SAN FRANCISCO — With the division-rival Dodgers set to make their first go to to Oracle Park this season on Friday, the Giants aren’t enjoying their finest baseball.
Beset by extra defensive miscues and unable to string collectively sufficient hits to rally greater than as soon as, the Giants dropped the finale of their three-game set with last-place Colorado, 4-2, shedding their first house collection to the Rockies since June 2019.
Whereas the Dodgers come to city holding the very best successful proportion within the Nationwide League, recent off a collection win over the White Sox, the Giants have been enjoying beneath .500 for greater than a month.
“I don’t assume we performed our greatest protection,” supervisor Gabe Kapler mentioned. “It’s a extremely robust league whenever you’re not changing floor balls into outs. I feel we’ve seen constantly a greater model of protection than we’ve performed right this moment. It nonetheless hasn’t been adequate, general.”
On Thursday, issues unraveled within the fourth, because the Giants dedicated as many errors (three) as they recorded outs.
Thairo Estrada, who tripled house the Giants’ first run of the day within the second inning, accounted for 2 of the misplays on would-be outs he couldn’t wrangle, whereas Austin Slater was charged with a 3rd for an errant throw from heart subject.
Estrada dropped a line drive off the bat of Charlie Blackmon, who scored one batter later when Slater airmailed a throw out of play on a C.J. Cron single. Brendan Rodgers poked a single to attain Cron, then triggered Estrada besides a grounder by Ryan McMahon whereas going from first to second. A soft-hit single from Yonathan Daza drove house Rodgers for the third and ultimate run of the inning, although solely two had been charged to starter Logan Webb as earned runs.
“It’s simply baseball. I don’t assume any participant or any of us needs that to occur to us, however that’s simply baseball. Issues simply occur,” Estrada mentioned by Spanish-language translator Erwin Higueros, including that Rodgers screened him on the McMahon grounder and that Blackmon’s reside drive was knuckling on him.
An inning that would have been over within the span of three or 4 batters ended up costing Webb 29 pitches. The Giants’ fourth error of the sport, with two outs within the sixth, knocked Webb from the sport after 100 pitches. Even a workforce that, in accordance with most metrics, ranked among the many worst within the majors defensively this season hadn’t had an inning that ugly.
The Giants’ implosion within the fourth was their first inning with three errors for the reason that third inning of a 12-11 loss to the Reds on Aug. 25, 2010. They hadn’t dedicated 4 in a recreation since July 24, 2020.
The poor fielding show led to the Giants’ first loss at house with Webb on the mound since Sept. 8, 2020, a span of 18 begins that, with another, would have set a franchise document. Webb allowed seven hits and walked a batter along with the 4 errors behind him.
Regardless of being chased from the sport within the sixth and getting tagged with the loss, Webb mentioned “right this moment was most likely the very best my stuff has been all yr.” He used all three pitches — sinker, slider, changeup — to generate 11 swings and misses and three strikeouts.
“He pitched nice,” Kapler mentioned. “He did all the pieces you'll be able to presumably do. Even inside that (fourth) inning, he continued to assault the strike zone.”
It additionally spoiled a pleasant Giants debut by Austin Wynns. The 31-year-old catcher was acquired this week in a commerce with the Phillies after the membership demoted struggling rookie Joey Bart to Triple-A.
Wynns threw out the primary runner who challenged him on the bottom paths with an on-the-money throw to nail Blackmon within the second inning, a welcome sight for a membership that had thrown out solely 17% of tried base stealers earlier than Thursday (league common: 25%).
“He was superior,” Webb mentioned. “He got here as much as me earlier than the sport … and he was like, ‘I watched your final 4 outings. You do that and this and this. I’m like, you recognize extra about what I do than I’m really fascinated about doing.”
In his first journey to the plate, within the backside half of the second, Wynns lifted a gentle single to proper subject that drove in Estrada for the Giants’ second run of the inning. Within the fourth, he beat out a swinging-bunt single.
Wynns’ fourth-inning single was the Giants’ final hit till a Tommy La Stella pinch-hit single with two outs within the seventh, a span of 10 straight batters. San Francisco put runners on base in every of the primary 4 innings in opposition to Colorado starter Austin Gomber — together with a leadoff triple by Slater within the first — however solely managed their two runs within the second.
Wynns needed to overcome a few hiccups: he had by no means used the PitchCom system, and for the primary two innings it was tuned to Spanish. On his one mound go to, Webb reminded him that he does have a little-used four-seamer in his arsenal.
“You most likely noticed my eyes gentle up,” Wynns mentioned of the PitchCom mix-up. “What he’s pondering is what I wish to assume on the identical time. That’s why you watch movie. You need to do your preparation. For those who don’t do your homework, you’re doing your self a disservice.”
— The final time the Giants met the Dodgers, for 2 video games in Los Angeles at the beginning of Could, Bart was nonetheless entrenched as their beginning catcher. The Giants had been solely two video games faraway from their high-water mark this season and vying for first place within the division.
Since enhancing to 14-7 and taking a half-game lead within the NL West with a win over Washington on April 30, San Francisco has performed at a .424 clip (14-19) and fallen 6.5 video games again of Los Angeles within the division.
