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Reporting from ORACLE PARK
The Giants fell 5-3 to the New York Mets Sunday night, dropping the final loss of a three-game sweep on national TV after All-Star reliever Randy Rodriguez gave up back-to-back homers in the seventh for a rare blown save.
Mets third baseman Ronny Mauricio went a blistering 4-for-4, including homer No. 4 to tie the game 3-3 in the seventh inning off Rodriguez (L, 3-2, 1.20 ERA). Big ticket star Juan Soto followed with his 25th homer of the season to put New York up for good, 4-3.
Giants manager Bob Melvin said of Rodriguez:
“We ask a lot of him. So every now and then you’re going to hang a couple of pitches. Really the one bad pitch was a slider to Mauricio that he hung. But look this is the first home run he’s given up to a lefty all year. His numbers suggest he’s one of the best left handed relievers in the league.”
San Francisco would threaten in the ninth when Mets closer Edwin Diaz got into a jam by walking Jung Hoo Lee, hitting Heliot Ramos with a pitch, then walking DH Rafael Devers to load the bases.
Diaz composed himself to pick up his 23rd save by striking out Willy Adames then Matt Chapman – who homered twice Sunday –.to end the game.
Chapman provided all the Giants offense Sunday, starting in the fourth with the first of two homers off Mets starter Kodai Senga (ND, 7-3, 2.00 ERA) to even the score 1-1.
But Chapman wasn’t finished.
After back-to-back doubles put New York up 2-1 in the top of the fifth, Chapman would smash his second blast in the bottom of the frame. He crushed a mammoth, two-run shot to deep center to put the Giants up 3-2, momentarily giving the Giants hope of avoiding the sweep. It was Chapman’s 13th multi-home run game of his career.
Chapman said:
“I think everybody wants to get the big hit. Obviously the two homers today were nice but it sucks to lose nine of 11 games and slip out of the standings a little bit but we’re still right there. Hopefully it’s one of these things where we continue to grind and things start falling our way.”
After lefty Matt Gage opened for the Giants with a scoreless first, the Giants followed with Spencer Bivens who pitched three innings, surrendering two runs on six hits while striking out three.
Bivens said:
“We knew it was a bullpen game. I kind of knew I was going to be the bulk guy. I tried to attack it with a starter mentality. I’m just trying to eat as many (innings) as I can for the team.”
The Giants trotted out seven pitchers Sunday in front of another sellout crowd at Oracle Park.
In June, the Giants traded pitcher Jordan Hicks and lefty Kyle Harrison to the Boston Red Sox, putting a lot of pressure on the back end of the pitching rotation.
Hayden Birdsong (4-4, 4.80 ERA) was having command issues in his last two starts, and was sent back to the minors.
Justin Verlander (1-8, 4.70 ERA) is pitching nowhere near his Hall of Fame pedigree. The Giants hoped the three-time Cy Young award winner would be a presence on the mound, solidifying the middle of the rotation with consistency, but that hasn’t happened.
Then Landen Roupp (7-6, 3.11 ERA) went down with elbow inflammation before making a strong argument he was the best pitcher on the staff since the Devers trade in June.
The Giants were at risk thinking their pitchers could make it through the entire year without injuries.
And this is where the Giants stand today: The bullpen shuffle.
The Giants are managing a “who’s available” pitching rotation now with injuries and aces struggling to find their rhythm back.
The next man up type of deal.
And it’s putting a lot of pressure on the pitching staff, especially if the Giants struggle to score when Robbie Ray and Logan Webb pitch.
The Giants had come into the Mets series with a bit of confidence after two straight wins in Atlanta, but are now 1-9 in their last 10 games played.
Up Next
The Giants called up left-handed pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt to make his Major League debut Monday against Pirates righty Mitch Keller (4-10, 3.53 ERA). San Francisco opens the three-game series against Pittsburgh with a 6:45 p.m. first pitch.
