SAN FRANCISCO -- The smell of incense wafted from the Giants’ batting cage on Saturday afternoon, with hitting coach Justin Viele burning sage and palo santo in an attempt to cleanse the club of its recent offensive woes.
“J.V. is into that sort of thing,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Sage is funny. It smells good. [Mike Yastrzemski] was out there taking a live batting-practice session today. J.V. had the sage out. Yaz was taking some good swings, so who knows?”
The new fragrance ultimately wasn’t enough to snap the Giants out of their funk, with their hitting and pitching both coming up short in a 9-3 loss to the first-place Rangers on Saturday night at Oracle Park.
Michael Conforto and Heliot Ramos each homered, but the Giants finished only 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position en route to their sixth loss in their last seven games.
Their anemic bats couldn’t pick up All-Star right-hander Alex Cobb, who surrendered six runs on nine hits over 4 1/3 innings in his second consecutive rough outing. Left-hander Alex Wood relieved Cobb in the fifth and got the Giants through the middle innings, but he was tagged for three more runs in the ninth, putting the game firmly out of reach for San Francisco.
Wood threw a bullpen session on Friday and wasn’t expecting to be called on to pitch on three days’ rest, but his 70-pitch effort saved the rest of the Giants’ bullpen, drawing plenty of appreciation from Cobb.
“You can build momentum off that -- a guy coming on [short] rest after a really good outing in L.A. and sacrificing his health and what his comforts are,” Cobb said. “It’s what he’s been asked to do all year. To be called upon to take the ball and basically finish that game for us without having to burn too many arms is hopefully something we can look back on and say that was a big reason why we were able to get into the postseason.”
“It’s all hands on deck,” Wood said. “They’re going to do what they want to do, so you’ve got to take the ball when they tell you you’re going to take the ball. After the Trade Deadline, there’s no use in thinking about it too much.”
The Giants have now slipped 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers in the National League West and stand only one game ahead of the Cubs for the second Wild Card spot. The road ahead won’t get any easier, as the Giants will try to avoid being swept in Sunday’s series finale before ending August with five consecutive series against teams above .500.
“It’s a good test for us,” Cobb said. “When you’re at your low point and you look up and see this wave of first-place teams, powerhouse offenses, you find out what you’re made of.”
Conforto and Ramos’ blasts stood out as positive developments for the Giants, who rank 24th in the Majors with a .389 slugging percentage this season.
Conforto entered Saturday only 3-for-24 (.125) over his last eight games, but he singled off left-hander Andrew Heaney in the second inning and then crushed an 0-1 slider from right-hander Grant Anderson over the right-field wall for a solo shot in the fourth. It was Conforto’s 14th home run of the year and his first since July 8, snapping the second-longest drought of his career.
The Giants will need Conforto to get going in the coming weeks, as they’re 27-6 when he drives in a run this year. The 30-year-old slugger has experienced his ups and downs in his first year back from right shoulder surgery, but he’s shown the ability to carry the offense when he gets hot.
Ramos also continued to provide a spark in his second game since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, crushing a 3-1 sinker from left-hander Brock Burke out to left field for his first career home run in the ninth. The milestone homer came off his bat at 110.1 mph, giving him bragging rights over his older brother, Henry, who recorded 109.5 mph exit velocity on his first career homer with the D-backs last year.
“Feels great,” Ramos said. “Now I can tell my brother that I hit my first one harder than him.”
The two brothers could reunite in San Francisco later this month, as Henry was recently called up by the Reds, who will travel to Oracle Park to face the Giants from Aug. 28-30.
“I’m excited for that,” Ramos said. “I faced him in the winter league, I faced him in the Minor Leagues, so I’m looking forward to it, for sure.”