Bochy urges Giants starters to extend their outings

The San Francisco Giants have won three of four games to start the second half of the season, thanks primarily to its bullpen.

While the wins have reinforced the strength of the Giants' bullpen, manager Bruce Bochy knows that the success the ’pen has had lately can't be sustained with the heavy workload it's undertaken recently.

The Giants' starters have struggled to complete six innings in July starts, and only Jake Peavy has thrown six innings since the All-Star break, leaving the bullpen with 17 2/3 innings in the past four games, seven of which were thrown in a 12-inning game in which a total of nine relievers were used.

"We're trying to get these guys to get deeper," Bochy said. "It's nice to have two guys down there like Petit and Vogelsong to help us out and give us some innings. They gave some guys a break [tonight but] we're going to have to try to stay with [the starters] a little longer. We have a day off on Thursday and I think we'll be fine until the day off, but it's going to be important that these guys start giving us some length."

The Giants' latest starter to follow in the early flare-out trend was Tim Hudson, who only lasted four innings in San Francisco's 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Hudson gave up three earned runs and five hits, while walking four and striking out three.

"Obviously I wasn't as sharp as I would like to be," said Hudson, who was making his first start in a month, coming off a shoulder strain. "It was a labor-intensive day at the office for sure. From a mechanics standpoint and sharpness standpoint, it's something we've got to get better at."

The veteran pitcher agreed that the onus is on the starters to last longer into their outings and give the bullpen some rest.

"We do have to pitch deeper into games, for sure," he said. "I feel it's our responsibility [as starters] to take some heat off of those guys."

(h/t CSN Bay Area)