Growth opportunities abound for Giants down the stretch: Here are 3 to watch

CLEVELAND — The San Francisco Giants hadn’t won a road series since the middle of June. The Cleveland Guardians hadn’t won a home series since the end of June. When the two teams met at Progressive Field this week, a stoppable object versus a movable force, something had to give.

Predictably, it was the Giants. Their 5-2 loss Thursday afternoon sent them to their sixth consecutive series defeat. They’ve lost their last eight series away from San Francisco.

Willy Adames hit his 200th career home run, sending a 418-foot blast against Gavin Williams through a stiff breeze and over the fence in right-center field in the fourth inning. That two-run swing merely offset the shortstop’s second consecutive game with an error, however, in what’s been a miserable defensive season. Adames, who missed four games with recurring back discomfort before returning Wednesday, couldn’t handle a chance in the Guardians’ three-run first inning against Landen Roupp. He later juggled the transfer on a double play that wasn’t turned.

That’s how it’s been all season for the Giants: two bad outcomes for every good one. If this series in Cleveland stung a bit less, perhaps it’s because their very good thing here also happened to be very entertaining: left-hander Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson’s major-league debut in Wednesday night’s 1-0 victory.

Although it’s important to keep documenting the missteps and curious decisions — the Giants wasted their replay challenge in the second inning Thursday when they had umpires review a perfectly legal slide by Steven Kwan while Adames fumbled the ball — there’s no real point in lambasting a team limping down the stretch with limited personnel.

There will be growth opportunities for several players in the homestretch who could be part of the next competitive Giants team. There might even be room for some fun and bright moments, nautically nicknamed or not. They’ll probably continue to take two steps back. But the steps forward merit attention, too. Here are a few potential positives worth watching:

Bryce Eldridge’s defense

The Giants mixed in Bryce Eldridge at first base most of the summer, giving him seven starts in June and seven in July while Rafael Devers took the rest. It’s become the 21-year-old rookie’s position in August while Devers has dealt with something Giants manager Tony Vitello described as “just a little bit internally; it’s been a few different spots for him this year.”

As delicious as it might be for Devers to play first base this weekend when he makes his highly anticipated return to Boston — especially since he refused to pick up a first baseman’s glove for the Red Sox in the weeks before last year’s blockbuster trade — there’s a chance he’ll be limited to DH duty at Fenway Park.

Eldridge has started the last eight games at first base and 11 of 17 in August. He’s continuing to get better at the position too. His 6-foot-7 frame helped him snare a wide throw and keep his foot on the bag to record a critical out Wednesday, and he needed every bit of his stretch to record an out Thursday.

Devers has been learning the position as well, and while it hasn’t been all bad, it’s clear that Eldridge is the superior defender when it comes to receiving throws. Devers has accumulated minus-7 Outs Above Average (OAA) on receiving and scoops at first base, according to new data released this week by Statcast. The data includes results beginning in 2021; only Bryce Harper ranked lower than Devers in the category.

Vitello lauded Devers for his consistent desire to play every day. Even as the lineup crumbled around him and the results became less relevant, he hasn’t once asked for a day off, Vitello said. It’s clear that Devers continues to care and play with effort, and his hustle double Wednesday set up the game’s only run.

Still, Eldridge keeps demonstrating he might be the better defender at first base, and he has the size and wingspan that cannot be taught.

Trent Harris’ breaking ball

Trent Harris was a non-drafted free agent from UNC-Pembroke, and he was 24 when he made his professional debut with the Giants’ Arizona Complex League affiliate in 2023. Two dominant years later, he was representing the Giants in the All-Star Futures Game.

His development trajectory changed in the upper minors, as it often does. His curveball remained just as difficult to hit. The difference was that Triple-A hitters weren’t chasing it at the same rate. So Harris came up with a two-seam fastball that plays off his cutter, giving him two different looks so that he can use his plus curveball to its maximum effect.

Although his debut Aug. 8 was rough, Harris showed what was possible Tuesday against the Guardians. He used a starter’s repertoire while tossing two scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Afterward, he got a phone call from his biggest fan: his father, former major-league right-hander Greg W. Harris.

“If he’s pitching in a situation where he’s behind the eight ball, he can handle it because that’s kind of who he is,” said the elder Harris, who pitched in the big leagues from 1988-95, mostly with the San Diego Padres. “He was undersized until his junior year of high school, and he had to scratch and claw his whole life to get to where he’s gotten. As a father, you just appreciate how he’s been able to do that.”

Greg recalled a time when he was playing catch with his 13-year-old son, and he asked Trent to try throwing a breaking ball.

“And it almost hit me in the shin,” Greg said. “That’s when I knew he had a chance to really spin the ball, and he took off from there.”

When Greg was coming up in the Padres system, his Triple-A manager was Bruce Bochy, who also remained an active player at the time. Greg was in San Francisco last weekend for Trent’s debut, and so was Bochy, who attended the Giants’ Wall of Fame ceremonies. Greg said he didn’t want to crash the party but that he’d love to reconnect.

He’s already doing it through his son. With Keaton Winn going back on the IL with elbow neuritis, there’s a wider opening for Trent Harris to show what he can do as a multi-inning reliever down the stretch.

“When I talk to my dad, it’s more about location and situational pitching, which I think has helped me a lot,” Trent said. “These days, people are trying to throw it by guys, and I don’t have that luxury at 92, 93 mph. So location is really big for me.”

Greg always advised his son to work both sides of the plate and throw down and away to right-handers. He acknowledged that the keys to success might be a bit more complicated now. But there’s still value in a curveball that you can land in any count.

“If you can do that, it doesn’t matter if you throw 92 or 98,” Greg said. “Guys have to stay honest with your fastball no matter how hard it is.”

Victor Bericoto’s confidence

For all the hubbub over Wilkinson’s debut Wednesday — plus Adrian Houser’s five scoreless innings and a two-inning, five-strikeout save from Dylan Smith — Victor Bericoto quietly did it all in the Giants’ 1-0 victory.

He made a headfirst dive and catch to save two runs. He knocked in Devers with a single. He was hitting .293/.305/.552 with four home runs in 24 games before landing on the IL with a strained oblique, a performance that came on the heels of a highly impressive spring, and his emergence was among the reasons the Giants felt they could part with 2024 All-Star outfielder Heliot Ramos at the trade deadline.

It’s been a struggle since then. Bericoto missed 26 games and is 3-for-19 since returning from the IL.

“I’m trying to show them the best version of me,” Bericoto said through Spanish interpreter Erwin Higueros. “I know that after the injury and rehab I haven’t been the best of myself, but I’m trying to trust the process and show them what I’m able to do and the type of player that I am.”

Bericoto has runway now. The Giants outfield was out of balance after trading Ramos, and it’s still light on right-handed hitters. It’s concerning that Bericoto has drawn just one walk in 79 plate appearances, but Vitello looked at Casey Schmitt’s breakout season, despite a low walk rate, as reason to believe that Bericoto is capable of something similar.

“He’s eager. He wants to get back in that rhythm he was in,” Vitello said. “He’s always going to be an aggressive hitter. I think, like Schmitty, I think you’ll really see a development if he can learn to lay off some borderline pitches. But step one of being a good hitter is wanting to hit, and he wants to hit.”

When you want something too much, it’s human nature to press. That’s especially true for young players who are hoping to establish themselves and aren’t as experienced in managing failure.

Although Bericoto has missed time, the Giants are leaning hard on him and other young players who aren’t accustomed to seasons that stretch into September. Vitello acknowledged after Thursday’s game that he and his staff need to do a better job making sure those players aren’t overplayed or exposed.

“They’re working like it’s their first day on the job, and they’re trying to prove they belong here, and they’re going to play a long stretch of games,” Vitello said. “So it’s on us. We need to manage their time a little bit better to make sure they’ve got their legs underneath them.”