Caleb Kilian locks down fifth save against A’s

He struck out Adrian Del Castillo and Nolan Arenado before getting Pavin Smith to ground out tonight. Kilian improved to 3-for-4 in save chances since officially being named the Giants’ closer and 7-for-9 overall on the season.

Pitching with a two-run lead, Kilian gave up a leadoff double to Matt Olson, who came around to score on consecutive groundouts. Dominic Smith then singled and Jorge Mateo swiped second as a pinch-runner, but Kilian struck out Mike Yastrzemski to end it. Kilian was making his first appearance since a rather unlucky four-run blown save against the A’s on Thursday. He’s the Giants’ closer, but he’s not especially secure in the role.

The rally started with a broken-bat infield single. Kilian got two outs afterward, but then Tyler Soderstrom walked on an overturned strike and three more singles followed. Only Johan Heim’s 98-mph grounder past Matt Chapman at third was hit hard. The last was a fly to shallow left that Victor Bericoto, who is already slower than most outfielders, didn’t get a good jump on. It really just wasn’t Kilian’s day, but it shouldn’t hurt his stock overly much. He still might be available to close Friday after throwing 23 pitches in this one.

The Giants wanted Dylan Smith to finish the game, but they made the quick pivot to their closer after two batters reached in a five-run game. This might take Kilian out of the mix for the regularly scheduled game. He threw just eight pitches, but given his injury history, throwing him twice in one day doesn’t seem like a good idea. Ryan Walker might close if the Giants have a late lead tonight.

It wasn’t a save chance, but Kilian, now designated the Giants’ closer, turned in his seventh straight scoreless appearance since giving up five runs in a blown save and a loss to the Rockies on May 29. His ERA is back down to 3.13.

Vitello told reporters that Kilian will serve as their closer with Ryan Walker occupying a fireman role in the late innings following his return from a brief minor-league demotion where he made several mechanical adjustments. Kilian has converted four of five save opportunities this season. He’s at least worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues where every save matters.

This is a big failure for Winn, who was trying for his second save of the year and instead saw his ERA jump from 2.40 to 3.23. Give the advantage back to Caleb Kilian in the San Francisco pen.

Winn, who was given a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, cost himself a win by surrendering a game-tying homer to Pete Crow-Amstrong. The Giants previously used Caleb Kilian in the bottom of the sixth today, and he got one out there and then two more in the seventh. Winn probably didn’t hurt his stock much by giving up a homer to a red-hot hitter. It was just the second he’s allowed in 29 innings this season, and his ERA stands at 2.48. He has just one save to date, but he is a candidate for more, even if he’s possibility a little behind Kilian.

Wilkin Ramos started the ninth today with a 12-6 lead, but he was pulled after two singles and two walks made it 12-7 and a save situation. Kilian came in and struck out Andrew Vaughn, induced an RBI groundout and then allowed an RBI single to make it 12-9. That brought up David Hamilton as the tying run with two outs, and Hamilton hit a 395-foot fly to center that was caught a couple of steps shy of the wall. It’s Kilian’s first ninth-inning appearance and save since he gave up five runs to the Rockies in a blown save last Friday. He’s pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings since that, so he’s still very much in the mix for saves in the San Francisco pen.

Robbie Ray was ineligible for a win after throwing four innings, so it went to Kilian for his scoreless frame with a 12-5 lead. It hardly makes up for him giving up five runs on Friday, but it had to provide a little confidence boost to put in a good inning at Coors Field. He’s probably still going to be in the mix for saves in San Francisco.