3 Big Things: Blach’s fortunes against Dodgers change dramatically in blowout loss

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants summoned pitcher Ty Blach to the big leagues on Monday with one goal in mind.

They wanted Blach to provide aid out of the bullpen against a Dodgers team with a slew of left-handed sluggers who have struggled against him in the past.

Blach received his chance against Los Angeles on Tuesday, but he turned in one of the worst outings of his major league career in a 10-3 blowout loss.

“It didn’t work out with Ty’s hiccup, but he was the guy that was going to be the long guy and eat up some innings,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That was kind of the plan.”

Dodgers hitters crushed the Giants reliever over 3 1/3 innings, recording seven hits and seven runs against Blach in his first appearance of the season. Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes each delivered two-run doubles while Kiké Hernández blasted a two-run home run in a six-run sixth inning that led to the Giants’ worst loss of the season.

We learned the Dodgers finally solved Blach on Tuesday, but we also gathered three other big things.

1. A roster move is coming

Blach’s stay in the big leagues was expected to be short as the Giants are strongly considering promoting right-hander Tyler Beede to start Friday’s game in Cincinnati.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi watched Blach blow past the Dodgers in the past during his tenure as the Los Angeles general manager, so he likely wanted to see what Blach could offer in a small sample size this week. The move to promote Blach and place struggling starter Derek Holland on the injured list made sense on paper, but it didn’t pan out as Blach was off the mark Tuesday.

“It’s tough when your long guy goes out there and has an inning like that,” Bochy said. “You hate for him to have to stay out there, but we really needed to stay away from some guys that really needed a break.”

The Giants have the ability to wait until Friday to make a roster move if they choose, but adding another pitcher to the roster for Wednesday’s series-finale also makes sense. San Francisco has a handful of minor league arms including Pat Venditte and Williams Jerez who can provide bullpen depth on Wednesday, but the Giants may make a Beede promotion official and bring him up a day early so he can travel to Cincinnati with the team.

Another option to consider is the addition of a hitter who could help out an offense that lacks power. Outfielder Mac Williamson hit two home runs for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats Tuesday, but Williamson does not have a 40-man roster spot and clearing one for him just a month after Zaidi designated Williamson for assignment is still unlikely.

The Giants have a small group of other Triple-A hitters they may want to see in the big leagues soon including outfielder Mike Gerber, utility player Austin Slater and catcher Stephen Vogt.

2. A changing approach from Bochy 

Starter Drew Pomeranz had thrown nine consecutive scoreless innings entering the top of the fourth on Tuesday, but the left-hander caught a tough break when Dodgers first baseman David Freese launched a high fly ball that just cleared the wall in right field at Oracle Park.

“I thought that Duggar was going to catch it or it was going to hit off the wall, but it didn’t,” Pomeranz said.

Freese’s home run snapped Pomeranz’s scoreless streak and likely cost him the chance to pitch deeper into the game, as Bochy pulled him after just 77 pitches and four innings of work. The Giants starter was solid for most of his outing, but the Giants are no longer comfortable allowing their pitchers to face the toughest hitters in an opposing lineup for a third time.

“I felt like I was throwing pretty good there and you make one bad pitch, it cost us three runs,” Pomeranz said.

Instead of allowing Pomeranz to pitch into the fifth, the Giants called on Trevor Gott in relief before turning the game over to Blach, who was pummeled in the sixth.

Despite unspectacular numbers at Triple-A in April, Blach has a history of dominating the Dodgers and many of the team’s left-handed sluggers including Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager have posted subpar numbers against him. The Giants thought they had a favorable matchup with Blach against the Dodgers in the middle innings, but the decision to rely on Blach cost the club a chance of keeping the game within reach.

Bochy could have pulled Blach as soon as he encountered trouble, but the Giants did not want to burn any of their most valuable relievers in a game in which they already trailed by multiple runs.

3. The right call

Freese’s fourth inning home run initially appeared to carom high off the bricks along the right field wall at Oracle Park, but first base umpire Tim Timmons immediately signaled for a home run.

Timmons’ judgment created confusion among Dodgers baserunners and Giants fielders, including right fielder Steven Duggar who appeared uncertain whether the ball actually hit off the metal atop the wall, which would result in a home run.

“We heard it hit the tin and it’s a dreaded sound when it comes from the other side,” Bochy said. “Now, we double checked twice with our replay and it was running and they said no question it was a home run.”

However, television replays showed the ball did indeed slam against the front portion of the metal before falling back onto the right field grass. The conviction Timmons displayed in his ruling was surprising, but impressive considering the difficult nature of the call and how far Timmons was from the fence when he made his decision.

With such a narrow margin for error and the possibility that a replay would show the ball actually hit high off the bricks, some umpires may have elected to allow play to continue and let replay determine whether Freese hit a home run. Doing so would have made some sense in a confusing scenario such as this one, but Timmons was right to signal for Freese to circle the bases as the Dodgers took a 3-1 lead.