Dominic Leone walked up the dugout stairs from the clubhouse at 3:30 p.m. He wore shorts, a hoodie and a sailor’s sea cap.
Kevin Gausman, José Álvarez and Scott Kazmir later joined Leone in left field to get loose before Tuesday’s game, all with the nautical-themed caps.
They knew they’d be without Brandon Belt, nicknamed The Captain, but weren’t sure how long he’d be out. They realized someone has to man the wheel.
After the relievers returned to the clubhouse, the Giants placed Belt on the 10-day injured list with a fractured thumb. The bone could reportedly heal in four weeks, but it’s possible the 33-year-old has played his last game as a Giant.
The Giants (103-54), without their home run leader, stayed in Oracle Park all night Tuesday. There was no need for the long ball, as the lowly Diamondbacks handed over free bases and runs via walks, hit-by-pitches and wild pitches.
The 6-4 victory gives the Giants their 103rd win, matching the San Francisco-era high. Only twice, in 1962 and 1993, has a Giants team won this many games. SF maintains a two-game lead over the Dodgers as the season dwindles down, a magic number now reduced to four, but life without Belt has begun.
LaMonte Wade Jr., in Belt’s place at first, was tested in the field immediately as Arizona leadoff man Josh Rojas cracked a grounder to first. Wade Jr. charged the ball and flipped it smoothly to Webb for the out.
Wade Jr. told KNBR he’s comfortable at first base, and the experience earlier in the season helps. But two innings later, he flubbed a pickoff throw from Logan Webb, allowing Jake McCarthy to scoot from first to third with no outs. His error cost SF a run, as McCarthy scored on a sacrifice fly.
Wade Jr., along with Wilmer Flores and Darin Ruf — once he returns from the IL — are tasked with platooning at first base in Belt’s stead. They give the Giants “mix and match” potential, manager Gabe Kapler said, with each excelling against opposite-handed pitchers.
The Giants don’t need to be at full strength to handle the last-place Diamondbacks.
Luke Weaver, Arizona’s starter, gifted SF a first-inning run. After Weaver used eight pitches to record the first two outs, Buster Posey doubled on the ninth pitch of his at-bat. Then Weaver, who led MLB in losses in 2020, walked the next three batters to spot the Giants a run.
Weaver wasn’t the only D-Backs pitcher to make SF’s job easy. Arizona walked two runs in with the bases loaded, plus two more on wild pitches.
Also, in the sixth inning, shortstop Josh Rojas needlessly rushed a throw against Evan Longoria, one of SF’s slowest runners, bouncing it into foul territory for an error. A hit-by-pitch and a bloop single later, Flores fought off an inside sinker, sending it into shallow right field for an RBI.
The 89.9 mph exit velocity on Flores’ go-ahead single wasn’t quite Belt-esque, but it worked. Buster Posey later walked in a run, Brandon Crawford flared in another, and Posey scored on a wild pitch. SF’s four-run sixth inning gave Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval enough cushion.
The Giants bullpen, which carries the lowest ERA in baseball, wasn’t nearly as sharp as usual. Watson allowed his first home run since rejoining the Giants, breaking a 40-inning streak. Rogers allowed three hard-hit balls and two earned runs in the eighth. Doval allowed a double that was a foot away from topping the center field fence, but earned his first career save with his 13th straight scoreless appearance.
But the underachieving relievers didn’t sink the Giants, as Arizona’s bullpen — the second worst among MLB units — folded by walking too many Giants and throwing balls to the backstop.
All the while, there were questionable calls aplenty. Pedro Martinez believed Weaver should’ve been called for a balk in the first inning. Part of Webb’s lack of command likely was related to an inconsistent strike zone from the home plate umpire. Tommy La Stella hit a grounder down the first base line ruled foul, but it wasn’t reviewable.
Yet unfavorable calls don’t make much of a difference with the talent disparity between the two clubs.
The Giants have now beat the last-place Diamondbacks 15 times. With two more wins, SF can match its franchise record for most victories against a single opponent in a season (17 against the Cubs in 1961).
Arizona doesn’t present a great test case for how the Giants will proceed without their captain. The waters were choppy on the first night, but the Giants navigated them enough.