It’s been tough sledding for the Giants, who entered Wednesday having lost six in a row and 12 of their last 15 games. At 40-39, San Francisco has tumbled 10 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the National League West and two games behind the Cardinals for the third and final Wild Card spot.
The downturn has caused the Giants’ playoff odds to dip to 36 percent, according to FanGraphs, though there’s still time to turn things around as they approach the midway point of the season.
Here are three things the Giants must do to break out of their worst skid of the year:
1. Clean up the defense
The Giants’ defensive woes have been well-documented and difficult to overcome this season. They've gone 14-25 in games in which they commit an error, compared to 26-14 when they go error-free.
San Francisco ranks 27th in the Majors with -21 defensive runs saved and 30th with -33 outs above average, a significant decline from the 32 DRS and 27 OAA the club recorded in 2021.
“It’s not very good,” first baseman Brandon Belt said. “I think that’s pretty easy to see. It’s not through lack of preparation or anything. We haven’t played good defense. We’ve just got to get better at that.”
The return of four-time Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford -- who came off the injured list Tuesday after missing eight games with left knee inflammation -- should have a stabilizing effect, but the Giants will need to play crisper defense across the board to avoid falling into more pitfalls of their own making.
2. Get the veterans going
The resurgence of veterans such as Belt, Crawford, Darin Ruf and Evan Longoria was a huge reason why the Giants won a franchise-record 107 games last season, but they haven’t been able to carry the offense in the same way so far this year.
Aside from Joc Pederson and Longoria, the Giants have struggled to get consistent production from their lineup, resulting in a streaky offense that hasn’t been able to cash in on enough scoring opportunities lately. San Francisco has been outscored by an 82-57 margin over its last 15 games, with 10 of those contests decided by two runs or fewer.
Manager Gabe Kapler has noted that it often feels like the Giants are one big at-bat away from changing the course of a game, so they’ll need their veteran hitters to heat up and help them extend more rallies moving forward.
Belt, who clubbed a team-high 29 homers last year, is batting .171/.320/.268 (7-for-41) with one home run, two RBIs and 16 strikeouts in 17 games since returning from the IL. Mike Yastrzemski is in a similar rut, slashing .123/.191/.263 (7-for-57) with 19 strikeouts over his last 16 games. Crawford (.665 OPS), Ruf (.681 OPS) and Tommy La Stella (.679 OPS) also haven’t been producing as expected thus far.
3. Play with more ‘fire’
The Giants have looked lifeless at times during their recent slide, prompting Kapler to call out the team’s lack of energy. Left-hander Carlos Rodón offered a similar assessment on Monday, suggesting that the club needed to “play with a little more fire.”
“I think something needs to change,” Rodón said. “We’re playing really bad baseball. You can say as much as you want, until we physically do something and make a change, I don’t think we’re going to see any results.”
The Giants have yet to call a team meeting or take any other drastic steps to try to halt their freefall, but it’s clear they’re in dire need of a spark. An infusion of youth could help, but the onus will ultimately fall on the incumbent group of players to start playing better and figure out a way to right the ship.