Giants' Logan Webb vows to protect hitters after spate of plunkings

New York Times

3 days ago

SAN FRANCISCO — Every cool and rational head in the ballpark at 24 Willie Mays Plaza understood that Miami Marlins closer Calvin Faucher didn't do it on purpose.
Faucher was trying to protect a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night. The last thing he wanted to do was hit the San Francisco Giants' first batter, Dominic Smith, with a two-strike curveball. And there's zero chance that Faucher meant for his next pitch to ride up and hit Casey Schmitt on the left hand.
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But these are not cool or rational times for anyone who attends pregame hitters' meetings in the Giants' home batting cage. They aren't scoring runs. They aren't supporting their pitching staff. When the Giants manage to create a scoring opportunity or two, they aren't coming up with a clutch hit. The frustration is mounting. They are beginning to wear it hard.
They are also wearing it in another sense. The Giants are getting hit by pitches with alarming regularity. Last week against the Cleveland Guardians, Heliot Ramos reacted with obvious irritation when he was hit for the second time in the series. Wilmer Flores, who is as placid as an alpine lake, spiked his helmet in apparent anger when he got plunked by a Guardians pitcher. In the fourth inning Tuesday night, Ramos glared at the mound before jogging to first base when Marlins pitcher Cal Quantrill plunked him on the arm.
It was Schmitt's turn Wednesday night. He fumed after he was struck by Faucher, spiking his bat and then cradling his hand as the ballpark held its collective breath. The Giants forced extra innings, and Schmitt played third base in the 10th, but he couldn't grip a bat. Brett Wisely was prepared to hit for Schmitt, but his turn didn't come up in an 8-5, 10-inning loss that was deflating on several levels.
Schmitt underwent postgame X-rays, which did not reveal a fracture, but he will undergo more tests Wednesday morning. He said his hand 'felt like a balloon' while he met with reporters at his locker. The Giants cannot afford to lose Schmitt for any length of time because he's already replacing another indispensable player. Schmitt entered Wednesday batting .400 with four home runs in 13 games since replacing third baseman Matt Chapman, who is just beginning to swing a bat again while recovering from a sprained right hand he sustained on the basepaths.
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Schmitt was angry. Just not irrationally angry.
'I've gotten hit there a lot, so I've got some trauma there,' Schmitt said. 'We've been wearing pitches so it's kind of built up. Obviously, he's not doing it on purpose. It's just not fun to get hit, especially up and in on the hands.'
Intentional or not, the Giants are up to here with all of it. They've gotten hit six times on the homestand and twice more in the June 13-15 series at Dodger Stadium. It's not only how often they're getting hit, but also who is getting backed off the plate. Toss all of it into a larger vortex of vexation over their offensive struggles, and it has the potential for a toxic brew.
The final game of this series Wednesday afternoon could get interesting.
'I feel like the game finds a way to even itself out. And it will,' said right-handed ace Logan Webb, who received no decision after holding the Marlins to two runs in six innings. 'It's starting to get frustrating (with) how many guys are getting hit. As pitchers, we've got to do a better job protecting those guys.'
For generations of pitchers, there has been only one way to protect hitters. It does not include holding restorative justice sessions.
'Baseball finds a way of working something out,' Webb said cryptically. 'Hopefully, there's a little bit of edge tomorrow because of some of the stuff that happened today. Hope we come out with a lot of energy.'
Ramos shouted at the Marlins' dugout after Schmitt clutched his hand in the ninth. There might be nobody more fed up than the 25-year-old Ramos, who has been hit 10 times in 341 plate appearances this season. Entering the year, he'd been hit only twice in 600 major-league plate appearances.
'I feel like they're trying to execute some pitches, but if you don't know how to pitch in, don't pitch in, you know?' Ramos said. 'Try to get some outs another way. I mean, that's the only way they can get us. They know it makes anybody uncomfortable. I feel like a lot of guys, when they get hit, they go 0 for 4 that day. You're dodging pitches when they come in. It's pretty irritating.
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'Me personally, I'll keep diving out there to get hits. I'll get hit twice if I have to. But some guys, it takes away their focus for sure.'
Schmitt's first full professional season in 2021 for Low-A San Jose ended when a pitch fractured his left wrist. Just six weeks earlier, he'd been struck by a pitch in the face that shattered his nose, gave him two black eyes, prompted an ambulance ride to the hospital and left him sufficiently shaken that he met regularly with Dr. Emily Cheatum, the Giants' minor league mental health coordinator in the offseason. When Schmitt found himself bailing out early on pitches, he changed to a more closed stance.
'It's annoying, but stuff like that happens,' Schmitt said Wednesday night. 'I don't think it's intentional at all, but it's not a fun thing to have to go through. Especially when I've gotten hit in the face, I've fractured my wrist. I've had these injuries, and it's annoying and frustrating.'
The Giants were frustrated at the end of a game that met former manager Bruce Bochy's definition of 'buzzard's luck.' The Giants tied it in the ninth when Patrick Bailey slapped an RBI single to left field. But it was preceded by a sacrifice fly from Willy Adames that was caught on the warning track, and in the daytime, likely would've carried into the stands for a walk-off grand slam. Following Bailey's hit, Christian Koss smoked a lineout to Marlins third baseman Connor Norby, who might as well be named Bobby Richardson.
Then the Marlins scored the automatic runner plus more against Camilo Doval in the top of the 10th.
And the Giants are on the verge of getting swept at home by one of the league's most anonymous teams.
'We can't take our minds off the game,' Ramos said. 'Not to retaliate, but at the end of the day, you have to send a message. That's what the game is about. There are a lot of unwritten rules that a lot of people got away from. I feel like those rules are what keeps the feel of the game. We've got to score runs for (the pitchers) and back them up so they protect us.'
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Giants manager Bob Melvin noted that his hitters don't rank in the upper half when it comes to getting hit by pitches. However, Melvin has mentioned the recent frequency, like everyone else.
'It's some of our key guys, too,' Melvin said. 'So that doesn't feel too good.'
What can the Giants do about it?
'Not something I certainly want to speak about,' said Melvin, who will send right-hander Hayden Birdsong to the mound Thursday. 'But obviously, we need to protect our guys.'
That also goes for the upcoming three-city road trip. Ramos groaned when someone mentioned to him that the Chicago White Sox have hit the second-most batters among major league pitching staffs. The Athletics have hit the third most.
The Giants will face both teams before returning home.