ST. LOUIS – Bruce Bochy is aware that he has ridden his starting pitchers hard. He is also aware that two-thirds of the schedule remains, with a lot of innings to cover.
And he knows what often happens when you tug a tired rotation into a playoff series.
So that is why Albert Suarez will get another spot start against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, when the Giants could have used breaks on Monday and Thursday to truncate the rotation.
“Any team that has success, I promise you, their pitching is doing the job,” Bochy said.
Their three most important pitchers are working overtime. Madison Bumgarner has thrown the most pitches in the NL (1,279), with Johnny Cueto right behind (1,273). Jeff Samardzija, who starts here at Busch Stadium Saturday, would slide in front of Cueto on the list if he throws his season average of 106 pitches (leaving him with 1,274).
Having three of your pitchers rank 1-2-3 in pitches thrown? That’s not necessarily a problem. It might just indicate that you have three of the strongest horses in the league. That’s the opposite of a problem.
But giving those pitchers a break isn’t the worst idea in the world.
“We’ve been riding these guys pretty hard and we’re in the early part of June,” Bochy said. “And Suarez, I thought he threw the ball well. If you look at our history, it worked for us. So we’ll stick with this plan.”
Bochy also noted the workloads of his starting pitchers in previous years. Most notably, Cueto led the NL with 243 2/3 innings in 2014 and then pitched 237 innings last year when you include his work in three rounds of the postseason for the Kansas City Royals.
“A lot of variables go into our thinking here,” said Bochy, stressing the importance of protecting his starters.
So Bumgarner will get an extra day of rest when he starts Wednesday against the Red Sox, and matches up against David Price. After another break on Thursday, Cueto would operate with two extra days of rest when he opens a home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Samardzija and Jake Peavy also would pitch with two extra days.
As a result, Peavy will become familiar to the national audience. He’ll appear on ESPN Sunday Night baseball both in the series finale here at Busch Stadium, and then again the following Sunday against the Dodgers. Both games are on the network.
The ESPN audience also won’t see much of Buster Posey, whom Bochy plans to rest on Sunday.
--
Suarez’s assignment against the Red Sox might not be the last time the Giants need a spot starter.
Cain tested his strained hamstring by throwing 20 pitches off a mound Friday and was due to repeat Sunday. A simulated game could happen Wednesday, potentially followed by a tuneup in the minors.
If Cain doesn’t need the minor league start, he could be activated and ready June 13 to start a series against the Milwaukee Brewers. But the Giants won’t rush him (see above), and if they decide to give him a tuneup at Triple-A Sacramento, then we could see one more spot start for Suarez or someone else.
--
Sergio Romo (strained flexor tendon) might play catch Sunday. Updates are mostly meaningless until he can get off a mound again.
--
Still nothing new on a Hunter Pence surgery date. Sounds like they’re settling on a surgeon.
--
Angel Pagan (hamstring) told Bochy he definitely wants to get at-bats in the minors before he’s activated. We already knew Pagan would be activated on Wednesday, when he’s eligible.
--
Lineups, and no, Travis Ishikawa didn’t sign a contract in time to face Michael Wacha:
CF Span
2B Panik
3B Duffy
C Posey
1B Belt
SS Crawford
LF Blanco
RF Parker
RHP Samardzija
3B Carpenter
SS Diaz
LF Holliday
CF Piscotty
1B Adams
RF Moss
C Molina
2B Wong
RHP Wacha
The post Giants notes: Bruce Bochy aware Bumgarner, Cueto and Samardzija are leading the league in a troublesome category appeared first on Giants Extra.