SAN DIEGO — The best part about playing in the deepest division in the major leagues, with four teams believing they can reach the postseason, is the satisfaction of knowing the Rockies also are in the division.
In the wake of getting swept by the Padres in a quick two-game set at Petco Park, capped by Wednesday’s 5-3 loss, the Giants have the luxury of returning home and facing baseball’s biggest pushover in a four-game series.
The Rockies won their fifth game Wednesday and are a mere 5-25, good for a pathetic .200 winning percentage. They haven’t won two games in a row yet. They’re 1-14 on the road. And they’re showing no signs of a turnaround.
Is it sweep or bust for the Giants? That should be the goal. Especially because both the Padres and Dodgers already have swept the Rockies, who were outscored 35-12 in the six games. In fact, the Padres fired three shutouts at the Rockies.
Of course, sweeps aren’t easy against any team, even the Rockies. Every major-league team is capable of beating any other. “On any given day …,” as we’ve been told over and over. The Giants aren’t in a position to overlook any team, not after getting outplayed by a division rival the past two days.
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“They’re still a Major League Baseball team,” Giants third baseman Matt Chapman said of the Rockies, “and the last thing you ever want to do is take somebody lightly. We need to show up tomorrow and get into a good rhythm and get ourselves ready to win a baseball game.”
They struck out 14 times in a 7-4 loss in the opener and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position in the capper. Chapman and Wilmer Flores went a combined 0-for-16 with 12 strikeouts in the two games. If there’s any consolation, the Giants rallied from a four-run deficit to make Wednesday’s defeat a two-run game, a day after they fell behind 3-0 and made it a one-run game.
However, the Giants failed to provide the finishing touches.
“We fought. We weren’t out of it. We just came up short both days,” Chapman said. “I think we’ve got to get better at-bats and find a way to string good at-bats together. It’s no surprise. That’s a really good team over there.”
As for his own at-bats, Chapman said, “I’m not thrilled with the way I swung the bat the last two days. Bad pitch selection. That’s baseball. Just got to get back to staying in my zone and getting better swings off.”
Not even their fans could save the Giants. For decades, Giants fans were so prominent down here that they took over the ballpark — first at Jack Murphy Stadium and then at Petco — and out-cheered Padres fans. That’s no longer the case, as Padres fans show up in droves, already producing 15 sellouts this season.
One giddy Giants fan got too involved Wednesday and stuck his glove where it shouldn’t go. Sitting in the left-field bleachers and wearing a Giants cap and T-shirt, he tried to catch a long fly by Elias Diaz. He failed to get his glove on the ball, and the ball hit his wrist.
The play was initially ruled a homer. The Giants challenged. But it stood as a homer, with crew chief Dan Bellino saying over the PA system, “After review, the ruling on the field is confirmed. The fan stuck his glove over the field of play, however the ball struck him in the wrist, which was beyond the field of play. It is a home run.”
The fan laughed. The Giants grimaced.
“These are just two frustrating games,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We had a chance. One swing, and it’s a completely different game. It’s not like we laid down and didn’t fight. We did fight until the end. It was a little bit of the same theme early on. So we just go home and put these two games away and hopefully do some damage the next four.”
One day after Logan Webb lasted five innings, Landen Roupp got through just 4 ⅓. In the combined 9 ⅓ innings, the starters yielded nine runs on 16 hits. They put strain on the bullpen and created deficits that the offense wasn’t able to conquer.
On Wednesday, the Giants’ bats hibernated the first five innings as LaMonte Wade’s third-inning single was the only blemish for Padres starter Michael King. They finally rallied in the sixth and scored their first run on Jung Hoo Lee’s infield single, but Chapman swung through a high fastball to strike out and strand two runners.
Homers by Heliot Ramos in the seventh and Mike Yastrzemski in the eighth made it 5-3, but that’s where the score remained. The 19-11 Padres passed the 19-12 Giants in the standings, who slipped from first to third in the NL West in less than 24 hours.
Now it’s time for the Giants to host the 5-25 Rockies.
That should be a win. Or four.