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There was a time when the Giants had the Padres in their sights. When catching them seemed realistic. When it appeared the two California clubs could go head to head down the stretch. When these seven games in 11 days against the Padres were considered a ripe opportunity to do some real damage.
That all seems in the distant past. That all goes back to when there was a glimmer of hope the offense would come around.
Eight games – eight games – now separate the teams. It feels like more because they seem light years apart as they go in opposite directions, the Padres toward the postseason and the Giants toward missing the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years.
The offense was a virtual no-show again Monday night, and the result was an unsurprising 4-1 loss in a game that was played before 31,018 fans, some of whom rooted for the Padres, a rare occurrence through the years around Oracle Park.
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“I couldn’t tell you the answer,” Logan Webb said when asked to explain the Giants’ downfall. “I don’t know. Honestly, no clue.”
The only way for the Giants to combat their insufficient offense is for their pitchers to put up zero after zero on the scoreboard, and Webb did that for a while. Eventually, the ace gave up four runs. Naturally, the Giants didn’t retaliate.
When your team fails to get a hit with runners in scoring position for three straight games, it’s trouble. Just as bad: In those games, the Giants had just eight at-bats with runners in scoring position — so it’s not just that they’re not producing in those situations; it’s that they can’t even put themselves in those situations.
Manager Bob Melvin and his staff have tried everything to get the offense going. Extra batting practice. No batting practice. Meetings. More meetings. Instruction. More instruction. To no avail. Hours before Monday’s first pitch, Heliot Ramos, Rafael Devers, and Willy Adames were on the field taking extra rounds of batting practice, hoping to help ignite a turnaround. They were the first three hitters in the lineup and went 1-for-12.
The one hit was Devers’ homer in the sixth. That tied the score 1-1, but the Padres scored three times in the seventh, two on a homer by the No. 9 hitter, Freddy Fermín, one of many players general manager A.J. Preller acquired at the trade deadline. The laundry list includes fireballer Mason Miller, who struck out all three of his batters in the eighth, and Ryan O’Hearn, who batted cleanup.
“Giants fans are one of the best. They’ve been showing up for us,” Webb said. “We just haven’t been doing a good job. We scored a run today to tie the game, and I go back out in the seventh. Momentum shift. Just bad. Kind of the way it’s going.”
When the Giants last faced the Padres, in early June, they were separated by a mere game. Much has happened since then, including at the trade deadline when the Giants were rare sellers and the Padres were aggressive buyers. The Giants had a productive trip after the deadline, winning consecutive series in New York and Pittsburgh, making fans believe there was hope.
But, remember, the Giants lost two key relievers at the deadline, Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers, and a right fielder, Mike Yastrzemski, and didn’t add a big bat and starting pitcher, which they had been on their wish list when they were in buyers’ mode.
Shoddy play made them morph into sellers and trade veterans for prospects as part of a reset. Given all that, this continuing tailspin shouldn’t be stunning.
The Giants have lost 11 of 12 home games for the first time since Aug. 23-Sept. 15, 1993. That was the year they went 103-59 under new manager Dusty Baker and free-agent addition Barry Bonds, a team with a lot of streaks, mostly good ones. They followed up by going 14-2 before losing their season finale.
This is a different team in a different year. These days, they’re no threat to the Padres, one of the majors’ most dangerous and well-rounded teams. The Padres’ main concern isn’t the Giants; it’s the first-place Dodgers, whose lead over San Diego has slipped to a single game.
Monday, the Giants managed just five hits and, other than the Devers homer, did nothing against Yu Darvish, who entered with a 6.51 ERA on the season and whopping 9.12 ERA in his career at Oracle Park.
“The guys come out on the field every day incentivized to try to win a baseball game,” Melvin said, “and certainly nobody's happy with the performance we've had here at home recently. Because at one point in time, this was a real homefield advantage for us, and recently that script has been flipped.”
Drew Gilbert, acquired from the Mets in the Rogers trade, played right field for the fourth straight game and collected his first big-league hit, a popup to shallow left field. He stole second and, after the throw got loose, tried for third but was thrown out.
If the Giants can pull off a miracle, it probably won’t be by overtaking the Padres. More like the Mets. The Giants are 4 ½ games behind the Mets for the final wild-card spot only because the New Yorkers are in a horrendous funk, losing seven in a row and 11 of 12.
It’s not much to lean on, but until further notice, the Giants have no other choice.