The San Francisco Giants were limited to three hits and struck out 13 times on Wednesday afternoon.
The San Francisco Giants continued their difficult stretch on Wednesday, falling 5-1 to the San Diego Padres, losing the series as their offensive struggles once again took center stage.
San Francisco managed only three hits throughout the afternoon while striking out 13 times, continuing a frustrating trend for a club that has now lost eight of its last nine games.
Despite the loss, the Giants received an encouraging performance from veteran right-hander Adrian Houser. Making his seventh start of the season, Houser delivered arguably his strongest outing since joining San Francisco. He held the Padres to three hits and two runs across six-plus innings. Only one of those runs was earned.
Houser settled in after allowing a solo homer in the fourth inning and kept the game tied heading into the late innings. The Giants briefly found momentum when Rafael Devers launched an opposite-field solo home run, tying the contest at 1-1. The blast was Devers’ third homer of the season and his first since April 8.
San Francisco’s lineup, however, could not build on the momentum.
The turning point came in the seventh inning after a defensive mistake put extra pressure on the Giants’ pitching staff. An error by Matt Chapman allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base before San Francisco turned to Keaton Winn out of the bullpen.
After two runners advanced into scoring position with two outs, left-hander Matt Gage entered in relief but could not escape the inning cleanly. A two-run triple down the right-field line pushed the Giants behind for good.
The play also proved difficult for rookie Jesús Rodríguez, who was in the outfield despite primarily playing catcher throughout his professional career.
San Francisco’s bullpen surrendered additional insurance runs in the eighth inning, widening the deficit and leaving little room for a comeback as the offense continued to struggle to generate traffic on the bases.
The Giants’ inability to capitalize offensively overshadowed Houser’s strong start and added to the club’s recent skid during a challenging stretch of the schedule.
San Francisco will attempt to regroup Friday night when it opens a new home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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