Tony Vitello, Logan Webb, Giants discuss highlights from team's win vs. Brewers

Tony Vitello, Logan Webb, Victor Bericoto and Keaton Winn speak to reporters following San Francisco's 1-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday.

Tony Vitello, Logan Webb, Giants discuss highlights from team's win vs. Brewers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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Was there a point where you thought he was gonna be able to take it all the way?

I don't think so, just because I don't know that it would've been fair to him.

Now, I mean, if it was cruising along and he's at 100 pitches, it's the ninth inning, and he hadn't given up, you know, just playing along with the question, but, I, I think later in the year that'll occur.

at this time, being that second outing, it, it was pretty unlikely.

How much is that kind of on your mind?

You know, he's perfect going into sixth, no-hitter going into the seventh, but the pitch count is kind of creeping up.

Plenty.

you know, plenty.

Again, you, you wanna I, I, I like when a guy takes ownership of the game as a starter.

He's kind of bought himself the right to, you know, face sours with, y- you know, a left-handed hitter or, or other circumstances for some of the guys in the room.

I think some of them, maybe it doesn't show in the win and loss column, but they've done that.

they've gone out there and had a really good outing, and you kind of buy the benefit or you create your own argument of, "I'm good, I stay in the game here," so.

But with these circumstances of it being such a tight score and him being y- you know, back just a second time after being on the IL, it's, it's a constant conversation.

But we're, we're all You know, if, if there's anything positive going on or, or something to put out there is, you know, we're talking more than ever, whether it's in the dugout or the office or out on the field.

So 85 pitches through six.

Would you have let him go if it was a no-hitter through seven, beyond that?

I, I think we started to kinda talk about him- Yeah maybe going eight.

Okay.

I think we felt about, good about him going seven, but, I think that was a possibility, but he's gonna need to be pretty efficient.

And then he gets to the point where you got a 1-0 score, a guy on base, you know, it's a tough one.

We've, we've, I guess, you know, you're looking for sympathy or But you kinda get to a coin flip sometimes.

Yeah.

You know, when it's 1 to nothing, and if we would've gotten an eighth inning and somebody's on base or something like that.

You mentioned the quality of their lineup.

What in particular was he doing so well?

You know, I think he was you know, Colorado, the stuff was so good, but it, it, you know, was erratic at times.

He was in the zone and then out of the zone.

It wasn't like he was wild by any means, but the times that he's out of the zone, they resulted in walks.

And of course, just the one probably gets away from him based off fatigue, or he had a hit by pitch, but he was relentless in the zone.

And even on occasion where he goes 3-0, he's, he's right back in the zone.

So, I think that was a theme for the pitchers tonight.

And I know, y- you know, Mil's in there and he wants to do his part.

He kinda shares my trait of being a little too hard on himself.

But the bottom line is he came in in a tough situation, he got an out.

We know he can throw better, but his guy picked him up, his brother in the bullpen picked him up, and there's gonna be multiple, multiple times where Eric does that for somebody else.

So I, I think the theme for the whole group was to pound the zone and, and they did that.

And sometimes, you know, w- I could pick any name out of a hat in their lineup, sometimes that guy is gonna get you.

but you'd rather go out on your shield knowing you, you attacked.

Yeah, last- Broken bat broken bat, double to start, and obviously it wasn't easy to the very end.

Just what did you think about the way Keaton kept his composure there?

So I'll be honest, in the room, it's a great opportunity to say, you know, "Here we go again."

And we've e- we even talked about, in the dugout, you know, Tang is up, Schwarber's up, runner in scoring position, and there's a s- y- you know, only one out.

Do you wanna put the, the winning run out there?

And, so it kind of unfolded like you thought it would.

It's not gonna be easy.

It's gonna be a challenge.

But Keaton's composure was incredible.

And, you know, normally, you know, this I'm such a believer in the mentality part of this game and mindset, and you get choi- so many choices.

That's what makes it tough all the time.

Do you wanna go down this road or that road?

And he forged ahead in that determination category, coming out in the, in the mess we brought him in, and then throughout that too.

I think- What about the work that Susac did there in the ninth?

It just, I, I went to He was the first guy I went to in the dugout.

It just, you know And I think Mess communi- Mess got ahead of it before the inning, and of course there was a mound visit too.

I think that was as much reminders as anything, and he, he talked about how to handle Tang if we got behind or if we got ahead.

but those guys are on the field.

Those are the warriors on the field.

And Susac, you know, he's, his at bats, I've said it, it's gonna be that way.

They're always gonna be competitive, but he's really coming into his own and just managing the game and, and did a great job with Webby.

But more so it's highlighted in that ninth inning.

That little fl- What'd you think?

That little flare in the chat, and almost got that.

Did you think you had a chance there?

Yeah, I d- I really did.

there was a lot of g- you know it was a playoff type game and their fans were into it.

There was a good crowd.

and there was a lot of little things.

You know, their third baseman also makes a crazy catch.

you know, there was, there was a lot of little things that you're playing in your head, "Is this the difference or is this the difference?"

And the bottom line is we had a big old strong guy hit one out, and the rest of the night was a lot of good pitching from both sides.

What can that do for Wren moving forward to have that kind of performance and tiring two of their best hitters down in the game there?

I, I think double or triple what it would do in a normal situation, just because he's, we're still not halfway into the season.

He's new to the bullpen.

And, it's been a challenge for several of these guys.

How do you get hot?

How do you manage two days in a row?

All that good stuff.

How do you manage getting him out and then having to go back out?

fortunately it was a quick go around for two outs for him in the eighth.

But just having a vision of what it looks like when you get something done, it's important.

And, yeah, I think it's equally important for the team, because we've been in that situation a lot.

Unfortunately, it hasn't gone our way.

so let's go with the old clich, the numbers will work out.

If you're competing the right way and you're competing, which these guys You know, Gary talked to the guys a little bit just in introductory fashion, and the one thing he said, our players said, I said to Gary behind closed doors, "They're fighting, trust me.

"They're fighting.

So if you're fighting like that, either at home or away on the ninth, I'd like to think the numbers would even out.

What's it like to see Barragn collect his, his first home run as well?

It's, it's awesome.

I mean, I, I just like being around him.

he's low maintenance.

When he does crack a smile or give you a comment, same thing, it's kinda double or triple of value because he doesn't say a lot.

he's just very serious about his craft.

And, you know, I think to get the first home run is great, but for him to kinda say offensively, you know, it's There's a whole nine innings, but you could say on paper, offensively, he won the game for us, and that's gotta be a good feeling.

And, I got the rookie treatment in there.

I guarantee it's a better feeling than having all kinds of stuff poured on you.

Levine, do you think you, What were you, what were you kinda thinking then- Uh- in this moment especially- I- getting out there?

I was thinking, I usually lead the league in hits given up, so I was gonna give it up at some point.

No, I was No, I was just trying to, you know, it's a close game.

it's 1-0, and I obviously think about those things, but I was just trying to keep it a zero.

so, but that was fun.

That was, that was a fun game.

At what point do you start thinking about it?

like, the fifth inning, like, I, I There's a lot of voices going on in my head, and I was like, "You have a no-hitter.

You have a no-hitter."

so I, I know that there's, like, a jinx thing, but I was already saying all that anyways, so.

but I'm gonna blame Tony, 'cause he did call down before, right before I gave up the hit and said, "Have someone ready."

So I'm gonna blame him today.

What- You could blame Teranga.

I mean, that was an impossible location- Yeah to get a hit on.

Bryce is a unbelievable, hitter, player, so, he kinda looked at I, I was looking at him after.

he was just like, you know, "Gotcha," but, he's, great dude, obviously a great player.

So if there's anyone I give it up to, it'd be, it'd be that guy.

What'd you think of the play that Chapman made to rob Teranga earlier in the game?

That was amazing.

I mean, it's like a daily basis I feel lucky to see Chappy make some plays like that.

So I'm blessed to have him behind me every time I throw, so, it doesn't surprise me a little bit.

But it's- Well, how important was it for you to have one of these starts where you kind of put the team on your back a little bit?

yeah, I mean, I, I feel like I've, really haven't done my job as a, as a leader and, as a, I hate the word ace to be honest, but the, the guy, the ace of the staff.

I feel like I've not, you know, led it the right way, just in my performance and, to be able to, you know, get healthy, feel better and, you know, throw the way I feel like I should throw every time, that was nice today and it was fun.

How important was that time off for you?

I mean, is this possible without that break?

yeah, I mean, I probably would've found a way to grind through it.

but I don't think it would've been, anything like I, I was today.

Did you feel like pitching the ballgame, hey, this is gonna be a good game, you know, one of those things?

Yeah, I mean, you're always, you're always excited to go out there, but, definitely, I felt good going into it.

I actually did, I probably did, like, 30 minutes of grounding with, Q, our, our strength coach.

So, just some, it was good energy today.

He's good, felt good about it and, even stretching, warming up and, bullpen I was, I was locked in, which is usually not a good thing.

Mm-hmm.

usually those are the, some of the worst ones, but, yeah, I felt good the whole day.

Why are those usually?

I don't know.

I can't tell you.

I had a guy, an older guy a long time ago tell me, like, "Do not worry about what you're doing in the bullpen, 'cause it has nothing to do with how the game's gonna go."

So I just, like, just try to stay loose and, and feel good and, like, don't worry about throwing strikes or making things nasty.

And, today I was the opposite, 'cause I did feel good, and I was, and I was throwing strikes.

How much would you have fought if the- I would, I would- no-hitter was maintained?

200 pitches, I think.

Yeah.

I wouldn't I would ask for an extra day probably.

But, I would've thrown, I would've thrown as many as I could.

Yeah.

Well, for Coach, 1, 150, whatever was the- Yeah toss for Timmy, so.

Covers was, was, like- 130 or- Right something.

Something like that, but yeah, I remember the, the Timmy one was pretty, crazy.

But- what, what did Keegan show you?

Yeah.

Keegan has been, one of the more talented pitchers that I've ever been around for a long time and, it's fun to just see his confidence, keep growing.

and there's games like this where, some tough at bats, you're facing, you know, a, a really good team, a really good lineup.

He's facing the top of the lineup, you know?

And, you know, Yelly hits that double to start the inning, and then you kinda just gotta lock in and grind after that, and that's what he did.

and it wasn't even a clean inning.

He had to come in and get an out the inning before, so, definitely a confidence boost for, I think, just in general of the team, but for, for me, for Steeder and, and Olski, or however you pronounce Keegan.

you know, we played unbelievable defense all game today.

It was just a, overall just a great game.

Felt like a very, San Francisco Giants win in a good way.

Do you feel like you've had one of those?

What about, Susak's, what about Susak's performance with you and there in the ninth?

Unbelievable.

he did a great job today.

you know, I, I was using Pitch Com.

I haven't done that in a while, but I just, I, I haven't thrown him a lot.

you know, I thought maybe if I use Pitch Com, he'd kinda see the way I maybe like to throw a game, and, you know, by the end of it he was calling pretty much the whole game.

So, did that with Patty when he first came up.

I think it was actually here in Milwaukee too where-Uh, he started calling more pitches, like, in the last couple innings.

It just I think he, he's getting a feel for I'm probably not the easiest to, to call a game for.

I feel like I'm very, I know what I want to do, and, sometimes that might be hard, but he, he did a great job.

Called it a Giants kind of win.

Do you feel like you've had many of those this year, and how important was it to do that?

I mean, no.

I don't know, I think we have, but it was, you know, great pitching, great defense, a timely hit.

How fun was it to see Barraco to do that, first big league home run?

It's great.

you know, I, I was kind of locked in, so it's just I was looking at something or doing something, and, Willie started screaming, and you kind of hear off the bat.

But, it's always, it's always great to see a guy get his first one.

Anyone can do one, though.

I, I have one in the show, so- so, I'll, I'll make sure I tell him that.

But it's, it's always special when you hit your, do your first home run and, you know, games like this where you're the one guy hit a homer and, and you win 1-0, it's, it's really fun.

I don't know how much attention you pay to, like, head and head-to-head matchups, but you've had a lot of success against the Brewers over your career.

Just what's been the key to your success against them?

I couldn't tell you.

I couldn't tell.

I, I don't know.

I, I just, some teams you match up better with, some teams you don't match up as well, so, but I'm not gonna say anything to jinx that.

I'm sure, yeah, to keep it going.

But you mentioned being a, sort of a better team leader.

Is this the sort of outing maybe that, that you hope the, the rest of the rotation, the staff as a whole can maybe build on?

Yeah, I Look, I, I've There's some years where we didn't have many starters on our team.

It was me and a- another guy for a full year one of those times.

But, the one group that I, I felt like, the whole season was really good was '21, and I, I hate bringing that up all the time, but it felt like we always tried to outdo each other, in a good way, right?

It's, it's competitive, it's, obviously you're not competing against the guy, you know, if you're on the same team.

But say, okay, I went seven, gave up none today.

Like, how's your tomorrow?

You try and go eight, right?

Like, it's, just little things like that where you, you're, you're cheering guys on, you're also competing with them.

Like, hey, you know, I did this.

And it's easy to, compete against guys like Group and, and T-Mac.

so just finding ways to build off each other and, and, and I think that, when you show your confidence like that, it, it also helps the relievers, right?

You're, you know, I don't think as a, a group of starters we've done a great job of, you know, I think it was, I think T-Mac was the first time we went five innings as a group in a week, and that's, definitely not what you want to do.

But, hopefully this is a I'm not saying I'm leading the way, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

And, you know, I, I think, I think everyone, gets excited when you have a game like this because it's, wins are hard to come by, especially, especially wins like this.

Can you describe the feeling to be getting your first big league home run, especially in a game like that, winds up 1-nothing?

Si puedes describir lo que sentiste, tus sentimientos de pegar el poder, no?

Pegar excelente buen juego como el?

Si, bueno, la verdad que me senti muy bien.

Era como algo que soaba de nio, pero mejor se sintio cuando ganamos y tuvimos la victoria.

I feel really good.

It's something that I dreamt about when I was a little kid, but obviously doing it in the big leagues, it felt a lot better.

Does it mean something extra to go at one, a 1-nothing game?

ciertas de que significa ms que el juego termino 1-0?

Si, creo que, bueno, me siento bien por haber ayudado al equipo, pero creo que el merito se lo llevan los pitchers por el tremendo trabajo que hicieron aguantando esa ofensiva y creo que eso fue, fue todo, el buen trabajo de, de ganar y que voy.

No, no, yeah, it definitely feels good to know that I contributed to it, but I just want to give the credit to the pitchers.

They did an awesome job holding up the lead, and yeah, it feels good to be able to contribute to the team win.

I believe y'all got the ball back.

Where is that gonna go?

Ah, bueno, aqu le voy a dar la pelota del juego al que, bueno, sobre todo a mi mam, que esa le estamos honrando, a mi familia, dedicado para ellos.

Pero si creo que es un merito, un merito personal, pero lo ms importante es que, que tuvimos la victoria, podemos salir de ese mal momento que estamos.

Something very good personal, I think I'm gonna give the baseball to my mom, but it's, you know, it's a win for the entire family.

What do you make of your journey this season, coming into camp as a non-roster invitee and getting to this point?

Que piensas de tu camino para llegar a Grandes Ligas?

Este, te invitaron al campamento y ahora ests ac.

Este, bueno, gracias a Dios, bueno, que me he mantenido sano, aprovechando todas las oportunidades, y eso es lo que quiero seguir haciendo aqu, seguir ganndome el chance para seguir mantenindome ayu- ayudando al equipo.

No, basically I just feel happy and I want to thank God that I've been able to stay healthy and just taking the advantage of the opportunities that are given to me.

Did you get, condiments and stuff poured on you afterwards?

Ah, que te pusieron para celebrar tu poder verdad?

Creo que bueno, si celebramos ah con todos los muchachos.

La, la verdad que bueno tambin le agradezco mucho a ellos por darme la, el apoyo y realmente me sent como, como que estoy con ellos.

No, we celebrate it.

And, you know, after the celebration I feel that I'm part of the team now.

What was it like pit- working behind Logan today?

Cmo te sentiste estar detrs, trabajando con, con Logan?

Este, bueno, me sent muy bien.

Este, creo que bueno, tremendo trabajo hizo hoy, siete innings en cero.

Creo que se lleva un gran merito de esta victoria.

No, no, it feels great being behind him.

I mean, the job that he did on the mound today was great and he deserves all the credit.

What's your mom's name?Francis.

Francis Adolo As we go out there to Milwaukee, Keaton, congratulations.

Your second career save, your first this season.

Your first ever five-out save.

How'd it feel to- Yeah warm up, get through the eighth inning, and then you gotta come back out to the ninth inning where there were some rocky moments there.

Talk about how you're feeling right now after that five-out save.

it felt great.

I mean, I'm just, I'm a ground ball pitcher.

You know, I just made a pitch, and then I got the double play, and it was great.

Keaton, this has gotta be tough for you, man.

You just got off the mound.

The adrenaline's probably pumping pretty good right now.

Yeah, dude.

that's a little, that was a little nervy there in the ninth inning.

Give up the lead-off double.

But- Yeah help take us through the pitch, the, the, the pitch selection against Teranga there, 'cause I thought you did a tremendous job of going with the high fastball.

Uh- Mm-hmm did you set him up with the, the spiked split?

Spike.

I'm guessing that's what it was.

Yeah.

Yes.

but you really did change that eye level there.

whose, whose call was that on the fastball up to Teranga?

that was Suess.

That was all Suess.

Yeah, I, I love- I mean, we went, we went split early, and then, I mean, Suess just made a heck of a play blocking that ball.

I mean, good Lord.

And then, you know- fastball to finish it off.

I don't do that very often, but felt good to get that one out there.

How about Logan Webb today, setting a tone?

Looked like he was going perfect for a while.

He's, gets the no-hitter broken up in the seventh inning, but seeing him bounce back, coming off the IL, his second start since coming off the IL.

Logan Webb looked like the ace of the staff that you guys need right now.

Yeah, that was exactly what we needed today.

I mean, the last couple of games a, a lot of the bullpen guys got used, so I mean, he came out and pretty much saved the bullpen right there.

Hey, Keaton, we were talking about in the pregame show that, you know, Logan's probably not gonna go a CG today, today, and they're, they're gonna have to get some outs from the bullpen.

What was the conversation with you prior to the game as far as how you were gonna be utilized today?

'Cause you got some tired arms down there.

you know, it was just gonna be me late.

I mean, like, there was a couple guys that were gonna be late.

they didn't tell me that I was gonna get a five-out save, but they said to just be ready late in the game.

Well, you, you were ready.

Nice job.

Yeah.

S- this team needed you tonight.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Take a breath, man, and celebrate tonight, man.

Hell of a win out there in Milwaukee.

Congratulations on your first five-out save.

Yeah.

Thank you.

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