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Alex Cobb throws another gem in SF Giants 4-1 victory over Brewers

Alex Cobb continued his stretch of dominance while Thairo Estrada and Brett Wisely lifted the SF Giants offense in a victory over the Brewers.
Marc Delucchi|
Alex Cobb throws another gem in SF Giants 4-1 victory over Brewers
Alex Cobb throws another gem in SF Giants 4-1 victory over Brewers

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San Francisco GiantsMilwaukee Brewers

The SF Giants defeated the Brewers 4-1 in a late Saturday afternoon matchup at Oracle Park. Giants veteran Alex Cobb, the most underrated pitcher in MLB, delivered another gem while the offense was carried by a pair of home runs. Now 15-17, the Giants still have a long way to go before they get where they want in the standings, but they have looked like a viable postseason contender this week.

The Giants started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning against Brewers starter Colin Rea. Right fielder Michael Conforto drew a two-out walk and came around to score on an RBI double by catcher Joey Bart. Bart's double was far from his hardest-hit ball of the season, but he snuck a grounder just inside the third-base line and beyond the outstretched glove of Owen Miller.

Giants third-base coach Mark Hallberg has been aggressive all season long. With two outs and eighth-place hitter Brett Wisely on deck, Hallberg didn't hesitate to send Conforto around third. Even without excellent speed, Conforto easily beat the throw.

The Giants returned to their close friend, the home run ball, in the bottom of the third. Back at the top of the lineup, Rea surrendered a single to LaMonte Wade Jr. before Thairo Estrada hit a towering fly ball into the left-field bleachers for a two-run homer. Rea had hung a sweeper in the middle of the zone, and Estrada made him pay.

Working with a three-run lead, Cobb allowed a lead-off single to Willy Adames to start off the fourth inning. Cobb nearly picked Adames off first base, but first-base umpire Jeremy Riggins called a balk. Cobb was clearly upset by the call, but other umpires stepped in to reverse the call before things escalated.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Brewers first-base coach Quintin Berry and manager Craig Counsell were incensed by the noncall, and Counsell was ultimately ejected from the game. While Berry eventually returned to the first-base coach's box, Counsell followed crew chief Chris Guccione across the diamond before returning to the clubhouse.

Cobb threw several warm-up pitches to try and stay loose during the confrontation, but the prolonged delay did seem to cause him some issues. He walked Rowdy Tellez to put runners on first and second before recording his first out on a fielder's choice to third baseman J.D. Davis.

A two-out single by Brice Turang was hit too hard to allow Tellez to come around to score, so Miller had a pivotal two-out opportunity with the bases loaded. Cobb induced a routine groundout to escape the lengthy inning unscathed.

That was as close as the Brewers would get to scoring against Cobb. The Giants righty told Giants Baseball Insider on Friday that he was still dealing with some symptoms from whatever virus or infection the several members of the team dealt with during the road trip. He appeared to be dealing with that again on Saturday, looking exhausted in the dugout. And yet, he completed seven scoreless innings with five strikeouts anyway.

Giants second baseman Brett Wisely (Giants #22 prospect) had the best overall performance of his young big-league career. He made an excellent play ranging to his right to rob Brewers catcher William Contreras of a base hit early in the game, and then, he added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh with his first career MLB home run.

Working in relief of Cobb, Giants southpaw Taylor Rogers walked and struck out one across a scoreless inning of work in the eighth, extending his streak of scoreless outings to eight.

Things got dicey in the top of the ninth for Giants reliever John Brebbia. The former Cardinals setup man walked the first two batters he faced. He struck out Turang but surrendered an RBI single to Miller before he was replaced by closer Camilo Doval.

With runners on first and second and one out in the inning, Doval allowed deep fly outs to Tyrone Taylor and Christian Yellich to retire the side and record his seventh save of the season.

The SF Giants will look to sweep the Brewers on Sunday afternoon. Ross Stripling is scheduled to start for the Giants, while Milwaukee has yet to announce a starter.

Published
Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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