SAN FRANCISCO — Despite their team’s dwindling playoff hopes, just one win in the first five games of their home series and the two lowest attendance numbers of the season in the last two days, nearly 28,000 Giants fans showed up Thursday to see the reigning August pitcher take the ball in his first start of September.
They better hope there are more opportunities next year.
Blake Snell struggled to throw 42 pitches to end the first inning and didn’t make it out of the dugout, but the Giants still avoided a 3-2 sweep by the Diamondbacks thanks to relief work from Landen Roupp and a game-tying hit from Patrick Bailey.
Bailey threw a two-strike fastball from Diamondbacks closer Kevin Ginkel into left-center field, allowing Tyler Fitzgerald to race home from second base to score the winning run on the catcher’s second RBI hit of the afternoon, overcoming Blake Snell’s shortest outing in a Giants uniform.
In giving up two runs in the fourth shortest start of his career, Snell wasn’t helped by his defense or his inability to find the strike zone. He gave up two walks, both of which advanced him into scoring position on errors by Giants defenders. Fitzgerald threw a fly ball to first base and Bailey dropped a third strike that would have ended the inning.
With his pitch count in an awkward position, the bullpen door opened to start the second inning, and Roupp dominated the next four innings in the longest and most efficient outing of his young major league career. The 25-year-old rookie held Arizona to one hit and a pair of walks while striking out five and allowing no runs.
The Diamondbacks didn’t advance another runner into scoring position until Christian Walker led off the eighth with a double against Camilo Doval, and Ryan Walker left him on third base with a strikeout of Jake McCarthy after Bob Melvin called on his new closer to record the final out of the inning.
Snell’s agent, Scott Boras, was one of those present on the cloudless, 70-degree morning.
But he was there to help announce the Giants’ six-year, $151 million extension with another of his clients, third baseman Matt Chapman, who doubled off Michael Conforto in scoring position and crossed the plate on Bailey’s two-out, two-RBI punchout to left field for the Giants’ only runs in seven innings against Arizona starter Merrill Kelly.
Like Chapman, Snell has the option to opt out after this season and is expected to exercise it in hopes of cashing in on a long-term contract. Although he pitched just one inning Thursday, Snell’s ERA in 11 starts since returning from a groin strain on July 9 stands at a sparkling 1.42, the lowest mark in the major leagues by a half-point.
Boras prefers his clients to set their own price on the open market, and Snell shouldn’t be an exception like Chapman, who has lobbied publicly and privately to get a deal done. He recently pushed back against Jordan Montgomery’s criticism of how Boras handled their free agency last winter, when neither got the long-term contract they were looking for.
At the end of Chapman’s press conference, Zaidi and Boras were asked about progress on Snell’s contract extension. The Giants’ baseball boss laughed and sidestepped the question without offering a meaningful answer. Snell’s representative said the same thing in a nutshell.
“I’m sure in all of these areas, every organization wants to do what’s best for them. Just like with Matt, when teams reach out to us, we respond,” Boras said. “The biggest thing is when players are playing well somewhere, you pay attention. I do. Because we want players to play well, to do well. I think those are very attractive dynamics that explain why you want players in certain situations.”
To be continued
The Giants travel to San Diego, where they’ll continue their divisional series with a three-game series against the Padres. While neither team has announced their starting pitching prospects, the series opener — at 6:40 p.m. Friday night — is only available to Apple TV+ subscribers.
