SAN FRANCISCO — There wasn’t a singular occasion that did within the Giants on Wednesday night time. You possibly can’t chalk up a loss that dangerous to at least one pitcher, one at-bat, or one pitch.
No, it was the byproduct of the Dodgers strolling by way of the entrance door and ransacking the place.
The Giants noticed it coming, however had been incapable of stopping it.
And to assume, it began so nicely.
The Giants had it made to begin the sport. They had been battering Clayton Kershaw within the early goings, leaping out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, whereas their starter, Alex Cobb, seemed formidable, along with his two-seam fastball displaying severe chew.
Sure, it was early, however the vibes had been excellent. The Giants seemed good.
Then the dream became a nightmare.
And it’s powerful to make the case that it's going to flip once more anytime quickly.
A sport — and sequence — win on Wednesday would have been an early-season plant-the-flag second for the Giants. It might have been a sport the workforce and followers might level to it within the days, weeks, and maybe months to return and say, “We will play with one of the best and beat ’em.”
What does the sequence — and a loss like Wednesday’s — say as a substitute?
The Dodgers chipped away on the Giants’ feel-good lead with an RBI single after which an RBI double. Then Giants supervisor Gabe Kapler lifted Cobb, who allowed eight hits however solely threw 77 pitches in 3 2/3 innings.
The brand new arm didn’t assist. Max Muncy’s homer within the fifth tied the sport at 3.
Then the Giants introduced of their huge free-agent pickup, reliever Taylor Rogers, to cease the Dodgers of their tracks and flip momentum again to San Francisco.
As an alternative, the Large Blue Successful Machine was gassed up.
Thirty pitches, no outs, 9 straight Freddie Freeman foul balls with a 3-2 rely, and 4 walks later, the Giants trailed 4-3. Muncy and Trayce Thompson added a pair extra homers for good measure, and the Giants misplaced 10-5.
Logic — and the Giants are a deeply logical workforce — says Wednesday’s sport is only one of 162. It doesn’t matter all that a lot.
On the similar time, that is nonetheless a workforce — a corporation — comprised of individuals, with real feelings like pleasure. Wednesday’s loss was the sort you are feeling in a a lot deeper means.
It was the type of loss which may not be washed away with a bathe and an off day.
For the group, there’s a bigger message to be gleaned from Wednesday’s loss, and it’s not flattering.
The Giants tried to win within the margins with the Dodgers on this sequence. On the entire, it didn’t work. It definitely didn’t work Wednesday. Get cute in opposition to a workforce that may put 5 - 6 All-Stars in the identical beginning lineup — and produce one other off the bench — and you might be liable to finish up the place the Giants did.
The period of Moneyball is over. The sport has change into so quantified that there isn't a secret code for successful video games anymore. You need to struggle hearth with hearth, and the Dodgers are holding a flamethrower, whilst they minimize spending.
However hey, the Giants added Darin Ruf again to the lineup Wednesday.
For a corporation that attempted to make the case that its offseason was, the truth is, good, Wednesday was a actuality test.
Rogers was given a three-year, $33 million deal regardless of a decline in pitch velocity final season, which carried into spring coaching and now, the 2023 marketing campaign. He had the type of outing that led to him throwing his glove within the trash can within the Giants’ dugout.
Going through the previous NL MVP in Freeman, lefty vs. lefty — Wednesday was the precise state of affairs the Giants imagined for Rogers when he was signed.
Tip your cap to Freeman, however the truth a supposed strikeout pitcher couldn’t sneak one 3-2 pitch previous the Dodger needs to be greater than a bit regarding for the Giants.
Add in the truth that Michael Conforto, the free agent bat added in December after the Giants missed out on Aaron Decide and handed on Carlos Correa, picked up a calf harm within the sport and was pulled within the fourth inning for precautionary causes.
Don’t overlook, there was a purpose Conforto was out there to the Giants at that juncture of free company: He missed all of 2022 after shoulder surgical procedure.
In the meantime, the workforce’s different “huge” free agent bat, Mitch Haniger, is but to play for the Giants. He has a again harm.
And when free agent pitcher Ross Stripling got here into the sport to pitch the ultimate few winnings, he was bashed round earlier than everybody agreed to finish the sport — which took three hours, 10 minutes, an eternity by our new requirements — and broaden the strike zone.
So no, I'm not shopping for the group’s spin that signing many low cost or late-market gamers in free company was higher than signing a big-time participant (or two).
As a result of not solely are the Dodgers’ greatest gamers much better than the Giants’, however their position gamers — Thompson, James Outman — are higher, too.
The Giants acted like a medium-market workforce in free company and are being accordingly handled. This Giants workforce has performed two sequence in opposition to the league’s big-market, big-money, measuring-stick golf equipment — the Yankees and Dodgers — and have did not acquit themselves, dropping each by mixed scores of 16-7 and 19-11.
In all, they’ve received one in all 4 sequence this season, solely beating the hot-mess White Sox.
Now, issues will even out within the standings for the Giants — this workforce has .500 written throughout it.
However no matter momentum the Giants had going into the season has been squandered, and a workforce that wanted to provide its fanbase an early purpose to consider has solely supplied causes to doubt additional that this marketing campaign will end in something value commemorating.