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Logan Webb’s one regret came much later, a sixth-inning 0-2 four-seamer that got too much of the plate. Jurickson Profar volleyed it to center field for a two-run single, and an excellent start was deemed a middling start in the scorebook. The 24-year-old Webb went six strong and allowed three runs against a powerful Padres lineup in an eventual 3-2 loss Friday.
Anthony DeSclafani’s one regret arrived immediately. He had allowed five runs in 30 innings all season, and zero in nine innings in his previous outing. Trent Grisham and Fernando Tatis Jr. got on in Saturday’s first inning, before DeSclafani hung a curveball to Manny Machado.
“It’s got to be bounced in the dirt, and it just kind of rolled out of my hand,” the 31-year-old said, the home run burying him and the Giants in a 3-0 hole before he recorded an out. “…I think at this level if you’re going to hang curveballs like that, they’re going to get whacked.”
He didn’t hang another, or even throw another. DeSclafani moved away from his curveball, featuring his slider more and his pair of fastballs, plus a changeup, to induce a ton of soft contact from San Diego hitters. He pitched quickly, efficiently and smartly, needing just 76 pitches to go six innings. After the Machado blast, the Padres managed just one hit off the veteran righty and consistently hit balls toward the ground.
A Giants comeback never was launched, and the offense, with 28 strikeouts and four runs through two games, again was to blame in a 6-2 loss at Petco Park.
The Giants will lose the series, and the bats need to prove they can make enough contact, especially in situations that scream for contact, to hang with the best pitching staffs in baseball. And a staff that threw Yu Darvish and Blake Snell, plus a cavalcade of filthy relievers, qualifies as one of the best. The Giants can have faith in ace Kevin Gausman against an as-yet-unnamed starter for San Diego on Sunday, but their quality arms have shown glimpses that they can be as effective against Padres bats as they were against, say, the Rockies’ and Marlins’.
Mistakes will get hit more often, and that will need to be fixed. But the Giants can be encouraged by what they have seen from Webb and DeSclafani, whose ERA is now 2.00.
“All of us starters are just as good as anybody else in the league,” DeSclafani said of a rotation that entered play with a 2.29 ERA, the best in the majors. “We all have really good arms. We all possess some unique qualities that the Giants are good at kind of extracting and getting us to use.
“I believe in our starting staff, there’s no doubt about it. I think it’s going to continue to be a fun year.”
They hung with the Padres and still own the better record. They will get their chances to continue proving themselves, especially with seven games in 10 days against the Dodgers later this month.
Not that Gabe Kapler will admit that these showdowns mean more.
“I don’t think any of us are in this to pass tests,” the manager said. “We’re here to win baseball games — as many of them as we can, and it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side.”
The Giants have stepped to the plate 14 times with runners in scoring position the last two games and have one RBI, on Darin Ruf‘s single. They have left 14 on base and continue to strike out in big spots.
“I think we have an elevated game in us offensively, one that’s a little bit more consistent with the effort that we’re seeing right now,” Kapler said. “We saw a lot of that last year, and we’ve seen it in stretches this year. I don’t think we’ve seen it consistently enough to really, night after night, bury teams, get that big hit, potentially change the game with a big inning.”
Mauricio Dubon has had as frustrating a start as anyone, hitting balls hard that have not found holes and pretty much losing an everyday role, first to Austin Slater and now to Mike Tauchman. He hit his first home run of the season Saturday and believes his luck will turn.
“It’s tough to see that .100 when you’re hitting,” said Dubon, now hitting .192. “…It’s baseball, and eventually it’s going to even up.”
Young righty Camilo Doval stumbled in the eighth, his first pitch getting too much of the plate on a home run to Profar. He eventually was charged with three runs.
“As great a right arm as he has, as powerful and as deceptive as he is, he’s also a young pitcher learning his way,” Kapler said. “That’s going to come with some big successes like we’ve seen, but it’s also going to come from time to time with him losing the strike zone a little bit and being in the middle of the plate.”
