Sense of budding optimism envelops Giants as they head home for a tough week

San Francisco Chronicle​

8 hours ago

WEST SACRAMENTO — Optimism — and toasty Sacramento Valley heat — was radiating off the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.
The happy vibe was perhaps surprising for a team that had been scuffling badly, going 4-8 since winning two of three against Boston in the wake of the blockbuster Rafael Devers trade heading into Sunday's game.
But baseball is a sport of the moment and on Sunday, the team was buoyed by the news that a quarter of the Giants' pitching staff had made the All-Star team: starters Logan Webb and Robbie Ray and super setup man Randy Rodriguez. There were also good feelings carrying over from local boy Webb's successful outing on Saturday night.
There was the confidence in knowing that, despite the rough stretch, the Giants are still in a tie for second in the N.L. West and very much in the wild-card picture.
And, just maybe, the positive feelings also had something to do with the odd innocence of the detour into a minor league ballpark, a place that took a lot of Giants players back to the days when their major league dreams weren't quite real.
Sutter Health Park is a nice little ballpark by the Sacramento River with a serious identity crisis. The A's call it their major league temporary home while they wait for the mythical Las Vegas ballpark to be built. Yet the organization refuses to have the name Sacramento anywhere on their uniforms and also gets very angry if any player disparages the rinky-dink experience — as pitcher Luis Severino has. So much so that the team anonymously expresses its burning desire to get rid of him to national baseball writers.
And whether they're in Sacramento or Oakland or anywhere else, the A's remain consistent in one thing: they are last in MLB in attendance. John Fisher has effectively killed off the once-vibrant fan base.
The Giants also call the ballpark home, but in a more appropriate fashion: it is the full-time residence of their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento (no shame in the name) River Cats.
The ballpark certainly felt like home to the Giants. The sellout crowds all weekend were overwhelmingly pro-Giants, to the surprise of no one, least of all Webb, who grew up an A's fan in Rocklin.
'Not at all,' Webb said. 'I was one of the lonely A's fans. I'm not surprised at all by the Giants' crowds. Sacramento is a pretty heavy Giants town.'
It was a pretty sweet weekend for Webb, whose young A's-loving self probably wouldn't have dared even daydream about such a 24-hour stretch.
On Saturday night he took the field at the same ballpark where he made starts on his way up through the Giants' system. Now, as the Giants' ace, he was feted by an adoring crowd, who shouted 'Go Thunder' and 'Rocklin!' as he took the field. He received a standing ovation when he left the game and said he felt like the whole crowd was cheering for him.
His excellent weekend didn't end there. On Sunday morning, he went golfing with his father and brother at Granite Bay, his first time playing there. While he was on the course, he got a phone call from manager Bob Melvin, who congratulated him. Webb had just made the NL All-Star team for the second straight year. This time, he was voted in by his peers.
'Baseball is a game of respect,' Webb said. 'And when you gain the respect of your peers, the guys you're playing against, it's pretty cool.'
Ray, too, is familiar with Sutter Health Park, having made rehab starts there last year as the former Cy Young award winner worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. The setting where he celebrated his second All-Star selection was a reminder of the hard work it took to get back.
West Sacramento is also a known entity to Rodriguez. He made many appearances there in 2022 and '23. Last year, when he reported to the River Cats, he looked like a different pitcher, making a leap in command and maturity: he recorded a 1.69 ERA with 10 strikeouts before earning his first call-up to the big league team last May.
This season, the right-hander has been the most valuable member of the Giants very valuable bullpen, rescuing them time and again in high-leverage situations. On Sunday, team members seemed particularly thrilled for the 25-year-old.
'Randy was my first call,' Melvin said. 'When I saw that, I got a huge smile on my face. I've been doing this a long time, but for someone like him to make the All-Star team. The job that he does is typically not rewarded with an All-Star berth. Where he's come from last year to where he is right now, to be one of the elite pitchers in the game and in the role that he has, it's very rewarding.'
Before the Giants trio heads off to the All-Star Game in Atlanta, they face a tough homestand against the NL East-leading Phillies and the mighty Dodgers. But they're heading into the week, and the break beyond it, full of optimism.
'The stretch that we're going through, we haven't played the best baseball, we haven't scored a ton of runs, and we've been a little banged up,' Melvin said. 'You want to persevere through these times. ... I think we're on the verge of getting a little bit healthier.
'And I think we have all the makings of a really good second-half team.'
A convincing 6-2 win over Sacramento, in front of a home crowd on the road, in a tiny ballpark that evokes — at least for the Giants — lots of good memories, provided reason for optimism.