Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Beating up on the bad teams has granted the Giants some equity and brought them into the playoff chase.
To both qualify and have more than a prayer in a three-game matchup against, say, the Dodgers, they have to prove they can win games against, say, the A’s. Which has not happened in four tries this year.
Logan Webb was not sharp and the Giants’ bats, in their first game without Mike Yastrzemski, looked like they missed their MVP in a quiet, 6-0 loss at the Coliseum on Friday, a poor start to a big series in the biggest stretch of the Giants’ season.
As the Giants (25-25) fell to 0-4 against Oakland this year, the Phillies (26-25) leapfrogged them to grab the seventh seed, and the Reds (26-26) gained ground. The Giants have only played three teams that are currently above .500 in the A’s, Dodgers and Padres. Against the elites, they are 5-15.
After this three-game set, San Francisco goes home for four against the Rockies and four more against those Padres, a club they likely will have to prove they can beat if they want to qualify.
When Friday’s play began, they knew they were going to be challenged defensively, running out of outfielders as Yastrzemski’s calf barked and having to move Darin Ruf to right field. The closest Ruf got to burning them was a third-inning foul ball from Marcus Semien that fell out of his reach, which may have been in Yastrzemski’s (or a healthy Austin Slater’s) range. But it was Donovan Solano’s glove that cost Webb an early run.
With a runner on first, Mark Canha hit a ground ball up the middle that Solano had to range for. He had the out at first but instead tried for second, throwing wild and maybe too late. With two outs in the frame, Jake Lamb singled in a run in a long, 27-pitch inning for Webb.
The Giants could have used a starter to give length after Drew Smyly and Tyler Anderson were so brief the past two games. They also could have used an effective one, which Webb was not. He struggled through 3 1/3 innings in which he allowed six runs on six hits and two walks. The big blow was a Matt Olson three-run dinger in the third, as Giants starters have now gone nine innings and surrendered 13 runs in three games.
The lack of starting has forced the bullpen to flip in search of fresh arms, and newly called-up Andrew Suarez and Shaun Anderson were excellent in 3 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings. But in a rarity, the Giants’ bats never gave them a chance.
The Giants finished with three hits, none from the first five hitters in the order (who went 0-for-16 with four walks), and the offense left eight on base. They failed in two chances to capitalize, first in the sixth when they put two on only for Wilmer Flores to strike out. In the seventh they had two on again, but Mauricio Dubon’s 388-foot drive to left-center died on the warning track and in Ramon Laureano’s glove.
The Giants’ bullpen was solid again, and entering play its ERA since Aug. 19 was 2.05, the second best in MLB. The problem is that the A’s, with a 1.95 ERA, were first.
At some point, they will need to find a way to get at the unit. And at some point, even if they do make the playoffs, they will have to prove they can beat good teams.