Giants run out of magic in a loss to Rangers
San Francisco again erases a four-run deficit, but then falters
SAN FRANCISCO >> The Giants came back from three four-run deficits in a six-game homestand in which pitcher-friendly Oracle Park played like a hitter’s haven.
A fourth four-run deficit finally proved too difficult for a resilient lineup to overcome.
After falling behind 5-1 in Sunday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers, Giants third baseman Evan Longoria and catcher Chadwick Tromp each blasted home runs in the sixth inning to tie the score at 5-5.
Thirty minutes later, a mistake-filled seventh inning left the Giants in another hole in a 9-5 defeat that dropped the club to 5-5.
Rangers slugger Joey Gallo delivered a back-breaking three-run home run on an 0-2 fastball off Giants reliever Tyler Anderson that broke Sunday’s game open, but three consecutive walks to open the seventh by right-hander Andrew Triggs set up Texas for success.
Triggs was pitching in his first major league game since May 17, 2018. He joined the Giants bullpen Sunday after the club placed Saturday’s starting pitcher, Drew Smyly, on the 10-day injured list with a strained left index finger. Triggs entered the game in
relief of starter Jeff Samardzija in the sixth and retired Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but couldn’t find the strike zone when he returned to the mound in the seventh. His command issues led manager Gabe Kapler to call on Anderson, who gave up a sacrifice fly before Gallo launched a 422foot three-run home run beyond the wall in Triples Alley.
Before the Giants changed the outfield dimensions to accommodate new bullpens in center field this offseason, the wall in Triples Alley sat 421 feet from the plate. Gallo’s home run appeared to barely scrape over the wall, but it was the only home run hit during the homestand that may have instead been a base hit in the first two decades of the stadium’s existence.
The Giants came back from four-run deficits in Wednesday’s 7-6 win over the Padres and Thursday’s 12-7 loss to San Diego and also fell behind in the first inning in each of the first two games of their series against the Rangers.
“(We) gave ourselves an opportunity and things happen and every one of these games, we haven’t been out of and that’s something you feel really good about,” left fielder Hunter Pence said. “And it’s been a lot of fun to be a part of.”
No Giants pitcher had recorded more than 10 outs in a game until Sunday, but Samardzija’s efforts in the fifth inning didn’t improve the team’s chances against the Rangers. With Texas leadoff hitter ShinSoo Choo at the plate, Samardzija left a cutter up in the strike zone that Choo drilled into McCovey Cove.
Choo’s two-run home run left the bat at 110.1 mph and sent multiple kayakers diving into the San Francisco Bay for a souvenir.
The Giants kept Samardzija out of their rotation
for the season-opening four-game series in Los Angeles because they wanted him to open the season with consecutive outings inside the more pitcherfriendly confines of Oracle Park. The decision failed to pay dividends as Samardzija gave up five runs in each start, both games the Giants lost.
Samardzija escaped without the decision thanks to a Giants offense that came alive in the middle innings against the Rangers bullpen. Longoria’s solo home run into the left-field bleachers off Texas right-hander Ian Gibaut left the bat at 108.8 mph, marking the seventh hardest-hit ball during his two-plus seasons with the Giants.
Tromp’s two-run homer against Jesse Chavez was the first of his young career as he joined current Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts and former journeyman outfielder Gene Kingsale as the only players born in Aruba to homer in a major league game.
A few other Giants players had encouraging offensive performances, including second baseman Donovan Solano, who went 2 for 2 with a pair of walks to continue a torrid start to the season at the plate.
Pence has been as cold as Solano has been hot, but the veteran outfielder finally broke through against the Rangers team that helped him resurrect his career last season.
Pence began the summer
0 for 23 at the plate, but batted in the cleanup spot Sunday as Kapler insisted he’s still exceedingly confident in the 37-yearold left fielder’s ability to hit left-handed pitchers. In his first at-bat against Rangers southpaw Kolby Allard, Pence crushed a 401-foot triple into deep right-center field.
The swing helped validate Kapler’s decision to leave Pence in the heart of the order while also energizing a Giants team that considers Pence one of its most vital veteran leaders.
“It hasn’t been that tough to stay positive for me, personally,” Pence said after Sunday’s game. “I look to what’s my process, what’s my preparation and what adjustments need to be made.”
The Giants relied on center fielder Mike Yastrzemski to carry the offense alongside Solano during a homestand in which the team averaged more than six runs per game. But Sunday was a quiet afternoon for the National League leader in Wins Above Replacement.
Yastrzemski went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts, ending his nine-game on-base streak to open the season.
The Giants will open their longest trip of the season today at Coors Field in Denver, where they’ll play a four-game set against the Rockies before traveling to Los Angeles and Houston for three game series against the Dodgers and Astros.