Beede shows promise in Giants' comeback win
SAN FRANCISCO -- Tyler Beede’s final line wasn’t completely indicative of the way he pitched in the Giants’ 6-5 comeback win over the Padres on Tuesday night at Oracle Park.
Beede gave up four runs over 4 2/3 innings, but his outing included flashes of dominance that will continue to buoy the Giants’ belief that the 26-year-old rookie right-hander possesses the talent to establish himself in their starting rotation.
After watching Fernando Tatis Jr. crush his first pitch of the game out to center field for a home run, Beede managed to regroup and retire 11 consecutive batters over one of the most impressive stretches of his nascent big league career. He finished the game with a career-high seven strikeouts, four of which came on his curveball.
“Tonight I felt great,” Beede said. “I’m happy with the way that I competed for the better half of the game. I think coming into this game, I just wanted to attack these guys with my stuff. Coming out of this game, I know that my stuff plays.”
Beede took the mound in the fifth with a two-run lead after the Giants nicked Padres right-hander Chris Paddack for three runs, but he fell into trouble after issuing a leadoff walk to Wil Myers. That sparked a three-run inning for the Padres, who used a trio of infield singles, two walks and savvy baserunning to go ahead, 4-3.
Manny Machado put up a particularly tough at-bat against Beede, working a 12-pitch walk that ended the 26-year-old right-hander’s night.
“I threw the kitchen sink at him just trying to get him to put the ball in play, swing and miss, whatever it may be,” Beede said. “But I didn’t want to throw him a cookie down the middle. He won the at-bat.”
Beede departed after throwing 95 pitches, though he ultimately came away with a no-decision after the Giants rallied to score three runs in the seventh on a two-run double by Evan Longoria and a sacrifice fly by Pablo Sandoval.
“Beede threw really well,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “First pitch leaves the ballpark, but he settled down. That’s an area where you want to see young guys get better, keep their poise, and he did that. ... He looked determined not to let it get away from him this time.”
Beede has posted an 8.06 ERA in six appearances (four starts) this season and remains on the search for his first big league win, but the Giants believe he has the equipment to succeed at this level, particularly if he cuts down on his walks. He has issued 17 walks over 22 1/3 innings this season, and as the free pass to Myers showed, they’ve often come back to hurt him.
But his stuff has shown enough promise that the Giants are willing to let his growing pains play out in the Majors. Beede averaged 94.6 mph on his fastball Tuesday and topped out at 96.1 mph, showing the crackling velocity that few other Giants starters currently enjoy.
While Beede’s decision to streamline his repertoire played a big part in his resurgence this spring, he’s now resumed throwing his slider, which he hopes to develop into another weapon alongside his curveball and changeup. After spending the past four weeks working on his slider in bullpen sessions, Beede felt comfortable unleashing a pair against the Padres.
“It’s a pitch that’s felt good for me as I’ve developed it in bullpens,” Beede said. “As I get going through the season here, maybe it’s another pitch that I can strike with in certain counts and certain situations. I think I simplified [my repertoire] because I needed to focus on repeating mechanics, repeating release point. Now that I feel comfortable doing that with the foundation mechanically that I have, I feel comfortable adding a pitch.”