PHOENIX -- The Giants found themselves on the wrong end of a pitchers’ duel on Sunday afternoon, squandering a quality start from ace Logan Webb in a 2-1 walk-off loss to the D-backs at Chase Field.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. delivered the game-winning hit off Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the ninth, doubling down the left-field line to score Christian Walker from first base and hand the Giants their third consecutive loss in the desert.
With a quarter of the regular season essentially in the books, the Giants have yet to hit their stride and are beginning to lose ground to their rivals in the National League West. At 17-23, they sit in fourth place in the division, 8 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers and only a half-game ahead of the last-place Rockies.
“We’re kind of grinding right now,” Webb said. “We feel like we’re in every game. It’s a long season, We’ve still got a lot of games to play. Hopefully we find our groove and keep battling. Nothing else you can really do.”
Here are three takeaways from this weekend’s four-game series:
1. The top of the rotation is strong, but the Giants will need more out of the back end
Webb didn’t look sharp out of the gate on Sunday, but he managed to escape a bases-loaded jam in the first by getting Gurriel to bounce into an inning-ending double play. The 26-year-old right-hander settled in after that and didn’t allow a hit until Gabriel Moreno reached on a one-out single in the fifth.
The D-backs tied the game on Josh Rojas’ subsequent RBI double off Webb, who allowed only one run on three hits and three walks over seven innings.
Alex Cobb, Anthony DeSclafani and Webb have carried the rotation this year, but the Giants have not gotten much out of free-agent additions Ross Stripling (7.14 ERA) and Sean Manaea (7.96 ERA). San Francisco should get a boost from left-hander Alex Wood, who was activated off the injured list on Friday and will slide back into the rotation on Monday in place of Manaea.
“Right now, Sean is going to be in our bullpen,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He can serve in kind of a long-man role. We can see him taking down a pocket of left-handers. We’re just going to try to get him back on track in slightly smaller bursts.”
Stripling is lined up to pitch again on Wednesday, but the Giants are still determining whether they prefer to have him start or take on more of a bulk-innings role out of the bullpen.
2. Conforto is heating up
After missing the entire 2022 season due to right shoulder surgery, Michael Conforto struggled to recapture his timing at the plate early this year, hitting only .168 with a .597 OPS through his first 31 games with the Giants. But the 30-year-old slugger is beginning to show signs of breaking out of the prolonged slump.
Conforto put the Giants on the board in the fourth inning by driving a 3-2 sweeper from D-backs rookie Brandon Pfaadt over the right-field fence for his seventh home run of the year. He’s now 6-for-18 with three home runs, one double and four RBIs over his last five games, boosting his average to .193 with a .701 OPS on the season.
“I’m feeling much better, for sure,” Conforto said. “Obviously, hitting a couple of balls over the fence is great. I’m still putting the ball on the ground and rolling it to second base a little bit more than I’d like to. It’s a bit frustrating, but it’s all part of the process.”
The Giants will hope for a similar turnaround from fellow corner outfielder Mitch Haniger, who signed a three-year, $43.5 million deal with his hometown club over the offseason. Haniger missed the first three weeks of the season with an oblique strain and is batting only .179 with a .525 OPS through his first 15 games of the year.
3. The infield remains crowded
Brandon Crawford came off the injured list after missing 13 games with a right calf strain, forcing the Giants to option David Villar to Triple-A Sacramento prior to Sunday’s game. Even with Villar no longer on the 26-man roster, Kapler will have a bit of a puzzle to sort through in the infield, as he’ll have to juggle playing time for Crawford and top infield prospect Casey Schmitt, plus J.D. Davis and Thairo Estrada, both of whom are having career years for the Giants.
Schmitt is a third baseman by trade, but he could see time at second base and shortstop to help spell Estrada and the 36-year-old Crawford, whose workload will likely need to be monitored as he comes off the calf injury.
“I think it’s something that we’ve talked a lot about, not overdoing it with Craw,” Kapler said. “That’s probably for the best for Craw long term. Probably five or six games in a row is a lot. It doesn’t mean we won’t do it, and it doesn’t mean he’s not capable of it, but we want to try to keep him healthy and strong as long as possible.:”