Worst stretch for S.F. since ’92
As the Giants sank to depths not seen in 25 years Sunday, pitcher Matt Moore represented a symptom of the team’s illness and a reminder that while they have played terribly as a group, any turnaround is predicated on 25 individuals discovering why they are flailing and how they can get better.
Moore’s ERA rose to a National League-worst 6.04 after he was hammered for five runs over 42⁄3 innings an 8-2 loss that completed a threegame Mets sweep at AT&T Park.
In authoring the Giants’ 12th loss in 13 games, their first 1-12 stretch since 1992, Moore allowed two homers to backup catcher René Rivera, the
eighth-place hitter who over a scattershot big-league career that began in 2004 has homered about once every 42 at-bats.
Rivera out-homered the Giants in the series, 2-1.
Moore has not come close in 2017 to replicating his work for the Giants after his acquisition last July, when he nearly no-hit the Dodgers, won the final game of the regular season to get the Giants into the playoffs, then dominated the eventual World Series-champion Cubs in Game 4 of the Division Series.
That Moore is lurking somewhere. Had he not appeared briefly in Atlanta on Tuesday, pitching well enough to allow the Giants to mount a late comeback and win, they could be riding a 13-game losing streak into Monday night’s series opener against Colorado.
The breadth of the Giants’ struggles is inconceivable.
“I’ve been through tough times, and this is as tough a stretch as I’ve seen,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “For some reason the baseball gods are testing this group. It’s not like they’re going out unprepared or they’re not trying. Enough is enough. We’ve got to get this thing turned around.” Moore certainly is ready. “I'm sitting on a 6 ERA right now with not a lot of wins and not a lot of team wins when I’m throwing the ball, so it’s been enough for me,” he said. “The last couple of months it’s been nothing that I’m happy with. There’s a lot of room for growth, a lot of room for improvement. I would agree with that.”
Bochy met with selected players after the game. It’s fitting that he sought out individuals, because only individual improvement will translate into team wins.
Moore’s issue always has been command. The stuff is there. Amid his struggles, the left-hander ditched his cut fastball over the past three starts because he felt his reliance on the pitch was affecting his ability to throw the fourseam fastball, every pitcher’s basic weapon.
But Moore still is not locating his four-seamer well, particularly inside to right-handed hitters, and they are hurting him.
If he can solve the issue and allow fewer runs, that would be one player down, 24 to go.
Then, perhaps, shortstop Brandon Crawford and first baseman Brandon Belt can figure out why they are hitting 36 and 47 points below their 2016 averages. And individual pitchers, starters and relievers, can discover why they are throwing so many more gopher balls, even at AT&T Park.
The Giants have pitched 200 innings in June and allowed 38 homers and 142 earned runs. No wonder they have just five wins in the past 21 games.
Talent deficiency certainly comes into play, which the front office will need to address. But most of these players can make the incremental improvements that will turn the Giants into a team that fans can watch without having to shield their eyes.
“I don’t feel it’s that complicated,” catcher Buster Posey said. “We have to pitch better, play better defense and swing the bat better. A lot of times when you’re clicking, whether it’s defense, offense or pitching, they seem to feed off each other.”