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. Still, 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.

“I put him in a tough spot,” Melvin said of Doval. “Once he got through it and as the next inning went along, you started to see his really good stuff. It was great to see him be able to do something like that. It should do a world of good for his confidence. And obviously, it was huge for our team to pitch in a little bit different role.”

The Giants’ bullpen blew a four-run lead in Friday night’s 6-5 loss in 10 innings, but the unit redeemed itself by working six innings of one-run ball to pick up left-hander Blake Snell, who issued a season-high six walks and forced in two runs over three innings in his second career start in his hometown.

Snell entered Saturday with a 1.03 ERA over his last eight starts, but he didn’t have his command and needed 40 pitches to get through the second inning alone. He didn’t allow a hit, but Melvin said the two-time Cy Young winner felt a bit “sluggish” from the start, prompting the Giants to lift him early.

“Just a weird one, but we learn from it and get better,” Snell said.

Spencer Bivens replaced Snell in the fourth and went on to earn 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.

“For him to go down there, it’s a hard thing to swallow at first,” Melvin said. “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.”

Doval isn’t expected to displace Walker, who only solidified his grip on the closing role after striking out seven over three scoreless innings in his first two games against his hometown Mariners. The Giants didn’t expect Walker to be available on Saturday after he worked two innings on Friday, but he volunteered to pitch and needed only 14 pitches to lock down his third save of the year.

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.”