Giants still searching for groove as Diamondbacks, Dodgers distance themselves
Giants still searching for groove as rivals distance themselves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Giants enter the seventh full week of the 2023 MLB season flirting with the NL West cellar.
They are 17-23, six games under .500 and 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, who have begun to run away with the division ever since the San Diego Padres displayed that odd Clayton Kershaw meme at Petco Park on May 5.
San Francisco’s quick trip to Phoenix proved to be unfruitful. They looked strong Thursday night with a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks behind another Alex Cobb gem, only to lose the final three games of the series.
The Giants' latest defeat was their 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon in walk-off fashion.
“We’re grinding right now. It sucks,” Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb said Sunday. “A series like this, you come in, win the first one [and play] pretty well. [The Diamondbacks] are in, what, second place right now? I feel like you should try to step on their throats, and we didn’t do that.”
The Diamondbacks, indeed, are in second place. They are three games behind the Dodgers and are the only other NL West team with a winning record and positive run differential (plus-12).
Webb did his part Sunday, logging his fifth consecutive quality start by allowing just one earned run on three hits over seven innings. But the offense wasn’t there. Michael Conforto’s solo blast in the fourth inning proved to be the Giants’ only run of the game.
After signing a five-year, $90 million contract extension in April, Webb got off to a rough start to the season and was allowing an uncharacteristic amount of home runs. While he’s turned it around recently, the bats haven’t followed his lead.
The Giants dropped to 3-6 in games Webb has started this season. In four of those six losses, the offense produced zero or one run.
"It’s close. It’s not like we’re getting our asses kicked every night," Webb said Sunday. "I know [Friday] night we weren’t at our best, but we feel like we’re in every game. It’s a long season. We’ve still got a lot of games to play.
"Hopefully we find our groove and keep going. Keep battling. There’s nothing else you can do."
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The Giants have strung together two notable winning streaks this season -- a five-game streak in late April and a four-game streak in early May. Both hot stretches brought the Giants back within two games of .500, a mark they haven't reached since they were 3-3 on April 6.
The season still is young, but San Francisco needs to find another hot stretch soon before the Dodgers and, yes, those scrappy Diamondbacks, distance themselves even further.
