Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Buster Posey slammed his first Oracle Park home run of the season and watched his outgoing, lifetime manager mix and match his way through 16 innings, nearly pulling off a bullpen miracle one more time.
But no, he was not relieved, enlightened or appreciative after catching into the 13th inning of a 16-inning matchup. He was annoyed.
“It’s not enjoyable,” Posey told KNBR after the Giants’ 8-5 loss to the Rockies at Oracle Park on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. “I don’t think that’s the way the game is intended to be played, to have that many pitchers.”
The Rockies used 12 and the Giants 13, San Francisco still with two to spare after Charlie Blackmon’s go-ahead, three-run shot made the difference. It’s a game built for Bruce Bochy, a manager who knows bullpens like fish know water. As Bochy exits so do the 40-man September rosters, when suddenly each MLB team has an overflowing bullpen to play with.
“Catching 13 pitchers is not fun. No part of it is fun,” Posey said after the 25 pitchers used set a major league record, which almost certainly will never fall. “There’s an adjustment being made for next September already, so I think that will fix it.”
Next year, each team will have a 28-man roster in September and 26-man roster the first five months. Additionally, each reliever must face at least three batters, a minimum that nine relievers didn’t reach Tuesday — including seven from the Giants.
After a game in which Posey hit his first home run in San Francisco since June 19, 2018, and his first homer period since July 31, he was not in a mood for moral victories.
“I’m pretty tired,” he said, after being lifted late for Aramis Garcia.