SAN FRANCISCO – It was unceremonious, but Ty Blach found himself in the starting rotation after Madison Bumgarner crashed a dirt bike and landed on the disabled list.
It wasn’t the ideal circumstance for Blach to find himself in that role. And while the Giants have been all over the map in a disastrous 2017 season, Blach has emerged as a constant and is continuing to impress when he takes the mound.
That continued on Tuesday night, as Blach allowed two runs in seven innings of work in the Giants’ 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
“I think (he leads) by example. How he works, how he pitches out there, how competitive he is, just the way he goes about his business,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said following the game. “He does keep his poise out there and makes pitches.”
Tuesday night was Blach’s fifth consecutive start in which he went at least seven innings. Only once in his last 16 starts has Blach lasted fewer than five innings pitched.
There are no indications of Blach slowing down with the end of the season right around the corner. After pitching a combined 189.2 innings in 2016 in AAA and with the Giants, Blach has thrown just 121 innings on the season so far.
“Body feels great,” Blach said. “Just trying to keep rolling.”
The Giants hope he does, because while Blach might just be a rookie, he has been pitching like a seasoned veteran. After earning the win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in May, Blach found a way to neutralize the defending world champions once again on Tuesday.
“He did a good job to minimize the damage off of him tonight,” Bochy said. “They got a couple of hits off of him, but he did a good job of getting out of it.”
It’s been a disappointing season for a rotation that had high hopes coming into the year. Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto have both missed extended time due to injury, Matt Moore has struggled throughout, and Matt Cain has been inconsistent at best, and now Cain is in the Giants’ bullpen.
He might not even realize it, but it can be argued that Blach has proven himself as one of the organization’s main stabilizing forces as the season has gone on.
“Just try to go out there and compete. You know you got an opportunity and try to make the most of it,” Blach said. “You want to go out there and give your team a chance every time you get that ball.”
Solid performances result in increased trust, and that’s what Blach has earned, highlighted on Tuesday. With the bullpen hot in the sixth and seventh innings, Bochy put his faith in Blach, who rewarded his skipper by limiting the damage and exiting after seven innings with a 4-2 lead.
Blach is providing a boost of energy as well. The Creighton grad sprints on and off the field, works at a quick pace on the mound, and fields his position well, little things that can be infectious for a team that is looking for any positives to run with through a challenging season.
Not to mention, the kid can hit too. Blach followed up his three-run home run on Thursday against the Athletics with a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning against the Cubs.
“You got to be able to do all aspects of the game. Lucky to be able to flair one in there today,” Blach said.
2017 is a lost season for the Giants. There’s not much to celebrate, but there is still silver lining to be found, and Blach continues to be that.
There will be lots of questions that surround the organization this offseason and heading into 2018. Blach’s spot in the starting rotation, however, is becoming more of a sure thing each time he takes the mound.