LOS ANGELES — The Giants lead the Majors with 112 errors this yr, however it was a psychological mistake that loomed largest on Thursday night time at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers scored the go-ahead run on J.D. Martinez’s sacrifice fly after veteran proper fielder Mike Yastrzemski forgot what number of outs there have been within the sixth inning, sinking the Giants to an excruciating 7-2 loss that dropped them beneath .500 for the primary time since June 4, once they have been 29-30.
San Francisco has misplaced six of seven video games to open this 10-game highway journey to Colorado, Arizona and Los Angeles, all however extinguishing the membership’s playoff hopes. The Giants fell to a Main League-worst 5-26 in highway video games since July 19, marking their worst 31-game stretch away from dwelling since 1902.
“Not crisp sufficient throughout the board, clearly,” supervisor Gabe Kapler mentioned. “It’s simply not ok to win baseball video games in opposition to good groups. It’s not ok to win baseball video games constantly in any respect.”
The Giants have been held hitless over 4 2/3 innings by Dodgers rookie Emmet Sheehan, who struck out a career-high 9 however gave up one run after issuing a bases-loaded stroll to Tyler Fitzgerald within the fifth.
Former Dodger Joc Pederson tied the sport at 2-2 with a towering solo shot off lefty Alex Vesia within the sixth, however Los Angeles capitalized on defensive errors to regain the lead within the backside half of the inning.
Will Smith despatched a drive into the right-center-field hole that popped out of the glove of a diving Fitzgerald and kicked away for a one-out triple. That introduced up Martinez, who lifted a routine fly ball to Yastrzemski in proper area.
Yastrzemski, apparently pondering there have been two outs, caught the ball and started to jog again to the Giants’ dugout earlier than realizing that Smith was tagging up and making an attempt to attain from third. His last-minute throw ended up being off the mark, permitting Smith to simply come dwelling and put the Dodgers forward, 3-2.
“If you price your workforce like that, it’s by no means feeling,” Yastrzemski mentioned. “I can’t bear in mind the final time I did it, however it occurred. It’s form of an inexcusable, unhealthy mistake that simply can’t occur.”
Los Angeles padded its lead from there, scoring two runs on a pair of untamed pitches by Luke Jackson within the seventh earlier than including two extra runs within the eighth.
The defeat encapsulated the myriad points which have plagued the Giants and brought on them to slide out of the playoff image within the second half: sloppy protection, a punchless offense and an lack of ability to unravel their extended highway woes.
“I feel there’s a means we will play with a little bit extra edge in each sport,” Yastrzemski mentioned. “I feel I’ve seen it — we’ve all seen it — the place we come out firing and issues are going properly, after which there’s occasions the place we simply come out flat.
“I feel it’s simply an perspective factor the place we must always take a little bit extra satisfaction in our work. We’ve obtained to look within the mirror, myself first, greater than anyone. It’s simply a type of issues the place I feel there are occasions the place we need to be embarrassed, form of like we’re proper now.”
As they drift nearer to elimination, the Giants’ priorities are anticipated to shift towards improvement and giving extra alternatives to younger gamers who may be a part of the combo in 2024 and past, together with Fitzgerald and shortstop Marco Luciano, who mixed to go 2-for-5 with two walks after being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.
Fitzgerald, a 2019 fourth-round Draft decide, is a pure shortstop, like Luciano, however he has performed all around the infield and began getting reps within the outfield within the Minors this yr. The 26-year-old began in middle in his Main League debut and picked up his first hit, a two-out double off Shelby Miller, within the seventh.
“To be right here is only a blessing,” Fitzgerald mentioned. “A dream come true.”
One other brilliant spot was left-hander Kyle Harrison, who gave up two runs on three hits over 5 1/3 innings in his first profession begin at Dodger Stadium. Harrison struck out two and walked one, however he was pulled after 75 pitches after coming down with an sickness that made him a “50-50 form of gametime resolution,” per Kapler.
“He grinded as greatest he may and fought by means of that begin for us,” Kapler mentioned. “We obtained him out of there to guard him. Bodily, it was lots for him after the final 24 hours.”