SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants have faced the D-backs five times so far this season. Each time, they’ve come up empty handed.
With a 7-5 loss Tuesday night at Oracle Park, the Giants fell to 0-5 against Arizona, marking their worst start to a season against their National League West foes in franchise history.
“We need to do better at throwing strikes, and we need to do better at swinging at strikes,” manager Tony Vitello said. “There’s a few other things too, we can list off, but all of us need to do whatever we can to come to work and get better every day.”
Casey Schmitt, Eric Haase and Willy Adames all homered, but the Giants’ bullpen couldn’t keep it close once starter Tyler Mahle exited the game after five innings.
Adames’ second throwing error in as many days helped the D-backs score an unearned run against Keaton Winn in the sixth, but the bigger blow came in the seventh, when Ketel Marte delivered a backbreaking two-run home run off Erik Miller that nearly cleared the left-field bleachers and put San Francisco in a 6-2 hole.
Here are three takeaways for the Giants (22-33), who will send rookie Trevor McDonald to the mound Wednesday afternoon as they look to avoid being swept by the D-backs for the second time in the last week.
Mahle’s night
The Giants were counting on Mahle to provide steady production out of their rotation after signing him to a one-year, $10 million deal over the offseason. But the results haven’t been there for the 31-year-old right-hander thus far.
Mahle gave up three runs over five innings against the D-backs on Tuesday, dropping him to 1-7 with a 6.04 ERA, the worst mark among qualified starters in the Majors this year.
All of the damage against Mahle came in the top of the second, which began with a leadoff walk to longtime Giants killer Nolan Arenado. Ryan Waldschmidt followed with a drive to right-center field that got lodged under the fence, resulting in a ground-rule double.
Mahle allowed both runners to score on an RBI groundout by Ildemaro Vargas and a sacrifice fly by Gabriel Moreno, giving the D-backs a 2-1 lead. Adrian Del Castillo then capped the big inning by crushing a misplaced splitter out to right field for a solo home run.
“I threw the ball OK,” Mahle said. “I think where we lost it was we take the lead in the first and then I go out and give up three. It kind of switched all the momentum onto their side. The offense tried to battle back, but it is what it is. If I go out there and put a shutdown inning together, I think we probably win the game.”
Another day, another homer from Schmitt
The Giants jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to Schmitt, who launched Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez’s fourth pitch of the game out to left-center field for his 12th home run of the year, matching the career high he set in 95 games last season.
Schmitt knocked in another run with an RBI single off Rodriguez in the third, giving him a .389 batting average against lefties this year, the fourth-highest mark in the Majors.
The 27-year-old super-utility man should have plenty of opportunities to continue to set new benchmarks at the plate, as he’s emerged as the Giants’ best hitter and a possible All-Star candidate after batting .298 with a .906 OPS over 47 games in 2026.
Rookie milestones
Bryce Eldridge has primarily started against right-handed pitchers this year, but he got a chance to serve as the designated hitter against Rodriguez and smoked a 105.9 mph double in his first at-bat in the bottom of the second. It was Eldridge’s first career big league hit off a lefty, though he had only five plate appearances against them entering Tuesday.
The Giants’ No. 1 prospect (MLB Pipeline's No. 18 overall) also came close to taking Rodriguez deep in the fourth, but his 407-foot drive ended up being caught on the warning track. Eldridge wasn’t surprised to learn that his long flyout would have been a home run in every other Major League ballpark.
“I knew what I was getting into,” Eldridge said. “It’s the first thing people told me when I signed with San Francisco. You’re going to get a couple taken there. My agent, Tucker Ward -- I opened my phone after the game and he was like, ‘Your first time getting Oracle’d, congratulations.’”
Outfielder Victor Bericoto also collected a big milestone on Tuesday, bouncing a single to left field for his first career Major League hit in the bottom of the fifth.