Alex Cobb's gem carries SF Giants to 2-0 victory over Mariners

In his second start since returning from the injured list, Alex Cobb completed six shutout innings and lifted the SF Giants to a win over the Mariners.

The SF Giants defeated the Seattle Mariners 2-0 on Wednesday night, avoiding a sweep in their penultimate series before the All-Star break. In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Giants righty Alex Cobb delivered his best start in over a month. With Cobb doing the heavy lifting, San Francisco's struggling offense managed to do just enough to secure a victory. The Giants improved to 47-40 on the season, pulling within a game of the Dodgers and 3.5 of the Diamondbacks.

In his second start back from the injured list, Cobb returned to the frontline form he flashed at the start of the season. Cobb located his entire four-pitch arsenal all night and induced multiple swinging strikes with each one of his offerings. He finished the day with seven strikeouts across six shutout innings of work, allowing six hits and zero walks.

Cobb relied less on his signature split-finger fastball than he has in an outing since 2018. Instead, he threw his sinker 51% of the time and mixed in his splitter, slider, and knuckle curve at roughly equal rates. It was incredibly effective. Mariners hitters did not generate one hard-hit ball against Cobb's sinker, managing a meager 75.8 mph average exit velocity against the pitch when they did connect.

Brandon Crawford drew a lead-off walk to start the third inning. He advanced to third base on a single by Wilmer Flores that bounced off third base and popped over José Caballero into left field. With runners on the corners, LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

An Austin Slater walk and another single by Flores gave the Giants another prime scoring opportunity in the bottom of the fifth. Wade squared up an 0-2 fastball from Milone and sent a deep fly ball to center field. Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez retreated to the warning track and camped under the ball in plenty of time. However, as he adjusted his feet to square up for a throw, worried about Slater advancing to third, Rodríguez took his eye off the ball, and it bounced off his glove and resulted in a run-scoring error.

Luis Matos (2-2 with a triple and a walk) and Wilmer Flores (3-4) had the best statistical offensive performance for the Giants, but Wade's 1-3 night was arguably just as pivotal.

While Wade did not record a hit against Milone, he generated solid contact against the veteran southpaw in both of his plate appearances against him. Wade has struggled with extreme platoon splits throughout his career, rarely playing against lefties in previous seasons. However, Wade has looked like a far more competent hitter with a platoon disadvantage this season.

With a two-run lead, Giants manager Gabe Kapler turned to his bullpen in the top of the seventh inning. Taylor Rogers and Tyler Rogers did not allow a run to score in their innings of work, passing the baton to closer Camilo Doval in the ninth. Following his worst outing of the season on Monday, Doval bounced back with a 1-2-3 inning, recording his 25th save of the season.

The SF Giants will enjoy a much needed day off on Thursday before finishing off the first half of the season with a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies. Neither team has announced any probable starting pitchers for the series. First pitch on Monday is scheduled for 7:15 PM Pacific.