SF Giants’ win over Dodgers shows why depth has been the difference in 2021

DENVER — It had been four weeks since the last time Steven Duggar was listed on the Giants’ lineup card, but the outfielder never doubted he’d help the club again.

“I’ve been mentally preparing to come back from the second that I got optioned,” Duggar said following the Giants’ 6-4 win over the Dodgers on Sunday night. “I was really just trying to turn the page and keep it moving. To get the text from (Kapler) that I’m in there (on Sunday), I was just ready to roll.”

When Austin Slater was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list Sunday, the Giants recalled Duggar from Triple-A Sacramento hoping he could provide a spark against Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler, who entered the day as the Cy Young front-runner in the National League West.

In the second inning, the Giants’ center fielder delivered by yanking a groundball down the right field line and racing around the basepaths for a two-run triple.

“I thought he set the tone there with that swing and then I also thought he set the tone with the baserunning,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Triples are pretty exciting and we don’t hit many of them. I don’t think it’s any secret that we’re not the fastest team in the land, but Duggar can really run. I think that was a fire up the dugout type of moment.”

Duggar wasn’t the only player promoted from Triple-A Sunday who played a key role in the club’s win as rookie right-hander Camilo Doval was thrust into a bases loaded jam in the fifth inning. After the Dodgers loaded the bases against lefty José Quintana, Kapler called on the flame-thrower to face Los Angeles catcher Will Smith.

Doval looked overwhelmed during his warm-up pitches and fired his first pitch of the game to the backstop, but after falling behind 3-0 to Smith, he battled back to work the count full. The 24-year-old right-hander hit his spot with a 3-2 fastball on the outside corner, but home plate umpire Tony Randazzo called the offering a ball and awarded Smith first base.

The inning could have spiraled out of control, but Doval rebounded by striking out Chris Taylor to end the inning before Kapler sent him back to the mound for the sixth inning. After the Giants used five pitchers to record the first nine outs of the game, Doval played a huge role in bridging the gap from Quintana to the team’s high-leverage arms by completing a clean sixth inning.

“He did a really nice job of getting back in the strike zone,” Kapler said of Doval. “He was able to give us parts of two innings, which I don’t know that we were anticipating heading into that game, but we were certainly aggressive making moves early in the game with our pitchers.”

The contributions the Giants received from Duggar and Doval fit a theme for a team that’s received contributions from stars and regulars, but also from a wide variety of role players and Triple-A call-ups who have stayed ready to make an impact at a moment’s notice.

The Giants may not have as many stars as the Dodgers, but there’s no question San Francisco has one of the deepest rosters in the majors. With the season series against Los Angeles on the line on Sunday night, Duggar and Doval proved how valuable that depth has been and will continue to be down the stretch.