Slumping Giants lineup blanked in quiet loss to Mariners
Slumping Giants lineup blanked in quiet loss to Mariners originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO -- Keaton Winn threw 27 pitches in the top of the second inning on Tuesday afternoon, escaping with just one run on the board after All-Star center fielder Julio Rodriguez bounced one back to the mound with the bases loaded. He walked back to the Giants dugout and sat down to take a breath and gather his thoughts, and then, just about right away, he got back up.
The Giants saw just three pitches in the bottom of the inning before Winn went back to work. That's how it's going at the moment for a scuffling group that's averaging 3.08 runs per game over the last 12, losing eight of them. The latest was a 6-0 loss to right-hander Logan Gilbert which was one of the quietest offensive performances of the season.
Gilbert pounded the zone with his fastball, including three in that second inning, which was just the second time this season in MLB that a pitcher had a 1-2-3 inning with all three batters seeing one pitch. He became the first player to throw a nine-inning shutout against the Giants in four years.
"Today, you give all the credit in the world to Gilbert," manager Gabe Kapler said.
The problem for Kapler and the Giants at the moment is that this wasn't an isolated incident. Since their 10-game winning streak was snapped, they've scored just 37 runs in 12 games. They're batting .207 in their last 12 games with a teamwide OPS of just about .600.
The lineup has been banged up, but the Giants also are not getting much production from their healthy veterans right now. The two-week slump would look even worse without the contributions of two rookie catchers, Patrick Bailey and Blake Sabol.
On Tuesday, two of the five hits came from J.D. Davis, who has been around long enough to know that the season is a rollercoaster. Over the 10 games before this stretch, the lineup hit .299 with a .854 OPS.
"We were on a roll and then over this last week, it's been kind of hit and miss," Davis said. "It's bound to happen. The season is a seesaw, but we're still confident in each other. I think we're just going through a little bit of a sluggish period right now, a lot of bad travel, and hopefully, we can pick up on our sleep schedule and catch up on this off day that's coming up on Thursday and get things rolling.
“I know we've got a game tomorrow. Hopefully, we can scratch that one and at least get one off of them."
The Giants will have a day to regroup on Thursday and they're not far from a four-day All-Star break. Davis said that will be a huge help, but it won't solve one of the biggest issues at the moment. Mitch Haniger will be out until September and Thairo Estrada will now miss four to six weeks. Asked if all of that is starting to add up, Davis nodded.
"Absolutely," he said. "You can't hide it."
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The Giants did a good job for a few weeks, but there have been cracks in their depth, and some of the veterans look like they've hit a wall. Because Tuesday's game was a day game, they have some extra rest ahead of the series finale, a rare night getaway game at Oracle Park. Then it's three against the last-place Colorado Rockies, which should provide a chance to get back on track ahead of the All-Star break.
"We can't just be looking ahead (to the days off)," Davis said. "We've got to end on a good note and make the best out of this last week."
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