Not even Casey Schmitt could save the Giants in a game in which they operated without a traditional starter.
Schmitt collected his ninth hit and fifth RBI in his fourth career game, but John Brebbia — the opener — and Scott Alexander were only Giants pitchers to not allow a run against the Diamondbacks.
Ross Stripling’s struggles continued and Jakob Junis and Alex Wood fared only marginally better in relief. The poor pitching performance erased an early 3-0 Giants lead and proved too much for San Francisco (17-21) to come back from in a 7-5 loss.
The Giants preach to their hitters to spit on pitches out of the zone or even ones over the plate but nibbling on the corners. Instead, the club wants its hitters to be patient and drive pitches located in their sweet spots — the “honey hole,” they call it.
Both Pederson and Conforto followed that.
Pederson’s home run came in a full count on a fastball low and inside that he could turn on. Conforto’s solo shot in the second soared over the right-center wall after he fouled off six pitches. By extending the at-bat, he forced Ryne Nelson to come to him with a meaty pitch.
Both home runs would’ve left all 30 parks. Pederson’s no-doubter registered an exit velocity of 112.0 mph and Conforto’s traveled 418 feet.
The flipside of San Francisco’s organizational philosophy is for pitchers to throw strikes and keep the ball in the ballpark. Simple enough.
But two starters, both of whom signed two-year, $25 million contracts last winter, haven’t followed that blueprint nearly enough.
Friday, it was Ross Stripling, who entered in the second inning after reliever John Brebbia opened the game with a clean first. Stripling walked a batter after a leadoff single before surrendering a three-run home run to rookie Dominic Fletcher.
Fletcher’s first career homer was the ninth Stripling allowed in his first 27 innings to start his Giants tenure. The very next inning, Stripling gave up his 10th home run of the season, this one to former Giant Evan Longoria. He’d allowed 12 in 134.1 innings all of last season.
Stripling’s 3.1-inning, four-run performance came two days after Manaea gave up eight runs in 2.2 innings, later saying “all my stuff just sucked.” He and Stripling have allowed a combined 46 earned runs in 55 innings.
The relief appearance negated SF’s three-run lead, but didn’t completely sink the Giants. LaMonte Wade Jr. doubled and scored to tie the game in the top of the fifth.
But both Jakob Junis and Alex Wood — in his first action since straining his hamstring — allowed a run.
Schmitt’s RBI single in the eighth inning brought the Giants within two runs and Alexander worked a clean eighth, but the middle of SF’s order couldn’t rally in the ninth.
It turned out to be more competitive than many of the games the Giants have trotted out their hybrid starters in.
