SAN FRANCISCO — After Hunter Strickland broke his hand in frustration after blowing the save and taking the loss in Monday’s game against the Miami Marlins, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was faced with the task of reshuffling his bullpen to account for the loss of his closer.
Bochy opted to name Sam Dyson the team’s new closer, preferring to keep Tony Watson and Mark Melancon in their current late-inning roles.
Before Wednesday’s series finale, Bochy elaborated on the rationale for the decision.
“Well, I want to leave (Watson) where he’s at because I’ve used him in the seventh and eighth against certain parts of the order, and just gives us some I think little more flexibility doing it this way,” Bochy said. “But to add to that, Sam, I really like the way he’s been throwing the ball, using all his pitches well. You know, he’s become a four-pitch guy, and he’s just been throwing the ball very well. Probably has the most experience at this point with the exception of Melancon, and Mark is just not — he’s not ready to handle that load.”
Melancon, who signed a four-year, $62 million contract before the 2017 season to close games for the team, has been working back from a forearm injury.