CHICAGO -- As a kid, Carson Seymour used to travel across the country with his dad, Brian, to try to visit a new ballpark every year. Their most memorable trip was to Rate Field (née U.S. Cellular Field), where a 10-year-old Seymour happened to be in the stands for Mark Buehrle’s perfect game against the Rays on July 23, 2009.
Sixteen years later, Seymour returned to the South Side for yet another unforgettable moment.
The Giants’ No. 20 prospect per MLB Pipeline made his Major League debut in a 5-2 loss to the White Sox on Sunday afternoon, serving as a bright spot on an otherwise grim day for San Francisco.
Justin Verlander was in line for his first win of the season after firing six innings of one-run ball, but the Giants couldn’t hold a 2-1 lead after the White Sox rallied to score four runs off relievers Erik Miller and Ryan Walker in the bottom of the seventh inning.
San Francisco had a chance to get back in the game after loading the bases with one out in the top of the eighth, but it couldn’t chip away at the deficit after Chicago reliever Mike Vasil got Heliot Ramos to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The hard-throwing Seymour took over in the bottom half of the inning with the Giants down by three and worked around a pair of singles to post a scoreless inning, thrilling his wife, parents and sister, all of whom were in attendance for his debut.
“It felt good,” said Seymour, who threw 17 pitches and topped out at 96 mph. “It’s been a long time since I came out of the bullpen in a professional game. It felt normal. It just felt like another game. I just tried not to overthink it too much. It’s the same game, just a bigger stadium and it’s on TV.”
Aside from Seymour, the Giants (45-39) didn’t have much to feel good about after a frustrating start to their 10-game road trip through Chicago, Arizona and Sacramento. They’ve now lost 10 of their last 14 games, including five of six to the Marlins and White Sox, who have been two of the worst teams in baseball this season.
“I think we’re wearing it pretty heavy right now,” right fielder Mike Yastrzemski said. “I think you can kind of feel that in here. There’s probably not a single person in here that’s satisfied with how they’ve been playing. Hopefully, we take it to heart and come out with a chip on our shoulder tomorrow.”
The sting of Sunday’s defeat was particularly pronounced for Verlander, who is now winless through his first 13 starts, easily the longest drought of his decorated 20-year career. Entering this season, the likely Hall of Famer had never gone more than seven starts without notching a win.
“I’m just trying to keep putting myself in position for wins,” Verlander said. “That’s all you can do as a starter.”
Verlander has pitched well enough to win several times this season, but the Giants have consistently struggled to back his efforts. The 42-year-old right-hander entered Sunday with 24 total runs of support, tied for the second-fewest among pitchers with at least 12 starts this year.
“Unfortunately, it’s something I’ve thought a lot about because he pitched like himself today,” Yastrzemski said. “He pitched well enough to deserve a win. I can’t help but feel guilty, like we let him down, but we let all of ourselves down. We didn’t have great at-bats when we needed to, and sometimes that’s how it goes. Unfortunately, that’s how it went today.
“You’ve kind of got to have a look-at-yourself-in-the-mirror moment at this point and say, ‘What kind of team we want to be from here on out?’”
The Giants got on the board on Patrick Bailey’s game-tying RBI double in the second and briefly went ahead on Willy Adames’ bases-loaded walk in the fifth, but they still couldn’t cash in on enough scoring opportunities. They finished 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and are batting only .163 (17-for-104) in such situations over their past 14 games.
“They’re working hard, doing the best they can with it,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Obviously, it’s not great right now. We’ve just got to keep working and get through it.”