Giants make trade to help bullpen, but there's no fix for slumping lineup

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MILWAUKEE — The Giants can dream about what their new right-hander might become. Sam Dyson is a former closer, a right-hander with 99 mph in his arm, and a proven track record in the majors. If he gets back to form, the Giants will have a setup man for Mark Melancon, and they’ll have acquired him virtually for free. 

It’s not hard to picture a reliever with a 10.80 ERA turning it around. It happens all the time. It’s much harder to hit that kind of jackpot with position players, so there’s no help coming for this lineup that continues to need it. 

The Giants nearly got shut out Tuesday, settling for a 5-2 loss thanks to a ninth-inning rally that was cut short just as quickly as it started. There are problems every night, some the same and some different. On Tuesday, it was the double plays. The Giants hit into three of them in the first seven innings against Chase Anderson. In another inning, Eduardo Nuñez was caught stealing on a strikeout pitch to Brandon Belt. 

“Even when we ran a guy to stay out of (the double play) that was a double play,” Bochy said. “Those are rally-killers.”

There were not many rally-starters. The Brewers had their share, though, getting 10 hits off Matt Cain, who has an ERA north of eight on the road. Asked if there’s any rhyme or reason why he is so dominant at home and so hittable on the road, Cain was brief. 

“No,” he said, the answer lingering until the interview finished. 

Cain suffered from some hard luck when Eric Sogard’s two-out flare dropped for a two-run double. But he had already allowed a run to that point and he would allow two more. With the way Corey Knebel got out of the ninth-inning jam, it probably didn’t matter either way. 

Dyson has that kind of power stuff, but his strikeout rate is way down and his walk and home run rates have skyrocketed. Bochy said he had to check with general manager Bobby Evans to get specifics on Dyson’s arrival, but he’ll be part of the bullpen soon, and the Giants will try to work some magic. 

They have not hit with reclamation projects on the offensive side recently. Perhaps they can still bring the best out of a power pitcher. 

“Here’s a guy who has a lot of experience pitching late in ballgames,” Bochy said. “It’s a good arm. He’s gotten off to a rough start there in Texas and we’re hoping a change of scenery serves him well.”

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