The San Francisco Giants' starting rotation has been the unluckiest unit in baseball. They've allowed the highest BABIP, and as a team they have the biggest gap between their ERA and their FIP. Results are all that matters in the end, but it's hard to explain these numbers with anything other than luck. Maybe a bit of bad defense, too.
It happened to Alex Cobb again last night. He was cruising along before five runs came across after two were out. Three bloop hits with two outs ended up scoring two runs, then Pete Alonso really made the SF Giants pay with a back-breaking three-run homer. It was too much to overcome, and Cobb (6.25 ERA, 2.73 FIP) has by far the biggest gap between his ERA and his FIP among pitchers with at least 30 innings pitcher. Carlos Rodón and Alex Wood are also in the top 13 in that category among 127 pitchers with at least 30 IP.
The team is on its second five-game losing streak in the month of May. It's been an ugly stretch of baseball, bad fortune being just a part of it. Looking down to the minors for some potential help and/or bright spots, David Villar remains a call-up candidate as he continues to dominate in Triple-A. He would need to be added to the 40-man roster. Kyle Harrison, meanwhile, earned a promotion to Double-A after he struck out exactly half of the 118 batters he faced this season. He was great in San Jose last year, and somehow managed to get significantly better in Eugene this year. Harrison is just 20 years old, and he's getting closer to the major leagues. His rise is something for Giants fans to watch very closely.
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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.
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