What we learned when the Giants lost nine in a row originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Giants are middle of the pack in the Majors in runs scored and 26th in team ERA. There’s not a lot of wiggle room most nights, which means the gloves need to be reliable after an off-season shoring up the defense.
The box score showed just one error Tuesday night, but there were several hits on plays that should have been made. For a team that returned to an offensive slump, this was too much to overcome.
The Giants lost 8–5 at Chase Field, losing their second consecutive game to the Arizona Diamondbacks and sixth consecutive game overall. Their longest losing streak of the season is 29-33 overall.
The Giants left eight runners in the first seven innings, but the game was wide open before they had another chance to try to erase a small deficit in the eighth or ninth. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s double capped a four-run eighth off right-hander Luke Jackson, turning a two-run game into a blowout.
That stretch was crucial, as Mike Yastrzemski hit a three-run shot in the top of the eighth. However, it was too little and too late.
Where is the production?
This is an easy way to see what has gone wrong recently. Runs scored in last seven games: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 2, 5. Only win during that period was a 1-0 draw this took a huge bullpen effort.
There are no easy solutions as the Giants once again try to jumpstart their struggling team. Michael Conforto is back, and the next two who could return from the IL – Austin Slater and Nick Ahmed – have struggled at the plate. Jung Hoo Lee underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Tuesday and will lose at least three more weeks. There are no more prospects for Triple-A success to try.
And that. This is the group. Therefore, they will need a lot more from their struggling veterans and will need to start scoring earlier in games. They entered the day ranked 12th in the NL in runs scored in the first six innings.
Stalking Problems
The Diamondbacks may have the fastest infield in the National League, which has caused the Giants a lot of problems, especially in the third inning. Jake McCarthy got a leadoff single on a grounder out of reach of shortstop Casey Schmitt, and Blaze Alexander followed with a hustle double on a hard grounder off Schmitt’s glove. Two runs scored when Kevin Newman hit a single off Matt Chapman’s glove.
It was a tough defensive night for Schmitt, who committed an error an inning later. He’s generally been good defensively this year and had a strong offensive weekend, but the Chase turf wasn’t kind to him on Tuesday.
Back home (sort of)
Like other Bay Area natives who were drafted by the Giants, Kyle Harrison now lives in the Phoenix area in the off-season. His return was better than it seemed on paper.
The Diamondbacks put six balls into play in the third inning while scoring Harrison with three runs. Three of them were base hits that touched a glove, and one of them was a single that went under a glove. The other two were a sacrifice fly and a grounder that started a double play.
That’s a tough way to give up three runs, and Harrison allowed just one more — which wasn’t earned. He went six innings, giving up eight hits, walking none and striking out five. The young lefty has thrown more than 95 pitches in five of his last seven starts.
