Giants Landen Roupp dealing with back issue. Will he need IL?

MILWAUKEE — Before their biggest blowout loss of a bumbling season had even ended, the Giants’ problems went from bad to worse.Landen Roupp, their best starter so far, wasn’t himself in San Francisco’s 16–2 loss Monday to begin their series against the Brewers, and afterward manager Tony Vitello revealed why.He was pitching with a bad back.“His back was locking up on him a little bit,” Vitello said.“Obviously not one of his best outings, but I also don’t think he was at his best.

… Knowing that I think feeds into that outing a little bit.”Roupp, who was tagged for a season-high eight earned runs over four innings, downplayed the concern that it would be a long-term issue or even that it had an impact on his outing.“Obviously when you’re not feeling good, it’s always in the back of your head,” Roupp said.“So that could’ve had something to do with it, but either way, I’ve got to compete better.”Roupp required 96 pitches just to make it through four, threw only half of them for strikes and matched his season-high with five bases on balls.

He spotted Milwaukee seven runs immediately after the Giants took an early 2–0 lead and continued to labor from there.“Guys put up two early, and I kind of just slapped them in the face,” Roupp said.It might seem like managerial malpractice to leave a pitcher out there laboring like Roupp was, ailing and all, but Vitello can only act on the information at his disposal.Roupp, a tough competitor in the mold of Logan Webb, said the back bothered him for most of the day but only informed the coaching staff after he came out of the game.“I think it just built up as the pitch count built up,” Vitello said.“I don’t think he was at risk of anything crazy.”Still, there’s no such thing as a minor issue for a player who has dealt with back problems in the past.

Roupp said this was “definitely less serious” than the injury that kept him off the mound in the minors for the entire secon...