The San Francisco Giants have just come off a rough week. The results have been contrary to expectations. After their 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, it seemed that they had things well under control. But they were destined to lose not only that three-game set but the next one against the New York Mets as well.
The Giants Must Rebound After Their Rough Week
What Went Wrong?
The toughest day for which to answer this question is the place to start. On Wednesday, Logan Webb allowed five runs in the first inning. It is hard to find an explanation for this unordinary performance. But Webb just didn’t have it.
This doesn’t necessarily present a long-term concern. There is no reason to think that Webb’s Wednesday start was more than an off-night fluke. His ERA in 2023 is 3.43 and, while that is a good number, it might not accurately reflect the elite pitcher that he is. But it should be remembered that things happen to a guy’s numbers when runs get bunched together. His strikeout rate for 2023 was 24% following Wednesday’s start (rated by FanGraphs as great) and his walk rate was 4.8% (rated by FanGraphs as excellent).
Blue Jays put up FIVE on Logan Webb in the 1st 😳 @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/DpeD1TPm3m
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) June 28, 2023
The Giants’ pitching depth overall hasn’t provided what they expected it to in 2023. This has been compensated for by an exceptional performance from their offense, including several late-inning rallies. This week though, the bats were quiet. Plus, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood each came away with a disastrous appearance on the mound. Wood interestingly seemed to struggle with the humidity in Sunday’s game.
On Thursday night, though, Keaton Winn was effective for six innings, and the Giants just couldn’t back him up with the bats. Bad timing on everything has plagued the Giants in this rough week, just as it always does when they’re on the wrong end of this season’s seesaw. And on Sunday, they were close to making a comeback. But, with two outs in the seventh, Patrick Bailey struck out to end the threat.
The Good News
The Giants have remained close behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers weren’t able to fully capitalize on the Giants’ struggles. While their relative NL West positions have switched and the Dodgers are now ahead, the margin is still only half a game, and the Giants can retake it if they get back to their earlier performance.
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Where to Go From Here
While there certainly is a sense of urgency, it’s also important to understand that the Giants’ fight for the division title is likely to be a process rather than a jump coming from one hot streak. The race could in fact go deep into September. The Giants’ story this year has been one of fluctuation. They slowly but surely climbed out of their losing record. Now, it’s a battle for first place in the NL West.
The Dodgers have been more human this year than has been typical, which has given the Giants a chance to compete against them. In 2019, all the Giants could hope for was a Wild Card spot. But now, the outlook is better. In a sense, this playoff run is reminiscent of 2019 and 2020. In each of those years, the Giants appeared to be out of it but got hot and put themselves in a spot to potentially get in. But their run came up short at the end in both cases. This time, we can hope that the Giants finally have the overall talent to make it all the way through.
Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned: Logan Webb, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, Keaton Winn, Patrick Bailey
