SAN FRANCISCO -- The frustration boiled over for Taylor Rogers after he failed to record an out in his fifth appearance as a Giant, and he couldn't hide it. Rogers came off the field against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 13 and made a beeline for the dugout's trash can, dumping his glove inside and not looking back. Not even when a member of the clubhouse staff fished it out later that night.
"I have no idea where it is," Rogers said Tuesday, smiling.
The glove was perfectly worn in, but as Rogers digested about the roughest possible start to a career with a new team, he thought about how the glove was one he had used in Milwaukee last season when he struggled after a blockbuster trade. It was time for a fresh start with a fresh glove.
Sometimes in this game, that's all you need.
Rogers hasn't allowed a run since that night against the Dodgers, and he was at his best when the Giants needed him Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies. Rogers was summoned with one out and two on in the fourth after Alex Cobb's wildness had ended his night. He struck out Bryce Harper, then got Nick Castellanos to ground out to second. Rogers came back out for the fifth and struck out Kyle Schwarber before passing the baton to John Brebbia.
The Giants went on to win 4-3 on what was one of the best nights of the year for the bullpen. The win went to Rogers, and when that was announced in the press box, the official scorer made sure it was clear he meant the left-handed Rogers twin, not the right-handed one. On this night, he could have chosen either.
Taylor did his job and then sat back and watched as Tyler pitched two innings, getting the lead to Camilo Doval, who clinched the series victory. It was how the Giants drew it up in the offseason -- kind of.
San Francisco Giants
When Taylor signed a three-year deal in the offseason, the Giants envisioned him pitching in the eighth and ninth, teaming with Doval to form one of the league's best late-innings combinations. Tyler, coming off a down season, was supposed to help get the ball to those two. The early struggles led to some changes, and before Tuesday's game, manager Gabe Kapler found the left-hander to discuss his role.
"We thought he was going to be pitching in the eighth inning of games for us, sometimes in the ninth, and obviously we don't anticipate having him come in and getting big outs for us early in games, but it shows how resilient he is and how strong-minded he is that he's willing to come into a game like that and get some big outs for us and go back out and get one more big out even though he's not at his best right now," Kapler said. "It was a big performance by Tay, and his brother Ty was equally as big. The bullpen in general just did a fantastic job picking us up tonight and we certainly needed it."
Which T. Rogers performance did Kapler like the best?
"I thought they were both equally impressive," he replied. "Are you going to make me choose between them?"
For the Giants, it was a huge positive that he could even try.
Tyler has been sharp since the jump and has a 2.45 ERA in 18 appearances, but Taylor will spend all year whittling away at the damage that was done in those first five outings. He will continue to work his way back toward the late innings, too.
The new role has been an adjustment for a pitcher who was a closer in recent years, but he found it relatively easy to make. Instead of stretching in the seventh, he is working on staying engaged throughout, and on Tuesday, Kapler turned to him when Cobb had reached the end of his line.
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The scoreless inning gave Taylor 12 consecutive scoreless appearances since that night when he walked four Dodgers and saw his ERA balloon to 18.90. What's changed, other than the glove?
"Not a whole lot, to be honest with you," he said. "I think I just really kind of shook the earth a little in that Dodger game and threw everything off. When you're a new person, they can create a narrative, and I knew that wasn't me. So I grabbed a new Rawlings and started over."