SAN FRANCISCO -- By the time the Giants acquired Matt Moore, the left-hander was almost a sure lock to give his club a quality outing.
Moore continued that trend in his first two appearances with San Francisco, pitching six innings and allowing just two earned runs in each start. But he hasn't found that type of success since coming to AT&T Park, and he battled through his latest outing in the Giants' 9-5 loss to the Mets on Saturday.
Moore lasted just five innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and three walks. The left-hander limited the damage for the most part, but he said he lacked command of his fastball in the early innings as the Mets jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
"He wasn't real sharp," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy.
Buster Posey, who caught Moore for the first time Saturday, said he felt like the newly acquired Giant settled in as the game went along. But it became clear early that Moore has been missing the rhythm he had while pitching for the Rays.
Moore had allowed four or more walks in a start just twice in 21 appearances with Tampa Bay. He's done it twice with San Francisco already. And in a combined 23 innings pitched, Moore has yielded 17 walks, which he believes is the product of a mechanical issue.
"I've got into a bad habit of yanking stuff," said Moore, who is 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA with the Giants. "I think I've been crossfiring a bit, which makes it tough to have command of the fastball."
Moore said that he plans to go over his pitching mechanics on Sunday, with the hope of fleshing everything out before his next start against the Dodgers on Thursday. The six-year veteran added that he isn't looking deeply into the ramifications that his next start could have on the National League West standings.
"From the outside looking in, it is a big series," said Moore. "But at least for myself, [I have to] take it one ballgame at a time."
Rather, Moore is more focused on getting ahead in the count and setting the tone for each at-bat with a formidable first pitch.
"I've just got to execute pitches better."