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Giants third baseman Casey Schmitt immediately showed his frustration by slamming his bat to the ground and glaring at pitcher Calvin Faucher as he ripped off his gloves and doled out heated words.
Schmitt was livid after getting drilled on the left wrist by Faucher’s 95.2-mile per hour sinker, the latest in a series of errant pitches finding Giants body parts, a disturbing trend for a team that can ill afford to lose one of its few hot hitters.
After the Giants fell to the Marlins 8-5 in 10 innings Wednesday night at Oracle Park, Schmitt had X-rays that came back negative, an encouraging sign, but he’ll see how he responds to overnight treatment with one game remaining on the homestand, a Thursday matinee.
“Obviously, we’ve been wearing pitches,” Schmitt said, “so it’s kind of built up.”
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That’s nine plunkings in the last nine games, including four that hit Heliot Ramos, the Giants’ best hitter. On Wednesday, Faucher hit Dom Smith and Schmitt consecutively to begin the ninth and walked Jung Hoo Lee to load the bases, the genesis of a two-run rally that tied the score 4-4. The Marlins scored four in the 10th to put the game away.
Camilo Doval threw 21 pitches in the final inning, and none were directed at a Marlins hitter in retaliation for all the batters who had been hit.
“The game finds a way to even itself out. It will,” Giants starter Logan Webb said. Asked how that would happen, Webb said, “It’s starting to get frustrating with how many guys are being hit. I guess pitchers have to do a better job of protecting those guys.”
In recent days, Ramos was hit twice by the Guardians and once each by the Dodgers and Marlins; Tuesday, Miami pitcher Cal Quantrill hit him behind the left shoulder. One of the more memorable plunkings was Wilmer Flores’ in the second game of the homestand against Cleveland, when he was hit on the right hand and furiously spiked his helmet to the ground.
It’s getting old, and the Giants are losing patience. Especially because Schmitt, Ramos, and Flores have been among the biggest threats at the plate.
“Nobody wants to get hit. If you don’t know how to pitch in, don’t pitch in,” Ramos said. “Try to get us out some other way. At the end of the day, you’re going to get hit. It’s going to happen. But it is annoying, for sure.”
Perhaps it’s not a coincidence pitchers have been busting Ramos inside in a bid to keep him uncomfortable, considering he’s hitting .288 and leading the Giants in hits and homers. He has been drilled by 10 pitches this season, easily tops on the team, and tied for seventh in the majors.
“I’ve never gotten hit that much in my life. I guess I’m doing a pretty good job,” Ramos said, citing his offensive numbers. “I don’t know if they’re doing it on purpose. I hope not. If they are, that’s messed up. That’s not good sportsmanship.”
On the subject of retaliation, Ramos suggested it would help if the offense gave pitchers a cushion to provide some breathing room, and that’s been an issue of late. The Giants had just five hits Wednesday and are a meager 8-for-59 with runners in scoring position on the homestand. They’ve lost seven of 10.
“We have to score runs for them to protect us,” Ramos said. “At the end of the day, you always have to send a message. That’s what the game’s about. There are a lot of unwritten rules that people got away from. Those rules are what keeps the feel of the game. At one point, it’s going to happen. We have to support [the pitchers] too, and score runs for them and back them up too, so they can protect us.”
The universal designated hitter rule was implemented in 2022, meaning National League pitchers no longer needed to step to the plate and take hacks — or get drilled. Before the rule change, an NL pitcher who plunked opposing batters was vulnerable to getting hit himself as a form of retaliation. Because pitchers don’t bat anymore, they’re no longer exposed to that type of retribution.
Their teammates are, however, and that’s what Webb seemed to be referencing.
When Melvin was asked about possible retaliation, he said, “It’s not something I certainly want to speak about, but obviously we need in situations to protect our guys, too.”
Leadoff hitter Mike Yastrzemski gave the Giants a 1-0 lead with a first-inning homer, and after Webb gave up Otto López’s two-run double in the fourth, the Giants tied it 2-2 on Christian Koss’ sacrifice fly. The Marlins moved ahead 4-2 in the eighth off Tyler Rogers. Willy Adames’ ninth-inning sacrifice fly to the wall made it 4-2 (he thought it was going to be a grand slam), and Patrick Bailey’s single to left tied it. On the play, third base coach Matt WIlliams sent home Lee, who was thrown out, the second time in two nights a runner sent by Williams was nailed.
After the Giants complete the homestand Thursday, they hit the road for a three-city tour to face the White Sox, Diamondbacks, and A’s. Those teams rank second, sixth, and third, respectively, in hitting the most batters.
The Giants hope Schmitt, who’s playing third for injured Matt Chapman, can make the trip.
“It’s kind of annoying, but it’s how the game goes,” Schmitt said. “Stuff like that happens. It doesn’t seem like it’s intentional at all. It’s definitely not a fun thing to go through, especially when you’ve been hit before. I’ve gotten hit in the face. I’ve fractured my wrist. I’ve had these injuries. It’s annoying and frustrating.”