LOS ANGELES -- With Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani dealing on the mound, the Giants could ill afford to make mistakes on Wednesday night.
But they didn’t do themselves any favors in a 4-0 loss at Dodger Stadium, with Willy Adames committing an egregious baserunning gaffe that killed a potential rally in the top of the seventh inning.
After Adames and Matt Chapman lined back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with one out, Drew Gilbert sent a 373-foot drive to left-center field that initially looked like it had a chance to fall for a double. But Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages managed to run it down and then easily doubled off Adames.
“I lost track of the outs and made a mistake on the read, too,” a contrite Adames said afterward. “That obviously is a mistake that can’t happen in a game. That mistake is probably the most ashamed that I would feel playing the game. I know that can’t happen. It was my fault. That’s on me.”
Ohtani departed after allowing only four hits and striking out eight over seven shutout innings, which lowered his ERA to 0.82 over his first seven starts on the mound this year.
Adames appeared to be laughing and chatting with Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts right before his blunder, but the Giants’ $182 million shortstop said he wasn’t distracted on the play.
“I do that every time,” Adames said. “If it was because of that, then I would make mistakes every two days. It’s just my fault and something that can’t happen. There are no excuses for it.”
“We all know Willy,” manager Tony Vitello said. “He’s always intense, he’s always going to play with high energy. He’s always going to play aggressive. I don’t know if any of that played into it, but obviously a misread there.”
Would Vitello consider sitting Adames against Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan in Thursday’s series finale?
“We’ve talked about it,” Vitello said. “I think a big thing for Willy is he kind of fought through a rough patch there swinging the bat. The way he fought through it … is he showed up every day at the park and was on a mission to work on his game. … He worked really hard to get to the point where he is. He is, in my opinion, in a pretty good rhythm at the plate. We’ll see where he’s at physically, as well as some of the other guys.”
Adames has started all but one of the Giants’ 43 games this year, but he said he would understand if Vitello gave him a day off on Thursday.
“He makes the lineup,” Adames said. “That’s not my decision. If he does it, then it’s OK. He’s the boss -- besides [president of baseball operations] Buster [Posey].”
The Giants endured more sloppiness behind the plate, where Jesus Rodriguez had a rough defensive showing while catching veteran left-hander Robbie Ray, who was charged with the loss after giving up four runs (three earned) over 4 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers tagged Ray for back-to-back homers in the third and then added two more runs in the fourth, one of which was unearned due to a miscue from Rodriguez, who allowed a 1-0 changeup to Miguel Rojas to squirt away for a passed ball.
Rodriguez also missed an 0-1 sinker from Joel Peguero in the fifth -- which was ruled a wild pitch -- and allowed 36-year-old Freddie Freeman to steal his first base of the season in the same inning, leaving the rookie backstop 0-for-7 in attempts to throw out basestealers for the Giants.
“There’s been a couple of pitches where you wish he got the glove on the ball better, just to be frank,” Vitello said. “But I think he’s getting used to our pitchers, so you’ve got to cut him a little bit of slack that way. The opportunities to throw – there hasn’t been a real clean pitch in a count you’re expecting a guy to go where you can really fairly critique his throw.”
Rodriguez has been getting the bulk of the catching reps since the Giants traded two-time Gold Glove winner Patrick Bailey to the Guardians, but he’s likely to move into a backup role once Daniel Susac returns from the injured list.
Susac has been out since April 19 with right elbow ulnar neuritis, but he’s nearing the end of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento and could rejoin the roster when the Giants head to Sutter Health Park to kick off a three-game series against the A’s on Friday.
“I think he's ready,” Vitello said. “I think time is the only thing separating him from being in this dugout or being with this group and helping to contribute.”