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Behind six shutout innings from Alex Cobb, the Giants snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Oracle Park on Wednesday evening, salvaging the final game of the three-game series.
Winning the series finale has recently proven a challenge for the Giants (47-40). Since June 22, San Francisco had lost four series-ending games, while going 12-16 overall.
This story has been updated with quotes and post-game material from the Giants clubhouse at Oracle Park.
Making his second start since being activated off the injured list last Friday in New York, Cobb fired six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. The veteran right-hander could have pitched into the seventh, but the Giants exercised caution in just his second start back from a left oblique strain.
On the outing, Giants manager Gabe Kapler said:
“It’s great for him to come out and just pound the strike zone, use all of his pitches, mix them well, hit spots. I’m not sure that his stuff was like A+ plus – it was solid, but plenty to get us through those six innings and then actually, I think was an interesting decision to get him out of the game. It was mostly based on like how much how many pitches he’s built up to since he came off the IL.”
Cobb agreed he might not have had his best stuff, but said it’s still enough to navigate through a big-league lineup:
“I just was battling some delivery things. I just really wasn’t getting the shapes on the pitches that I kind of rely on. I can definitely navigate a lineup without my best stuff, but it makes it a little bit more challenging – I need some big pitches and also need some balls to find some people. Some good plays behind me, which we had tonight.”
When healthy, Cobb (W, 6-2, 2.91 ERA) has enjoyed a strong 2023 season, especially at Oracle Park, entering Wednesday with the 10th-best home ERA (2.30) among qualified starters since 2022.
The Mariners (42-43) didn’t help themselves at the plate, finishing the night 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven men on base.
Cobb’s sinker was especially effective and he threw it 51% of the time, his most in a start all season. As a result, he went to his splitter – a signature out-pitch for him – just 18% of the time, his lowest usage since 2018.
The Giants have now won each of Cobb’s last five outings.
While San Francisco didn’t exactly blow up Seattle starter Tommy Milone, the Giants offense managed a few unconventional runs against the left-hander.
In the third, Milone walked Brandon Crawford to lead off the frame before Wilmer Flores ricocheted a sharp grounder off the third-base bag. Crawford hustled to third and later scored when LaMonte Wade Jr. cracked a sacrifice fly to open up the scoring at 1-0.
Wade struck again with two on in the fifth, crushing a ball that Seattle center fielder Julio Rodriguez whiffed on at the warning track, allowing the Giants to tack on another unanswered run.
Up Next
The constant, and oftentimes bizarre, travel schedule for the Giants will take a backseat to tomorrow’s much-needed off-day before taking on the Colorado Rockies at home for the last three games before the All-Star Break.
Notes
The Fourth of July holiday saw a 6-0 loss for the big league squad on Tuesday, but significant fireworks came from High-A Eugene, when four Giants farmhands combined for a no-hitter against Tri-City. Hayden Birdsong started the game, striking out an impressive 11 hitters in five innings. Mat Olsen followed with two innings while William Kempner and Sam Delaplane combined for the final two frames.
