SAN FRANCISCO -- With Logan Webb nearing a return from the injured list, Trevor McDonald had a chance to bolster his case for a permanent spot in the Giants’ starting rotation on Friday night.
But the rookie right-hander didn’t exactly force the issue in a 9-4 series-opening loss to the White Sox at Oracle Park.
McDonald was tagged for seven runs over 3 2/3 innings in his rockiest start of the year, which sank the Giants a season-high 11 games under .500 at 20-31, the second-worst record in the National League ahead of only the Rockies (20-32).
“No one feels like what we're doing is good enough,” manager Tony Vitello said. “That's kind of an obvious statement. … Eventually, you keep building up scar tissue from being down after a game or being upset after a close loss or it not going the way you want. I think unfortunately we've had enough repetitions of feeling down and being frustrated, so hopefully some scar tissue building up is something that can benefit us down the road.”
McDonald was inserted into the Giants’ rotation after Webb landed on the IL with right knee bursitis on May 6 and looked like he had the makings of a mainstay after going 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA over his first three starts.
The 25-year-old was cruising again early on Friday, needing only 32 pitches to get through three scoreless innings. But he ended up being knocked out of the game after throwing 34 pitches -- and only getting two outs -- in a disastrous nine-run fourth inning that quickly put the game out of reach for the Giants.
McDonald began the ill-fated inning by hitting the first two batters, Sam Antonacci and Munetaka Murakami. The Giants challenged the latter call, but the ruling was upheld after a replay review showed that the Japanese slugger took a bounced slider from McDonald off his left foot.
“I don’t know if you want to call it an unlucky bounce or whatever you want to call it, but those are the two things that started it,” Vitello said. “Inevitably, when you give up some free bases, that’s when maybe things can spiral.”
McDonald subsequently gave up a one-out infield single, followed by a bases-loaded walk that forced in the first run of the game.
The White Sox only expanded their lead from there, with Andrew Benintendi delivering a two-run double to left-center field, Edgar Quero bringing a run home on a fielder’s choice when Luis Arraez couldn’t throw the lead runner out at the plate after a diving stop and Derek Hill adding an RBI single to right to chase McDonald.
“I pride myself about pounding the zone and getting ahead of hitters, and that’s something I didn’t do,” McDonald said. “Two hit batters and a walk in that inning just kind of led to things snowballing. I’ve got to be better in that aspect of things and continue to be in the zone and not put us in those kinds of situations that can hurt the outcome of the game.”
Lefty Ryan Borucki came in to pitch in relief, but he couldn’t stop the bleeding. He hit Antonacci to load the bases for Murakami, who broke it open with a three-run double to the opposite field. Murakami later scored on a throwing error from shortstop Willy Adames, which drew boos from the announced crowd of 37,524.
The nine runs were the most the Giants had allowed in a single inning since Aug. 16, 2020, when they matched that total in another forgettable frame against the Athletics.
The only levity of the night came courtesy of the hundreds of fans who took off their shirts and started waving them around their heads in the eighth inning as part of the “Tarps Off” movement that has swept across MLB stadiums this year.
McDonald’s clunker raised his ERA to 4.76 on the season, so the Giants will have to decide whether he showed enough to stick around on the pitching staff once Webb returns. Webb gave up one unearned run over 3 1/3 innings in his first rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento on Friday night, which should put him in line to rejoin the rotation at some point next week. The two-time All-Star permitted two hits, walked three, struck out two and threw 62 pitches (34 strikes).
“I haven’t seen any video, but it sounds like he got out there and got three-plus innings in,” Vitello said. “Not as many strikes as he wanted. Not a lot of damage, either. I know for a guy like him, it’s kind of split in half a little bit. He’s got high standards, but also, he’s in a little bit different set of circumstances than some of the other guys that will pitch for that team. He’s trying to get his work in. … It’s good to have him back in action, especially if it’s multiple innings.”