The Giants and Athletics were as united in their opposition to the A’s ownership as they were to scoring runs.
In the center field bleachers, a fan-driven “Unite The Bay” rally chanted “Stay In Oakland” and donned “SELL” shirts. Neither the Giants nor Athletics sent any baseballs their way as each Bay Area team reached double-digit strikeouts.
The Giants’ struggles with runners in scoring position that have plagued them through their six-game losing streak persisted, but they did just enough to hold off the worst team in baseball.
Against the 28-win A’s, who have the highest ERA in baseball, the Giants (55-47) scored two runs on four hits. That rewarded a magnificent start from Alex Cobb (6IP, 3H, 0 ER, 9K) to snap a six-game skid. Mike Yastrzemski delivered the go-ahead double and Camilo Doval struck out the side for his 31st save in a 2-1 Giants win.
“I still think we’re going to need to get more than a few hits here or there,” manager Gabe Kapler said postgame. “For our team to be successful, we’re going to have to have some more consistently productive at-bats. So, we’re not where we need to be, but we came away with a win tonight and that’s all that matters.”
Batters were uncomfortable on both sides from the start. Cobb struck out seven of the first eight batters he faced; the only ball in play during that stretch was a double from Seth Brown.
Even though the perfectionist expressed some frustration with it, Cobb’s splitter was much more effective than it was in his last turn, when he gave up five earned runs in 4.1 innings. He generated 10 whiffs on the pitch, which allowed him to mix in his sinker and curveball off it with success.
Through five shutout innings, Cobb fanned eight and needed just 71 pitches to do so. Against Cobb, the A’s looked exactly like what they are: the worst hitting team in MLB.
The Athletics, ranked last in team batting average and OPS, didn’t hit a ball over 300 feet against Cobb all night.
San Francisco had similar struggles, as it has for a week now. Its last hit with a runner in scoring position was last Wednesday, a streak that persisted even through the Giants’ first run of Tuesday.
The Giants loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth on a walk, single and error on a sacrifice bunt. A sacrifice fly gave the Giants a lead, but their RISP record dropped to 1-for-29 spanning back to the start of the six-game losing skid.
Asked pregame about his club’s recent offensive struggles, Kapler said it’s possible some hitters are getting discouraged by their results and therefore discarding their game plans too often.
“You’re supposed to stay with your plan and work your process,” Kapler said. “I think sometimes when you’re not getting hits, balls aren’t landing in gaps or in the seats, you start to question every swing you take and even the decisions. You come off your plan sooner. Sometimes you’re going through the game in a state of reaction and sometimes in a state of emotion. So, establishing a plan, evaluating yourself on if you’re executing that plan, is the best way to get out of this.”
Cobb danced around a hit-by-pitch and a walk in the sixth to keep the A’s scoreless. His night ended as the sky over Oracle Park turned hazy pink and nine “K” signs hung on the right-field bricks.
Like his day-night splits, Cobb home-road splits this year have been stark. At Oracle Park, he’s practically unhittable; the last earned run he gave up at home came on May 16 and the All-Star is now the only Giant with six straight home starts of two or fewer runs.
“I really do enjoy pitching here,” Cobb said.
But the Giants’ anemic offense required Cobb and the rest of the Giants’ pitchers to be flawless — even against the A’s, who allow over six runs per game. That’s how dire SF’s lineup is right now.
Two singles against Tyler Rogers in the eighth evened the score. In the bottom half, the Giants finally broke through with a big hit.
Yastrzemski, with two outs and runners on first and second, poked a double down the first base line to put San Francisco up 2-1. Yastrzemski had been 2-for-34 (.059) since the All-Star break before that knock and didn’t start Tuesday’s game.
The outfielder said that during the tough stretch, he was happy with many of his at-bats even when they didn’t result in base hits. Hitting line drives at people, though, can still get discouraging.
Yastrzemski worked during the offseason on his mindset — he calls it redefining what he considers success. It helps give him perspective and maintain confidence in the batter’s box even during on-paper slumps. It paid off in the eighth inning.
And against the A’s, that one hit was just enough to end a losing streak.
“Honestly, it was just so nice to hear some fans cheer for us,” Yastrzemski said. “It made it a lot easier. We’ve been on the road for almost three weeks, it’s been a long time. Four different cities. It was nice to feel some positive energy in the air.”
