SF Giants beat Royals, 2-1, despite Camilo Doval nearly blowing Mason Black’s first career win – Paradise Post

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the Giants officially eliminated from playoff contention, manager Bob Melvin said before their series opener Friday against the Royals that he could create some extra opportunities over the final week of the season for their young players.

His lineup still featured three veterans at the top, but no players with more than two years of service time occupied any of the bottom six spots.

Perhaps the best audition for 2025 came from their starting pitcher, Mason Black, who turned in his strongest outing yet as a big leaguer in a 2-1 victory. Black earned the first win of his career, while the Giants were an inning away from recording their 10th shutout of the season until Camilo Doval was called on to record the final three outs.

With Ryan Walker down, Doval was given his first save opportunity since being demoted from the closer’s role. He loaded the bases and allowed the tying run to reach third before getting Tommy Pham to swing through two sliders to end the game.

While Doval was credited with his first save since August 7 — his 23rd of the season — it only came after his first eight pitches missed the strike zone, Tristan Beck began to warm in the bullpen, Bryan Price and J.P. Martinez made a mound visit and Tyler Fitzgerald botched a potential game-ending double play.

It also involved a close call down the third-base line that, a few inches to the right, would have tied the game.

“A little high-stress,” Melvin said, “but he got out of it.”

In the end, it resulted in a meaningful milestone for their 24-year-old rookie starting pitcher, who was doused in a celebratory everything shower afterward.

“It’s definitely a big relief, just to get (the first win) out of the way and not have it looming over,” Black said. “I’m getting more comfortable with the guys in the clubhouse, working with the catchers and the (coaching) staff has been a huge help. It feels good to just be able to go out there free and easy and compete.”

In Black’s seven previous big-league outings, he had never thrown a pitch in the sixth inning or later. And in each one, opponents found a pitch to tee up for a home run. But the the young right-hander got both monkeys off his back while tossing 5⅔ innings of scoreless ball.

The loss was the Royals’ fifth in a row, but the American League wild card hopefuls had been one of the league’s most fearsome offenses in their home ballpark, leading the AL with 4.92 runs per game at Kaufmann Stadium with the AL’s third-best home record (45-34).

Relying heavily on his two fastballs, Black limited Kansas City to four hits and a walk while striking out four on 84 pitches (54 strikes). His velocity was up across the board, maxing out at a career-high 95.3 mph twice, and used his heaters to put away all four of the batters he struck out.

“He pitched great,” Melvin said. “It seems like the last few times, he’s been a little more comfortable in what he’s doing out there, a little more confident in what he’s doing. Originally, we probably though five innings would be good today. But he went out for the sixth, got us two outs and continues to improve.”

The uptick in velocity — and effectiveness — has been a theme since Black returned from Triple-A Sacramento at the end of August.

In four starts since being called up August 31, Black has turned in the three longest outings of his young career while posting a 3.72 ERA, compared to the 8.79 figure he owned when he was demoted over Memorial Day weekend. He has racked up 18 strikeouts with only three walks in 19⅓ innings versus a 14:10 ratio in his first stint.

“He’s starting to believe in himself some, and he should — he’s got pretty good stuff,” Melvin said. “It’s a unique look from the arm angle that he has, and he’s getting some swings and misses now.”

With Melvin deeming Robbie Ray a “long shot” to return this season, Black should get one more chance to prove himself. He was originally called up to fill Ray’s rotation spot when he landed on the IL with a strained hamstring and would be lined up to start the final game of their road trip in Arizona.

Doval has allowed at least one run each of the past five times he’s taken the mound and owns a 7.36 ERA in 11 appearances since rejoining the club August 24. That includes nine walks, 11 hits and 17 strikeouts in 11 innings. Overall, he has a 5.24 ERA in 58 appearances after posting a 2.73 mark while saving 66 games the previous two seasons, while his walk rate has nearly doubled, from 3.7 per nine innings to 6.0 this season.

“We’re still trying to get this guy to finish up the season and feel good about himself,” Melvin said. “He’s got good stuff. He’s had a bad year, obviously, but with no (Ryan Walker) today, it was good that he got through it. … Sometimes you just go through a bad stretch and it’s tough to get out of.”

Garrett Hampson lined a slider down the left-field line that looked like it would force extra innings, but instead it turned out to be a turning point in the other direction. After play was paused to assess the foul ball, Doval locked in and recorded a quick fly ball out that pushed across the Royals’ lone run, then struck out Pham on four pitches.

“My fastball was moving a lot. I was trying to throw it middle-middle, and it seemed like the ball was doing whatever it wanted,” Doval said in Spanish through team interpreter Erwin Higueros. “Through that break, I was able to make the adjustments.”

In a sign Melvin wasn’t only managing for the future but also to win, he gave Marco Luciano his first start in four games but subbed in Donovan Walton on defense to start the seventh inning to protect their 2-0 lead.

The Giants got on the board first for the fourth game in a row, again with the help of Mike Yastrzemski out of the leadoff spot, while Heliot Ramos finished a homer shy of the cycle. Ramos legged out an infield single to allow Yastrzemski to score from third after leading off the game with a single, then smashed a two-out double that was quickly cashed in by Patrick Bailey with a sharp single through the right side of the infield.

Ramos added a triple to the track in center field to give him the chance at the cycle when he came up for his last at-bat in the eighth inning, but he was erased by a diving catch from right fielder Adam Frazier — which could have been an inside-the-park number had it gotten past him.

“That was a great play,” Ramos said. “If he dropped it, I was going home. I told (third base coach Matt Williams), ‘You’d better send me.’”