Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp allowed the Reds just one hit in six scoreless innings Thursday in Cincinnati.
Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press
Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, who had three hits, catches his batting helmet after it came off on a swing against the Reds on Thursday in Cincinnati.
Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press
CINCINNATI — Given the San Francisco Giants’ almost mythical offense up to this point, the team’s best chance to snap a four-game losing streak was to hold the Reds scoreless.
Landen Roupp did his level best, throwing a no-hitter through five innings, and then, what do you know, the Giants actually backed him with a two-out rally in the seventh to claim a 3-0 win over the Reds and avoid a sweep.
“I want to be a stopper, stop the bleeding, get us back on the right track,” Roupp said.
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“Every time we’ve needed him this year, he’s stepped up,” reliever Erik Miller said. “Having that kind of stopper is so valuable.”
The already mildly contentious game ended with a clump of ire around home plate after Miller struck out rookie slugger Sal Stewart to end the game with a little extra oomph. It was Miller’s first big-league save, and, in his excitement, he admitted he yelled.
“I said a sentence most hitters don’t like to hear,” Miller said. (Probably not, since it was, “Sit the f— down.”)
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As Reds came out of the dugout, Miller kept walking toward the plate swearing and pointing at various players.
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San Francisco
Cincinnati
ab
r
h
bi
ab
r
h
bi
Totals
31
3
6
3
Totals
26
0
1
0
Arraez 2b
4
1
0
0
Friedl cf
2
0
0
0
Adames ss
3
0
1
0
Myers ph
1
0
0
0
Devers 1b
4
0
0
0
McLain 2b
3
0
0
0
Chapman 3b
4
1
1
1
De La Cruz ss
4
0
0
0
Lee rf
4
1
3
1
Stewart 1b
4
0
0
0
Brennan lf
2
0
0
0
Suárez dh
2
0
0
0
Ramos ph-lf
1
0
0
0
Steer lf
2
0
0
0
Schmitt dh
4
0
1
1
Hinds rf
3
0
0
0
Gilbert cf
2
0
0
0
Hayes 3b
3
0
0
0
Bailey c
3
0
0
0
Higgins c
2
0
1
0
San Francisco
000
000
300
—
3
Cincinnati
000
000
000
—
0
E: De La Cruz (2). DP: San Francisco 2, Cincinnati 2. LOB: San Francisco 4, Cincinnati 4. 2B: Chapman (4).
6
1
0
0
2
6
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
1
3
6
2
0
0
1
4
2
3
0
0
2
1
1
0
0
1
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Phillips pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.
HBP: Roupp 2 (Steer,Friedl), Phillips (Adames).
Umpires: Home, Junior Valentine; First, Brock Ballou; Second, Paul Clemons; Third, Quinn Wolcott.
T: 2:26. A: 16,898 (43,891).
“It wasn’t anything personal,” Miller said. “I was just really fired up.”
The Giants showing some attitude started the previous night with JT Brubaker in an odd moment with Spencer Steer and continued Thursday when Roupp appeared to hit Steer with some intent with a first-pitch fastball in the second — one of only two four-seamers Roupp threw all day.
“It slipped,” Roupp said dryly.
In the eighth, Connor Phillps hit Willy Adames, leading to the first bit of milling about near the plate. Adames, usually all smiles, looked exasperated, putting his hands on his hips, and the umpiring crew tossed Phillips quickly enough to calm things down.
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Phillips didn’t try too hard to disguise his intent afterward, saying, “I mean, we tried to go in the first one — obviously I missed. We tried to go in again and it hit him.” He noted there were no warnings after Roupp hit Steer.
Steer did not endear himself to the Giants the night before after standing in the box in the eighth, looking at Brubaker and then asking for time as Brubaker was starting his delivery. He was somehow granted time; video showed him looking out at the pitcher, which means he’s set in time for the pitch clock. Manager Tony Vitello said he liked the anger Brubaker showed; clearly that spilled over, at least for Roupp, and even friend-to-all Adames.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence we played well today,” said Miller, noting the team went on a little roll (5-2) after a brawl at Colorado in September.
All the scoring Thursday came at once. Luis Arraez reached on an error to open the seventh, and after Adames and Rafael Devers struck out, Matt Chapman clubbed a double to left, sending in the game’s first run. Jung Hoo Lee started his at-bat with an automatic strike for a batter’s clock violation, but he singled to left off lefty Brock Burke, pushing Chapman in.
Lee has four multi-hit games on this trip, including three hits Thursday, and, he said via team interpreter Justin Han, “I started off bad but it’s just kind of turning on my side,” something he credits to hitting coach Hunter Mense.
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Heliot Ramos pinch hit, and Reds manager Terry Francona replaced Burke with right-hander Phillips, but Ramos worked a walk and Casey Schmitt knocked a single to center, driving in Lee.
San Francisco had scored as many as three runs only once in the previous three games, on Wednesday night, but the Giants lost that one 8-3. The team remains last in the league in runs scored.
Roupp, who was on the mound for the team’s last win before Thursday, improved his record to 3-1 while shrinking his ERA to 2.38.
“That’s probably the best his curveball has been,” catcher Patrick Bailey said. “He was just filling up the zone.”
The other side of the starter matchup was an interesting subplot: Cincinnati right-hander Chase Burns played for Vitello at Tennessee before transferring to Wake Forest. He was just as difficult to hit as Roupp, working six scoreless innings and inducing two double-play balls.
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Arraez continues to be one of the few uplifting topics for the Giants. He went 0-for-4 but is batting .313, and while he’s been dinged for his defense throughout his career, he’s been excellent at second base for San Francisco. Ron Washington’s mentorship comes in for praise there, and Arraez, too, for doing extensive early work daily. Arraez is ranked the fourth-best second baseman in the majors in FanGraphs’ overall defensive metrics.
He started perhaps the biggest play of the game, coming after P.J. Higgins reached on the Reds’ first hit off Roupp, in the sixth. Roupp hit TJ Friedl, then struck out Matt McLain. That brought up lightning fast and ever dangerous Elly De La Cruz, who hit a bouncer to Arraez’s left. He made the play and, knowing De La Cruz’s speed, zipped a throw to Adames at second and Adames winged a hard throw to first to complete a difficult double play.
Arraez did have a hit — it just didn’t count. Friedl appeared to catch his drive in the eighth with a dive but the ball came out of his glove when it hit the ground, and the Giants didn’t ask for a review. Vitello took full responsibility because he didn’t put his hand up to ask for time to check with the video room.
“What I don’t want to do is have that happen again in the same situation,” Vitello said. “Obviously our replay guys have got the vantage point that’s a little bit better in that situation, and it didn’t work out the way that we’d like it to, because you’ve got a guy up there who gives zero at-bats away, and you’d like to see him rewarded when he gets done what he needs to get done.”
To be continued: The Reds visit San Francisco from Aug. 24-26.