Giants looking for turnaround after 5th straight loss

PHOENIX -- The upcoming week is a crucial part of the calendar for the 2022 Giants. This was far from the way they wanted to start it.

After beginning the second half by getting swept in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium, San Francisco dropped Monday night’s opener to Arizona, 7-0, at Chase Field, extending its losing streak to five. The Giants mustered only three hits while getting shut down by D-backs right-hander Merrill Kelly, who tossed eight sterling innings and was perfect until Luis González’s double to lead off the sixth.

At 48-48, San Francisco now sits 2 1/2 games back of St. Louis for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.

With the Trade Deadline approaching on Aug. 2, the Giants will still need to decide whether to be buyers or sellers. As they look to prove to the front office they should add to their roster rather than subtract, their week features two more games against the last-place D-backs (43-53) and a four-game home set against the Cubs (39-57).

On paper, that seems like a lighter stretch. But San Francisco is scuffling. The bullpen is struggling. Its lineup is lacking a bit of punch with a pair of stalwarts on the injured list (Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford) and Mike Yastrzemski (right calf tightness) and Tommy La Stella (COVID-19 IL) yet to return to the starting lineup.

Are the Giants feeling a sense of heightened importance for the eight games ahead of the Deadline?

“The formula is always going to be to try to win as many games as possible,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “So leading up to July 31, April 1-10, Sept. 1-30, it’s always win as many games as possible.

“... Should we put more emphasis on the Diamondbacks series than we did on the Dodgers series or the Brewers series before that? Or the Cubs series after it? They all have an elevated level of significance for any number of reasons at any given time. So wherever you are in the baseball calendar, the goal is to win, and win tonight.”

The Giants were unsuccessful in doing so Monday largely because of Kelly. They had only three baserunners against him -- and two were erased when González was doubled up at second on a liner in the sixth and then picked off first in the eighth.

Having scored seven runs over its past four games, San Francisco isn’t doing enough to support a starting rotation that ranks third in MLB in rotation ERA in July at 2.73. That staff has also re-added Jakob Junis, who was one of the team’s most consistently strong pitchers before missing much of June and early July with a left hamstring strain.

Junis allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings vs. the D-backs and was limited to 62 pitches while getting stretched back out in his first start since June 10. Then, the Giants’ bullpen couldn’t keep the game close, with four relievers combining to allow six runs.

“It’s not fun when you’re losing that many games and things start to pile on and it seems like things just aren’t falling our way,” Junis said. “You’ve got to forget about that, forget that you’re on a losing streak. Tomorrow’s a new day and come out and do whatever you can to change the pace and get a win.”

González echoed those sentiments. He believes the Giants can fix their mistakes, “turn this around and make a good playoff push for the end.”

Kapler does, too. After all, many of these players helped San Francisco earn a franchise-record 107 wins in 2021. But this season’s team has adjustments to make.

“We need to play consistently crisp all-around baseball, or we’re not going to be a very good team,” Kapler said. “We’ve shown that we are capable of doing that in stretches. We certainly have a different roster to some degree or another, but a lot of the same players on it from last year. They’re all capable of having a resurgence, performing at their best.

“Collectively as a team, we’re all capable of coming together and having this thing click and move forward and win a lot of baseball games.”

Now is the time for the Giants to prove that by putting an end to this skid and getting back on track. Otherwise, their Deadline strategy may not end up being the one the players would choose.