More often than not during the Giants’ current funk, they’ve been more than inches away from turning losses into wins.
San Francisco almost won with the game of inches Tuesday.
In a 1-1 game, Arizona left fielder Cooper Hummel slid near the foul line to corral an Austin Wynns fly. Hummel’s bobble, initially called a foul ball, got overturned into a two-out RBI single. Yermín Mercedes trotted home to put the Giants ahead by a run.
Wynns and Mercedes, who each joined the Giants in June, combined for the go-ahead run in the seventh. But it only lasted an inning, as the Diamondbacks hung five on Dominic Leone and Camilo Doval to hand the Giants (40-39) their sixth straight loss.
The 6-2 defeat in Arizona is San Francisco’s 10th in their last 12 games. Fighting to stay above .500 in their worst stretch of the season, the Giants are searching unsuccessfully for any answers.
The Giants again didn’t play their cleanest ball. Austin Slater ran into a double play when he broke for second base on contact with one out. Darin Ruf’s flare to right field got caught easily and Slater couldn’t retreat back to the bag in time.
During a time when some of the loudest buzzwords clouding the Giants have been crisper, energy, and focus, Slater’s baserunning miscue was a tough way to start the game.
Later on, David Villar — starting at second base as Thairo Estrada remains out with an illness — committed an error on a ground ball up the middle.
Villar’s cough-up — the team’s 13th error in their past 12 games — didn’t cost the Giants, but Wynns’ struggles behind the dish in the eighth would.
The defense has bled all year, it’s just been more glaring during this stretch. The offense, though, has been just as disappointing recently. SF had scored 3.5 runs per game in the 11 contests leading into Tuesday, more than a run fewer than its season average.
The Giants only gave starter Alex Wood one run of support. Wood worked five innings of one-run ball, striking out four and walking none.
His last outing, Wood faced one too many batter, as Tigers catcher Eric Haase torched the final pitch of his outing for a two-run homer. The Giants didn’t risk a similar result, as they took the ball out of his hands after just 71 pitches. Reliever John Brebbia was tasked with facing the heart of Arizona instead of a third time through for Wood.
SF too often came one hit, one pitch or one fielding play away from their desired results.
On Tuesday, the Giants had chances to pour it on Arizona. They loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning, then again with two outs, but came away with just one run.
Brandon Crawford’s leadoff double in the fifth didn’t lead to a score, despite San Francisco’s first sacrifice bunt of the year advancing him to third.
With a man on second with no outs in the seventh, former Giant Hunter Pence said “we’re due for a break” on the broadcast. It finally came, as SF’s challenge on Wynns’ fly down the left field line proved successful and gave the Giants a 2-1 lead.
The precious inches that went in San Francisco’s favor on the Wynns play didn’t present themselves for Arizona. Alek Thomas, Christian Walker and Jake Hager each flew out to the warning track — hits that just missed leaving Chase Field.
San Francisco took advantage of the inches in the seventh, but again reverted to blowing chances in the eighth. In total, the Giants went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Wynns, the new catcher, let a Dominic Leone curveball spurt through his legs and the tying runner to cross.
A Leone wild pitch and another walk loaded the bases with one out. Typically the balls in play have given the Giants fits; this time it was Leone’s erratic pitches.
Camilo Doval entered to try to clean up the inning. He allowed a sacrifice fly and then a three-run home run. San Francisco’s fleeting lead held for just a single inning.
When given an inch, the Giants didn’t take a mile, and the Diamondbacks took advantage.