Suarez, Giants wrecked by Diamondbacks
Pitcher’s worst start of career follows another poor pitching effort in Arizona
PHOENIX >> When the Giants opened the second half of the season with a fourgame deficit in the National League West, they knew they’d have to get into the fast lane if they hoped to catch up to the pack.
Fourteen games after the All-Star break, the Giants are stuck in traffic, losing ground and plodding along instead of cruising on the open road.
After a starting pitcher allowed five first-inning runs for the second straight night, San Francisco couldn’t drive up a hill that proved all too steep in a 9-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
“The first inning, that’s a big number to give up and that’s an uphill climb for the guys,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “As tough as it was going, we had men out there we just couldn’t get one more hit to keep it moving.”
For the 19th time this season, the Giants handed the keys to rookie left-hander Andrew Suárez, who turned in his worst night behind the wheel and the worst of any San Francisco starter this season. Suárez allowed 10 hits, four for extra bases, and gave up two home runs while surrendering a season-high eight runs over five innings of work.
“I think it’s just my mechanics are just a little bit off,” Suárez said. “I’m going to watch film tomorrow and get back and get ready for the next start.”
Both D’backs middle infielders took Suárez deep, as second baseman Ketel Marte sent a 112-mph laser over the left-center-field wall in the first before shortstop Nick Ahmed launched a two-run screamer into the Arizona bullpen in the fifth. The homer was Ahmed’s 15th of the year, which is a benchmark no Giants player has hit yet this season.
Despite winning four in a row to begin the week, the Giants have lost backto-back games and now sit six games out of first place. With a 56-56 record and 50 games left to play, the slim postseason odds that existed in the middle of July have largely evaporated due to a combination of inconsistent play and injuries that have wiped out core members of the roster.
After lowering his ERA nearly two full points from the beginning of June through the All-Star break, Suárez has given up at least eight hits in each of his past three outings.
“The stuff is really good, I think it’s his command more than anything that’s a little off,” Bochy said. “You look at the ball-strike ratio there early and he just wasn’t sharp.”
After Chris Stratton allowed five first-inning runs in a three-inning start Friday, the Giants needed to adjust their roster to provide coverage in the bullpen. San Francisco optioned Stratton and infielder Kelby Tomlinson to make room for relievers Pierce Johnson and Derek Law, who both appeared in relief of Suárez.
Johnson was on the
mound in the bottom of the sixth inning when a fellow rookie turned in the best defensive play of his young career. After slugging his first career home run in the fourth, center fielder Steven Duggar ranged into the right-center-field gap and made a phenomenal catch that finished with a tumble to rob David Peralta of extra bases.
Duggar met former Giants outfielder and 19-year major-league veteran Steve Finley before Friday’s game at Chase Field as Bochy was hoping Finley could pass along a few tips to a player with a similar skill set.
“I’m just extremely honored, for one, to have a comparison to Steve Finley,” Duggar said. “I used to watch him and that was really
cool. Being able to meet him and talk a little bit ... that was a lot of fun.”
Duggar and right fielder Andrew McCutchen were the only Giants to have big nights, but that could bode well for the club moving forward. The Giants are hopeful Duggar has the ability to develop into the everyday center fielder, and if they feel there’s too much ground to overcome in the playoff race, they’ll trade McCutchen with the goal of having another team take on the remaining salary the Giants owe him.
With five hits and a home run, McCutchen has added to his potential trade value should the Giants elect to place him on waivers in August.
“What a day Cutch had,”
Bochy said. “Just a great game. Here’s your leadoff hitter, he gets five hits, a home run, an RBI double. You’d like to think you’re in the game.”
POSEY SLATED TO PLAY TODAY >> A night after exiting a game feeling light-headed, Buster Posey was out of the Giants lineup and in concussion protocol.
Posey took a foul tip off of his catcher’s mask in the first inning Friday and was removed after running to first base on a single in the third inning. The Giants added Triple-A catcher Ronnie Freeman to the taxi squad as a precautionary measure, but Posey remained active Saturday and if he remains symptom free, Bochy said Posey will play first base today.