After a 15-day fix-it stint in Triple-A, Giants bring Doval back

SEATTLE -- Camilo Doval's 15-day sojourn in the Minors came to an end Saturday, when the Giants’ erstwhile closer was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento ahead of the club’s 4-3 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

Doval didn’t return to his usual ninth-inning duties, which have now been taken over by Ryan Walker, but he still found himself thrust into a high-leverage spot in his first Major League outing since Aug. 8.

After the Mariners pulled within one on Randy Arozarena’s RBI force out in the seventh, Doval was brought in to face Jorge Polanco with runners on the corners and two outs. Doval allowed Arozarena to easily steal second and then fell behind, 3-0, before manager Bob Melvin opted to intentionally walk Polanco to load the bases, but Doval managed to preserve the Giants’ one-run lead by coaxing an inning-ending groundout from Mitch Haniger.

Doval returned to the mound for the eighth and struck out two over a clean inning to cap his four-out appearance and serve as a bridge to Walker, who worked a scoreless ninth to close out the win for San Francisco.

The Giants’ bullpen allowed only one run over six innings to pick up left-hander Blake Snell, who issued six walks and forced in two runs over three innings in his second career start in his hometown. Spencer Bivens earned the win after holding the Mariners to two hits over three scoreless innings.

San Francisco optioned Landen Roupp to clear a spot on the 26-man roster for Doval, a 2023 All-Star who was shockingly demoted on Aug. 9 after logging a career-high 4.70 ERA over 46 appearances this year.

The Giants could have moved Doval into a lower-leverage role after he blew five of his 27 save opportunities, but they felt he would be better served by returning to the Minors to focus on improving his strike-throwing and his times to the plate. He took the message in stride, allowing only two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings across five appearances for the River Cats.

“I don’t know that it could have gone better,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He worked on all the things that we asked him [to]. You look at the numbers and you look at what he accomplished -- he was throwing strikes, he was quicker to the plate. Everything that you would hope for something like this.

“For him to go down there, it’s a hard thing to swallow at first. But they said there wasn’t one minute that he was down there sulking. So he knew he was going to be back here in 15 days if everything went well. It did go well.”

Doval, 27, admitted that the move caught him by surprise, though he quickly got to work to ensure that he could return to the big leagues as soon as his requisite 15 days were up.

“I was very surprised,” Doval said in Spanish. “I said, ‘Wow.’ But you just have to accept their decision. They’re the ones in charge.”

During his stint in the Minors, Doval got a chance to reunite with countryman Johnny Cueto, who came to play at Sacramento with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate last week.

Cueto, who spent the entire season grinding in the Minors before earning another big league callup with Los Angeles on Wednesday, took Doval under his wing when the hard-throwing right-hander first arrived in the Majors with the Giants in 2021 and encouraged him to stay resilient in the face of adversity.

“We talked for a little bit,” Doval said. “He told me to trust my stuff and remember who I am. That’s going to help get me to where I was before and make me even better. Sometimes you have ups and downs. It’s not always going to go well. But you have to keep your head up and keep working.”

Ryan Walker took over closing duties in Doval’s stead and only solidified his grip on the role by striking out five over two scoreless innings in the Giants’ 6-5 loss in 10 innings on Friday night. Still, the Arlington, Wash., native will likely be unavailable on Saturday, so Doval could have another chance to close for the Giants if a save opportunity arises.

Doval said he’s willing to perform whatever role the Giants ask of him moving forward, though he’s hoping he’ll have a chance to slide back into the ninth inning at some point in the future.

“The results speak for themselves,” Doval said. “I think it’s going to be based on the numbers. I’m going to keep working to see what happens.”