MIAMI — It’s starting to get a bit boring for Camilo Doval.
“A little bit,” he said Monday in Spanish, cracking a smile at his locker in loanDepot Park’s visiting clubhouse.
Game after game, he walks out to the bullpen. He takes his seat. Maybe he’ll get up to stretch and grab a drink of water or a handful of sunflower seeds. But universally for the San Francisco Giants’ past seven games, that has amounted to all the action their closer has gotten.
“I like to be active. I like to pitch,” he said, with Erwin Higueros interpreting. “But I see the score, and I see we’re losing, and I’ll be like, ‘Well, OK, another day I’m not going to pitch.’”
Manager Bob Melvin isn’t blind to the situation. There hasn’t been a save situation since last Sunday. If it goes on any longer, he said he could call on Doval in a game where the margin is a little more than three runs. He used Taylor Rogers, who hadn’t pitched in six days, to record the final out of Sunday’s loss to the Rays.
“It wasn’t like I was taking (Kai-Wei) Teng out for one batter there. It was just more about getting (Rogers) some work,” Melvin said. “We’ll see how that shows up with Camilo, too. We kind of have to feel that out and see what’s best for him. But we’ve got to get him into a game here pretty soon. He knows that, too.”
The game shouldn’t be too out of hand, though, the closer advised.
“If it’s five or less, yes. If it’s five or more, that’s too many runs,” Doval said. “There’s no adrenaline when the score is that high.”
Doval has made only three appearances this season, with a 6.75 ERA. That number was inflated by the two inconsequential runs he allowed in his first game of the season, a non-save situation that the Padres were threatening to turn into one.
To keep him fresh, Melvin said Doval threw a “significant side” and the closer said he is staying mentally ready “for whenever my name is called.”
Rust? Not a concern for the ever-confident Doval.
“No, I unrust myself every time I got out there and throw my bullpen,” he said. “The way I pitch during the game is the way I practice. Always game situations.”
The numbers bear that out. Over his career, Doval has been about equally effective whether he’s pitching in back-to-back games or after a week’s worth of rest, like he is now.
Days rest … Games …. ERA …. K/BB
0 ……………. 48 ……….. 2.12 … 2.04
1 ……………. 50 ……….. 3.27 … 3.22
2 ……………. 24 ……….. 3.28 … 7.00
3 ……………. 20 ……….. 3.20 … 3.00
4 ……………. 8 ………… 3.24 … 4.00
5 ……………. 7 ………… 0.00 … 2.00
6+ …………. 12 ………… 3.86 … 4.20
The last time Doval appeared in a game was his bobblehead day. The figurine included a counter to track his saves. He led the National League last season with 39 — in 69 games — but after moving it to one after recording the save in Sunday’s homestand finale, that is where it has stayed.
The day included extra duties for Doval, who caught the ceremonial first pitch from his 3-year-old son, Liam. The young Doval has already shown an aptitude for his father’s flame-throwing ways but bounced this one wide outside. Turns out, he’s got his dad’s breaking ball, too.
“I was expecting a fastball,” Doval said, “but he threw me a slider.”
Jackie Robinson Day
Once again, the Giants wore Dodger-blue No. 42s on the backs of their jerseys Monday to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day.
The annual event carries somewhat more significance this season, with the Giants set to take part in the Rickwood Classic, a one-off game at the oldest ballpark in the U.S., where Willie Mays and Robinson once played in the Negro Leagues.
“Actually LaMonte (Wade Jr.) and I were talking a little bit about that today. It kind of plays hand in hand,” Melvin said. “There are special days during the course of the baseball season, and this is one of them. It makes you kind of think and realize what a trailblazer he was. All of us, really, are better off playing this game because of what he accomplished.”
Once Robinson integrated the major leagues, the Negro Leagues died off, and the historic ballpark was turned into a minor-league venue.
It wasn’t just home to Mays. Melvin wore the same jersey, playing a year and a half for the Birmingham Barons, then a Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
“I’ve probably played more minor-league ball there than any other place. It’s kind of a special place for me,” Melvin said. “When you were there, you also knew the history. That obviously starts with Jackie Robinson.”