SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants managed to overcome a slew of injuries while putting together their hottest stretch of the year, but the mounting losses finally seemed to catch up to them on Sunday afternoon.
With several key pieces of their lineup sidelined, the Giants fell short of a three-game sweep of the first-place D-backs, mustering only six hits in a 5-2 loss at Oracle Park.
After taking two out of three from Arizona to cap a 5-2 homestand, the Giants (44-34) now stand 2 1/2 games out of first place in the National League West. The division rivals won’t meet again until the D-backs return to Oracle Park for a four-game set starting July 31.
“To win the series is a good sign moving forward,” right-hander Anthony DeSclafani said. “We would have liked to sweep, but two out of three is great. We’re playing some good baseball. Just continuing that is the most important thing.”
The Giants entered Sunday having outscored opponents by a 95-52 margin over their incredible 12-1 run, but the club’s bats were silenced by Arizona right-hander Ryne Nelson, who allowed only one run on three hits over seven innings while facing a lineup that was without LaMonte Wade Jr. (back tightness), Mike Yastrzemski (left hamstring strain), Mitch Haniger (right forearm fracture) and Wilmer Flores (left foot contusion).
Nelson came into the game with a 5.31 ERA, but he gave up only one hit -- a first-inning double to Michael Conforto -- through his first five frames. The Giants didn’t get on the board until Thairo Estrada reached on a wild pitch while striking out, advanced to second on a walk by Conforto and scored on J.D. Davis’ two-out RBI single to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the sixth.
The Giants are only 3-23 in games in which they score three or fewer runs this season.
Any chances of a late comeback were undermined by a critical baserunning mistake by rookie Blake Sabol in the eighth. After Davis delivered another RBI single against reliever Scott McGough to bring the Giants within two, Sabol walked to put runners on first and second with two outs for Patrick Bailey.
Bailey followed with a single to left that was stopped by a diving Evan Longoria, prompting Giants third-base coach Mark Hallberg to hold up Davis at third. Sabol heard the crowd roar and assumed the ball had gotten down the left-field line, so he kept running hard after rounding second, allowing the D-backs to easily pick him off for the final out of the inning.
“I had my head down rounding second,” Sabol said. “When I picked my head up, I was looking toward the outfield. I finally picked up third when I was already over halfway there. Longo was still laying on the ground this whole time. Then I thought maybe [it was a] foul ball. That’s when it hit me -- 'Oh, I’m in trouble.' I’ve got to learn from it.”
The Giants have received a boost from their sizable class of rookies this year, but they also understand that these types of mistakes are bound to happen as they fold in more of their inexperienced players.
“We can’t make those type of baserunning errors,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “If it happens often, it’s really going to hurt us. I also think it’s kind of fair to give Blake the benefit of the doubt here. Call it a very aggressive, and perhaps overaggressive, baserunning mistake but not make too much of it.”
The Giants couldn’t support a strong start from DeSclafani, who permitted only two runs on five hits over six innings. The D-backs scored in each of the first two innings on RBI hits by Christian Walker and Jake McCarthy, but DeSclafani settled in after that, allowing only one baserunner through the remainder of his outing.
DeSclafani began to experience some general fatigue toward the end of his start, so the Giants opted to remove him after 78 pitches and bring in rookie Tristan Beck, who gave up three runs over 2 1/3 innings before exiting with a cut on his thumb.
The Giants are expecting to get healthier as they head to Toronto to kick off a three-game series against Brandon Belt and the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Ross Stripling was activated off the injured list on Sunday and is expected to be eased back into action in a long relief role. Wade and Flores could return on Tuesday to lengthen the lineup, and Alex Cobb (left oblique strain) isn’t too far behind, either.
“Getting some guys back is great,” DeSclafani said. “Anytime a player gets healthy, I always look forward to having him back.”