Giants find no fun in Miami
Lack of hitting ruins DeSclafani’s effort
The Giants played on the East Coast for the first time since 2019. However, they left their bats at home.
Starling Marte broke open a tie game Friday night with a three-run home run off reliever Wandy Peralta as the Giants fell to the host Miami Marlins 4-1.
The Giants fell to 8-5, wasting another strong performance by starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, with the Marlins improving to 6-7.
Pinch-hitter Jesus Aguilar drew a one-out walk off reliever and losing pitcher Matt Wisler, with manager Gabe Kapler bringing in Peralta to face Corey Dickerson.
Dickerson, 3 for 5 in his career against Peralta, singled to left, and Marte followed with a 427-foot shot to left-center.
The Giants managed just four hits against Miami starter Daniel Castano and five relief pitchers and were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Yimi Garcia finished off the Giants in the ninth.
The Giants squandered a chance to take the lead in the sixth after Mike Yastrzemski’s one-out triple to right against reliever Adam Cimber, who replaced Castano.
Cimber recovered to strike out Evan Longoria
for the second out, walked pinch-hitter Brandon Belt, then retired another pinchhitter, Alex Dickerson, on a fly to center.
Jazz Chisholm jumped on a 3-2 pitch for a solo home run off DeSclafani in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score 1-1. It was Chisholm’s third home run of the season.
The ball carried to the fence, hit the top of it and then bounced over to give the Marlins their first run of the game. Miguel Rojas followed with a double, but DeSclafani escaped further damage, inducing a pair of ground balls before striking out Corey Dickerson looking for the third out.
DeSclafani kept the Giants’ streak alive of having every starting pitcher this season make it through five innings. Only once — Kevin Gausman against Cincinnati — has an opponent scored more
than three times off a Giants starter through five. In Gausman’s game, he gave up two two-run homers in the first and nothing else through six.
DeSclafani was gone with a no decision after the sixth inning in favor of pinch-hitter Tommy LaStella. He lowered his season ERA to 1.06 and in his last two starts has given up 10 hits with one run with one walk and 12 strikeouts.
Longoria’s run-scoring single in the fourth inning broke up a scoreless tie, scoring Yastrzemski from second base.
Yastrzemski, one of two left-handed batters in the starting lineup against the left-handed Castano, opened the inning with a double into the right-field corner on a 3-1 pitch.
Longoria singled to left on a 1-1 pitch, with Yastrzemski scoring easily from second base.
PITCHING PROSPECT GETS CALL-UP AS CUETO HITS INJURED LIST >>
There is no mystery for Giants left-hander Alex Wood, although there is the excitement of making his
first start with a new team.
It’s a different story for Camilo Doval, a hard-throwing right-hander who was called up to the Giants from their alternate site and awaits his major league debut having never pitched above Class A. Wood will come off the injured list Sunday to start against the Marlins. By that time, Doval will possibly have pitched in his first game.
Doval was called up when Johnny Cueto was officially placed on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 lat strain. If all goes according to plan, Cueto, who was dazzling in his first two outings, will miss just two starts.
Doval, 23, bears watching in that his fastball has reached 100 mph to go along with a slider. In five spring training games, Doval had one save and gave up two earned runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. In 163 1/3 minor league innings, Doval has 233 strikeouts an 85 walks.
Wood hasn’t been fully healthy since 2017 and 2018, when he put together back-toback 16-3 and 9-7 seasons with the Dodgers and ERAs of 2.72 and 3.68, pitching more than 300 innings combined. CALLING A TAXI >> Catcher Chadwick Tromp, infielder Jason Vosler, right-handed pitcher Zach Littel, righthanded pitcher Trevor Gott and left-handed pitcher Sam SelmanwerenamedtotheGiants “taxi squad.” Taxi squad players accompany teams on the road and are available to be activated in case of injury or COVID-19.