The magic of the mound visit

Giants 7, Nationals 4

I always wonder what happens during a mound visit. The pitching coach ambles out to, I guess, coach. The infielders chat among each other. The catcher whispers into his glove.

Of course, the Giants are the reason there's any mystique around mound visits. Will Clark says he read Greg Maddux's lips before hitting a grand slam off him in the 1989 NLCS.

Now almost every word spoken is into a glove, a hand, an elbow—anything to prevent the leak of these state secrets.

I'm sure some strategy gets shared in these summits. But certain situations speak for themselves, like in Wednesday's ninth inning. Bryan Price and JP Martinez met Camilo Doval on the mound after the closer loaded the bases with a three-run lead.

Patrick Bailey spoke into his hand. The coaches mumbled. Matt Chapman half-heartedly used his glove, like someone wearing a mask pulled below their nose.

There was hardly an aura to the interaction—but then the game resumed. And on the first pitch Doval induced a game-ending double play.

All thanks to the mound visit.

Up next: Morning baseball on tap as the Giants go for the series win. It’ll be Kyle Harrison (6-5, 4.09 ERA) against DJ Herz (2-4, 4.27 ERA) at 9:05 AM.