three-year, $27 million pact after that year, part of a big offseason bullpen frenzy from Colorado, and he spiraled. The Rockies kept turning to him — he pitched in 61 games — but posted a 6.49 ERA in the worst campaign of his career. The following year was up and down and included an injured list stint with a knee sprain, and a 4.35 ERA for a pitcher who plays half his games at Coors Field is above average.
But it wasn’t the dominance Colorado signed up for, and the Rockies released both McGee and Bryan Shaw, who were parts of the super bullpen they hoped to form, before the 2020 season. They did not see significant room for improvement in McGee’s game and thought they were escaping a vesting option.
The Dodgers saw what the Rockies did not. Los Angeles picked him and asked McGee to use the CleanFuego, which is a weighted ball that is shaped a bit like a puck. It provides immediate feedback on spin, and the centered weight helped McGee tweak his release point.
“It got my hand higher, and I was behind the ball more,” said McGee, who also started aiming his fastball differently. “They said just pitch up in the zone a lot more, then showed me the numbers if I pitch higher in the zone. Even if it’s middle high, my numbers [improve]. That just gave me confidence knowing that everything was moving right, and if I stay up in the zone with my fastball, I’ll have success.”
Hand higher and fastballs higher in the zone. The Dodgers’ analytical team, which is one that Farhan Zaidi’s Giants have tried to mimic, cracked the code for McGee. He struck out 33 in 20 1/3 innings with just three walks — a ratio that must make Zaidi’s eye bulge — en route to posting a 2.66 ERA and helping the club win a World Series.
He pitched differently, but also harder. He virtually only threw fastballs, turning to his heat 97 percent of the time, but saw the velocity rise from 93.5 mph with the Rockies to 95 mph with the Dodgers. He said he changed his routine and stretched more, especially his hip.
“Once they loosened my right hip when I went to the Dodgers — I didn’t really realize how tight it was,” McGee said before the Giants hosted the Rockies on Saturday. “Once that fell in line and then my mechanics, just staying back and staying slow, everything else kind of lined up.”
It turned into a $7 million deal with the Giants over two seasons, immediately becoming their most trusted weapon against lefties and righties. Though Gabe Kapler does not like the “closer” label, the 34-year-old has picked up three saves in five games, not allowing a run in 4 1/3 innings.
None easier than against the Rockies, who watched as the lefty they couldn’t unlock easily shut the door.