Offense slowing down at wrong time
SAN DIEGO >> After another heart-stopping, nail-biting thriller that ended in a victory, the Giants returned to the visiting clubhouse at Petco Park on Friday night and talked up the value of their dominant bullpen.
The Giants’ 11-inning win over the Padres marked their seventh extra-inning win since the All-star break and their major league-best 25th victory in a one-run game this season.
On Saturday, the Giants showed why a great bullpen can only take a team so far.
The Giants’ offense struggled through another rough, low-energy performance and it hurt them in a 5-1 loss to the Padres that highlighted the team’s greatest flaw.
On a night when their pitching staff was merely average, Giants hitters didn’t do nearly enough to keep the team in the game. That was the case far too often in the first two months of the season and over the last week, an inconsistent lineup is once again becoming a concern.
The Giants (53-52) haven’t scored more than five runs in a game since July 18 and have now been held to three runs or fewer in six of their last nine games. The defeat brought an end to their six-game win streak against San Diego and puts their streak of six consecutive series wins in jeopardy heading into today’s series finale.
Giants rookie Shaun Anderson pitched better than his final line indicated, but the Padres took advantage of the right-hander’s biggest mistakes. Anderson set a new career-high by inducing 14 swings and misses, but he found one barrel that proved particularly costly.
After working ahead 0-2 against Padres rookie Fernando Tatis, Jr. in the fifth inning, Anderson threw a 92-mile per hour fast- ball high and tight that knocked the batter to the ground.
Tatis didn’t take kindly to the inside fastball, but got his revenge on the next pitch when he hammered a 1-2 slider over the 396foot sign on the right center field wall. The rookie shortstop’s 17th home run of the season made Ander- son pay for walking pitcher Cal Quantrill and gave the Padres a 3-0 lead.
The Giants mustered just one hit in their first five in- nings against Quantrill, but finally scored in the sixth after right fielder Mike Yastrzemski led off the frame with a double. A Pablo Sandoval single through the left side of the infield brought Yastrzemski home, but the Giants squandered a chance to tie the game.
With a pair of runners in scoring position, center fielder Kevin Pillar hit a long line drive out to center field that Manuel Margot tracked down to end the inning.
The Giants sent a few more runners to scoring position, but never cashed in on their opportunities as they finished the evening 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
After Saturday’s loss, the Giants only have two more chances to play before Wednesday’s trade deadline. Veterans have spoken up in recent days, expressing confidence that the front office will take note of what the team has accomplished over the last two months and keep the roster intact so the team can compete for a postseason
berth.
The Giants haven’t made any significant moves yet, but every time the offense looks like it did during the slow months of April and May, it becomes more difficult for team executives to listen to the senior voices in the clubhouse and move forward with the group that’s in place.
• The Giants announced that left-handed pitcher Ty Blach was designated for assignment to open a roster spot for suspended minor league pitcher Logan Webb.
Webb, the Giants’ No. 5 prospect according to MLB. com, was suspended for 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. He will return to the mound at Doublea Richmond for the first time since his suspension on Sunday.
Blach was the Giants’ emergency Opening Day starter in 2018 after Madison Bumgarner suffered a fractured hand in his final outing of spring training. Blach made two appearances for the Giants this season and posted a 5.93 ERA in 17 games for Triple-a Sacramento.
Blach can remain with the Sacramento River Cats if he clears waivers.
• The Giants may be lacking in some areas, but there’s one unit that makes them the envy of all of baseball. Their relievers have formed the deepest, most dominant bullpen in the National League.
The Giants have posted a major-league best 25-10 record in one-run games this season, securing each of their last six victories by one run. Five of those six games have finished in extra-innings, including Friday’s 2-1 thriller that ended shortly after Pablo Sandoval blasted his 13th home run of the season in the top of the 11th.
Few relievers in baseball have been as dominant as Melancon since the All-star break, who has allowed just two hits over his last 7 2/3 innings. Melancon is throwing as well now as he has at any point during his tenure with the Giants.