SAN FRANCISCO — Logan Webb took a moment to collect his thoughts, decided on his word choice, and found the perfect phase to sum up the Giants’ recent play.
“It’s dogs—, to be honest,” Webb said after his start Friday night.
The Giants ace tossed seven strong innings, limited the Reds to three runs and it still wasn’t enough to beat a team that had lost its past eight games.
Unable to muster more than two runs, the reeling Giants lost for the eighth time in their past 11 games, 4-2, as their own early-season freefall continued to open a nine-game home stand.
“You know, (Webb) gave up three runs, only two earned, seven innings,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He still pitched good enough. When you only score two runs, it’s going to be a problem.”
Back from the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field, the Giants’ offense reverted to the form it took on for most of the season. Although Heliot Ramos added a burst of energy — and a pair of hits — the rest of the shorthanded lineup had few answers for Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott.
Besides Thairo Estrada’s solo shot in the first, the only other runner the Giants advanced past first base came in the third inning, when LaMonte Wade Jr. was credited with a double on a pop fly botched by right fielder Jake Fraley.
Estrada’s home run, his sixth of the season, evened the score at 1 in the bottom of the first, and the Giants opened a 2-1 lead when Ramos raced home from second on a bloop single from Tyler Fitzgerald in the second inning. After Ramos’ single to lead off the fourth inning, however, the Giants mustered just one more hit the rest of the game.
“We just lost our mojo somewhere along the way,” Melvin said. “We had good at-bats early in the game. Give up a run and we get it right back. Score another one in the second and it feels like we’re on our way to having a pretty good offensive night and we couldn’t do anything to sustain it after that.”
In 15 games dating to April 24, the Giants have scored 43 runs, an average of 2.87 per game. Estrada’s home run was only their eighth in 10 games this month, seven played at yards where the ball typically flies.
“With us right now, we’re not hitting the ball out of the ballpark, so we’ve got to be able to sustain some at-bats and put some pressure on them,” Melvin said. “Other than the home run Estrada hit, we just couldn’t do that today.”
Ramos’ athleticism, at least, provided a novel look for Giants fans, though it would have fit right in on the other side of the field.
The Reds have been the most aggressive team on the base paths all season, and their ring leader — shortstop Elly De La Cruz — served as a thorn in the Giants’ side all night. Reaching base twice, De La Cruz swiped a pair of bases and scored two of Cincinnati’s runs.
Of the Reds’ MLB-leading 66 steals, 25 belong to De La Cruz, almost double the Giants’ total as a team (13).
“I’m not very good at holding on runners to begin with,”Webb said. “They run a lot. They also run into outs. I’ve got to be better at my timing.”
Webb thought he had De La Cruz after reaching base for the first time, and so did first-base umpire Larry Vanover. On a pick-off move to first, Vanover initially ruled the speedy Reds shortstop out but replay review revealed his hand barely beat Wilmer Flores’ tag back to the bag.
A couple pitches later, De La Cruz was standing on second base with his first stolen base of the evening and scored the Reds’ first run of the game on Spencer Steer’s double to the center field wall. De La Cruz scored again when Steer’s third-inning pop-up glanced off Wilmer Flores’ glove, while Stuart Fairchild tacked on an insurance run against reliever Erik Miller with the 13th inside-the-park home run in the history of Oracle Park.
Fairchild raced around the bags in the eighth inning as his fly ball off reliever Erik Miller bounded away from Fitzgerald and Michael Conforto in left-center field, sliding headfirst into home as Jakson Reetz attempted to corral the relay throw.
“I mean, look, you can’t give these guys extra bases,” Melvin said. “Certainly one of them ended up costing us a run. When you’re not scoring many runs, you’ve got to play perfect defense and can’t make mistakes.”
Rebounding nicely from two subpar starts, Webb completed seven innings while limiting the Reds to three runs but walked off the mound trailing 3-2. Seven had been the magic number for Giants starters, but they lost for the first time in seven games when their starter went seven innings or more.
“It was definitely a step in the right direction, but still not good enough,” Webb said of his effort. “It was kind of a tale of two games. Early on, not very good. I figured it out late, but by then it was too late. Just got to be better.”
Up next
RHP Mason Black (0-1, 10.38) makes his second major-league start — his first at Oracle Park — against LHP Nick Lodolo (3-1, 2.79), with first pitch Saturday scheduled for 4:15 p.m. on FOX.
