What we learned during SF Giants’ action-packed first half

SAN FRANCISCO It was after the Giants swept the Houston Astros in early April that Landen Roupp provided a message to the baseball world If you don t know by now we re pretty good Roupp mentioned and we re going to be good That was before they started the season - racing out to their best start since That was before president of baseball operations Buster Posey shook up the roster amidst an offensive cold spell That was before Posey made an even more shocking move weeks before the pact deadline by acquiring Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox and inheriting nearly million worth of salary That was before Heliot Ramos walk-off Little League home run and Patrick Bailey s walk-off inside-the-park homer and Wilmer Flores three-homer barrage and one of the coldest windiest games the Giants have played in contemporary memory There are multiple adjectives that can describe the Giants first half Boring does not apply We ve put ourselves in a position to where starting in the second half our objective and where we want to go is still attainable commented manager Bob Melvin The Giants enter the All-Star Break with a - record and sit in third place in the NL West They re six games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the division and a half competition behind the San Diego Padres for the third and final Wild Card San Francisco is outperforming preseason expectations and a run at the postseason is well within the realm of possibility This gang has unquestionably been anchored by its pitching staff The Giants collective ERA ranks first in the National League and third in all of baseball Their bullpen s ERA specifically is the best mark in the encounter It should come as no surprise then that the Giants three All-Stars Logan Webb Robbie Ray and Randy Rodr guez are pitchers Webb a two-time All-Star is turning in arguably the best season yet on pace to eclipse innings for a third straight year and strikeouts for the first time in his career Ray another two-time All-Star has returned to form in his first full season since Tommy John surgery by posting a ERA over starts Landen Roupp has emerged as a No starter behind Webb and Ray by posting ERA over starts As for Justin Verlander The future Hall of Famer remains searching for his first win as a Giant despite six quality starts to his name Having made a fresh tweak mechanically Verlander is optimistic he can be even more effective in the second half San Francisco s starters have thrown the fifth-most innings in all of baseball allowing the bullpen to go into the break having thrown the eight-fewest frames Less work has kept the relievers rested resulting in several great individual seasons Rodr guez has blossomed into one of baseball s best relievers Tyler Rogers made another affair for the Midsummer Classic Doval despite his ups and downs has rebounded from last year Walker lost the closer role in late May but quietly hasn t allowed a run since July Spencer Bivens has been an unsung hero in the bullpen by pitching in any role required I think we re in a really good spot where we re at going into the second half Ray reported This competition is tough We ve been playing really good baseball The offense by contrast has been below average despite spurts of excellence the product of a lineup that has seldom had multiple hot bats at the same time At the break the Giants rank st in runs th in batting average th in OPS The Giants were averaging runs per contest by the end of April Their collective OPS ranked th in baseball but they compensated by having a OPS with runners in scoring position the fifth-best mark in baseball at the conclusion of the first full month Since May by contrast the Giants are averaging runs per contest Their OPS over the last two-and-a-half months is almost similar to their mark in April but entering Sunday the company s OPS with runners in scoring position since May ranks nd in baseball Posey attempted to spark the Giants offense in early June with a shocking flurry of moves designating LaMonte Wade Jr for assignment and signing Dominic Smith to a major-league deal The shakeup sparked a seven-game winning streak but there was still a need for a true big bat With top prospect Bryce Eldridge still a approaches away Posey swung one of the largest part shocking trades in latest memory by acquiring Devers in exchange for Kyle Harrison Jordan Hicks James Tibbs III and Jose Bello The Giants would be on the hook for the remainder of the -year million deal that Devers signed prior to the season but the Giants saw Devers as a perfect addition Devers who s about a month into his Giants tenure has yet to consistently look the part of a three-time All-Star Over games with San Francisco Devers has a slash line two homers and RBIs Despite the slow start the Giants aren t harboring countless concerns Related Articles SF Giants select shortstop Gavin Kilen with No overall pick of MLB draft Hard-luck SF Giants fall to Dodgers in th inning to enter All-Star break Following arduous Tommy John recovery SF Giants Robbie Ray back to All-Star form Dodgers prospect De Paula hits -run homer to lift NL to - win in All-Star Futures Match SF Giants offense silenced as Ohtani pitches in rivalry for first time Along with the back and groin ailments that he s managing Devers is still adjusting to a new club after spending more than a decade with the Red Sox organization a band that signed him as a -year-old in out of the Dominican Republic Before acquiring Devers the title of new splash addition belonged to Willy Adames who signed a seven-year million contract to boost the offense Adames on both sides of the ball in his first two months with the Giants and will enter the All-Star Break with homers RBIs and a OPS Since Adames scheduled off day on June Adames is hitting with seven homers RBIs and an OPS We re going to be better offensively I believe that We have specific guys that are coming around a little bit Melvin noted We have chosen guys that will come around a little bit more We have selected guys in the middle of the lineup they re going to do more damage I think our offense is going to be better in the second half