© Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Giants manager Bruce Bochy is not a fan of the term “spoiler.” But he is also aware of his team’s standing after eight-straight losses, the last six of which came on an abysmal road trip.
“That was a rough trip,” Bochy said. “It was a rough trip, but it was close to being a decent trip because we actually played some pretty good ball. We had some close games, had the lead late on the road, where we just couldn’t hold on.”
Bochy said the Giants are targeting a strong final two homestands. He said not to expect a full-on youth movement, or inversely, holding out young players in an effort to stay competitive. Bochy said he believes the concept of staying competitive and working in young players aren’t mutually exclusive concepts.
“Even if we’re putting in the young guys, we’re trying to win the game,” Bochy said. “We’re not going to sacrifice some playing time for a certain young player because we’re playing a contender, either. They have plenty of time to get to where they need to go. I don’t want to sound conflicting here, but it’s up to us to put out a team that gives us not just a chance to play but also a chance to see some guys.”
Two of those young guys, Steven Duggar and Ryder Jones, are out for the year. Duggar had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder while Jones is waiting on surgery after dislocating his left patella. Bochy said there are no plans to call up any more players unless the team runs into injury issues at catcher.
“Ryder Jones got looked at today, he’s looking at surgery probably in a couple of days,” Bochy said. “I don’t have all the details for you yet. He’s definitely out for the year.”
Bochy also said he gave thought about starting Abiatal Avelino at second base tonight before giving the start to Kelby Tomlinson. He said he anticipated Avelino would be mixed in off the bench in addition to some starts. He also decided to bench Chris Shaw against Atlanta Braves starter Sean Newcomb, who Bochy said had “fairly significant” splits against left-handed hitters.
On a more positive note, Bochy said he has no plans to limit Andy Suarez, who’s pitched 139.1 innings this season, or Dereck Rodriguez, whose thrown 97 innings ahead of a start tonight.
“They’re holding up very well,” Bochy said. “They’re two strong kids that don’t seem to even be thinking about where they’re pitching at. And what I mean by that, pitching here in September. They love competing and really maintaining their stuff and command. So we have no concern with those two right now.”