MIAMI – In a series where nothing went right, the Giants still had to feel good about their chances Sunday with their ace, Logan Webb, on the mound.
The odds were heavily in the Marlins’ favor against Ryan Gusto, a 27-year-old from Santa Rosa with a 5.85 ERA in 32 big league games.
Webb held up his end of the bargain.
But the Giants hitters were not happy with Gusto.
They were struck out six times in 4 ⅓ innings against the Marlins’ young starter, giving him just one run and it doesn’t get any better if Miami goes to the bullpen in a 2-1 loss.
The loss completed the sweep at the hands of the Marlins and sent San Francisco 15 games below .500, matching their season low mark set earlier last weekend, when they fell to 28-43. They responded by scoring three consecutive goals against the Cubs and Braves.
But, just like that, three more losses followed.
No fault for Webb, who made only a few errors in a flawless outing. Webb limited Miami to two runs on five hits, completing eight innings in his third straight start.
There were probably only two at-bats he wished he had, and they were both against Kyle Stowers. The Marlins cleanup hitter punished a first-pitch sinker who didn’t get low enough to hit a home run to put Miami up 1-0 in the second inning and, the next time, he worked a two-out walk that allowed Otto Lopez to double back to make it 2-1.
The Giants moved ahead with two runners in scoring position, both in the third inning, when Luis Arraez singled into the left field corner and Casey Schmitt singled home.
Bryce Eldridge, who reached on a walk, made it to third but was stranded there.
From the fourth inning on, the Giants collected only four runners and failed to advance any of them beyond first base. With closer Pete Fairbanks unavailable as he saved the last two games, the Marlins brought in Lake Bachar, who faced zero opposition in the ninth.
The biggest opposition shown by any of the Giants in the ninth, in fact, was Rafael Devers when Jonah Cox was called for a run after drawing a leadoff walk.
Devers appeared to try to get around Cox and came back to the dugout with a bang, twisting his body to avoid Jayce Tingler’s pat on the back and hitting the clubhouse.
What does it mean
Webb allowed more than one run for the first time in five games since returning from a bursitis flare-up in his right knee. However, only Jacob Misiorowski of the Brewers, the MLB ERA leader, has posted an ERA lower than Webb’s 1.02 mark since his return on May 29.
Who is hot
Manager Tony Vitello retired Casey Schmitt in order in the final game of their homestand, and Schmitt responded with his first of five consecutive multi-hit games from the bottom half.
That brought him back to No. 3 hole on Sunday, and all Schmitt did was keep hitting.
He also recorded two more hits, including one that drove home Luis Arraez to put the Giants on the board in the third, for his sixth consecutive multi-hit effort.
It’s only the sixth time since 2000 that a Giants player has recorded multiple hits in at least six consecutive games, the last time Marco Scutaro had seven in a row in 2013.
Who is not
Matt Chapman, on the other hand, couldn’t buy any hits on this road trip.
As the third baseman seems to have put everything together at the plate this month, Chapman has looked ineffective every time he’s stepped up in the past five games.
Chapman went 0-fer in 19 at-bats during the trip and looked lost as the trip wore on, striking out eight times in the last four contests — caught looking four of those times.
In his previous 26 games, dating back to May 17, Chapman was hitting .344 with a 1.079 OPS, recording six of his seven home runs and 24 of his 41 RBIs in the past to raise his OPS to .762, his highest since the second week of the season.
His recent cold snap sent his OPS back to .716.
Next
The Giants flew back to San Francisco, where they will begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday against the A’s. It remains to be seen how warmly they will receive the home when some fans organized protests against the players who did not support the team’s LGBTQ Pride Night.
Tyler Mahle will make his first start since May 26 on Wednesday when he returns from a hamstring injury, following Robbie Ray, who opens the series on Tuesday.
