Diamondbacks 7, Giants 4:
Tyler Anderson roughed up in loss at Arizona.
The 2020 Giants don’t want to be compared with the 2019 Giants. Or the 2018 Giants or 2017 Giants. Take your pick. All those teams were challenged when it came to scoring runs.
These Giants were different in the season’s first half (or first month; same difference). Scoring runs was the one thing they did consistently.
It’s suddenly a struggle. After getting shut out on both ends of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Giants scored one run in eight innings Friday before experiencing a productive ninth in a 74 loss to the Diamondbacks.
The Giants aren’t exactly playing as if they’re determined to keep their team intact approaching Monday’s trade deadline. After winning seven straight, home plate too often has been a mirage.
Evan Longoria’s sixthinning homer, the 301st of his career, was the Giants’ only run against Zac Gallen, and they didn’t score again until Wilmer Flores doubled home Brandon Belt in the ninth and Brandon Crawford followed with a tworun homer.
How the Giants perform in the days leading to the deadline could help determine how president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi handles trade activity, and the team isn’t making much of a lastminute case that it’s playoffcaliber and should be upgraded for the here and now.
Zaidi broke up much of the bullpen at last year’s deadline, and the Giants weren’t a threat down the stretch. He could continue to seek prospects that’ll boost the team in 2021 and beyond.
On the trip, the Giants brought a fourman taxi squad — pitchers Rico Garcia and Carlos Navas, catcher Chris Herrmann and utility player Daniel Robertson — and could quickly fill roster spots in the event of a trade.
“I certainly like the group of players we have in the clubhouse right now,” manager Gabe Kapler said before the game. “Most importantly, the job of manager and the coaching staff is get the most out of the players that are in our clubhouse right now, so that’s what I stay more focused on.”
Kapler knows what it’s like to be traded at the deadline. It happened to him in 2002 when he was dealt from the Rangers to Rockies.
“It’s not easy. There are a lot of stressors,” Kapler said. “All players know this is a business. It’s part of the gig that sometimes trades happen. I experienced it from bunch of different angles, and I know it can be a challenge.”
Giants starter Tyler Anderson failed to resemble the pitcher who dominated the Diamondbacks five games earlier when he pitched a completegame, 103pitch gem without yielding an earned run.
This time, the lefty threw 88 pitches, lasted just 42⁄3 innings and gave up seven earned runs, so the Giants needed more than a few runs to compete on this night.
The Giants entered averaging 4.82 runs per game, sixthhighest total in the National League. Last year, they ranked secondtolast in the league in runs and 28th in the majors. They ranked 29th in both 2018 and 2017.
Kapler noted the offense faced two of the league’s top starters, Clayton Kershaw and Gallen, sandwiched around a game in which the Giants went against a string of tough Dodgers relievers.
“Now, the flip side of that,” Kapler said, “I want to acknowledge that’s major league baseball. Every time out there, you’re going to be facing someone with great stuff and with the ability to beat you, and we’ve got to step up and meet that challenge.”