SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants couldn’t complete another comeback against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday at Oracle Park, losing 5-4 and failing to start their seven-game homestand with a sweep.
Rookie right-hander Hayden Birdsong had his second consecutive rough outing, allowing five earned runs in only 4 1/3 innings pitched. The Tigers tagged Birdsong for two home runs, raising his ERA all the way to 5.40 on the 2024 MLB season.
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Two runs in the first and sixth innings weren’t enough from the Giants. Though they struck out only three times and finished the day with two fewer hits than the Tigers, the Giants went blank on the scoreboard in seven out of nine innings.
The left side of the infield was far from the problem offensively for San Francisco. Matt Chapman and Tyler Fitzgerald went 5-for-9, but the rest of the lineup didn’t enjoy the same success.
Here are three takeaways from the Giants’ loss, snapping a four-game win streak.
Birdsong Bit By The Long Ball
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Birdsong’s first appearance since his worst outing of his rookie season didn’t begin as planned, hanging a slider and giving up a two-strike solo shot that bounced off the top of the left-field wall and into the bleachers.
The baby-faced 22-year-old then induced two straight groundouts to second baseman Brett Wisely and ended the top of the first inning by striking out cleanup hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy. The Giants responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first, giving Birdsong a one-run lead.
But Birdsong continued to be hurt by homers, allowing a two-run shot off a fastball right down the middle to catcher Dillon Dingler, the first of his big league career.
In Birdsong’s first six starts for the Giants, he gave up 10 earned runs and four homers in 30 1/3 innings. Between his previous outing and his first two innings Sunday, Birdsong saw 10 earned runs come across the plate, including four homers, over four innings.
Dingler also led off the top of the fifth inning by nearly cranking out his second homer of the day, crushing a ground-rule double 406 feet to right-center field that had a 107.9-mph exit velocity. Two batters later, a Matt Vierling double down the left-field line put the Tigers up by two and ended Birdsong’s day.
Chappy Does It All
Saturday’s 3-1 Giants win against the Tigers was highlighted by yet another defensive gem by Chapman, leaping and snagging a soft blooper to end the top of the sixth inning. The Gold Glove third baseman let his defense make up for his second straight 0-for-3 day at the plate. One day later, Chapman’s bat did all the talking while continuing to play great defense as well.
Chapman’s two-run single up the middle to center field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning was the perfect response to the Tigers starting the day with a homer, putting the Giants back ahead.
Then in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Giants trailing by three, Chapman again delivered at the plate. Chapman roped a scorching line drive 109.7 mph off the bat to right field, cutting the Giants’ deficit to two runs for his second RBI of the day. Jerar Encarnacion two batters later then used his own hard-hit liner to right, bringing Chapman in to make it a one-run game.
Chapman then hammered a triple to center field to start the bottom of the eighth, but ended up in a pickle one pitch later and was thrown out at home.
Missed Opportunities
For how big of a day Chapman had, almost every other Giant froze when it mattered most. Chapman (3-for-4, three RBI) and Tyler Fitzgerald (2-for-5) combined for five of the Giants’ seven hits. The real problem was the lack of bringing runners in when opportunities arose.
The Giants as a whole went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Prime chances were right there in front of them, especially the final few innings.
Over the seventh and eighth and innings, they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
The San Diego Padres lost 7-6 earlier in the day to the Miami Marlins, and the Atlanta Braves blew a six-run lead in an 9-8 loss against the Colorado Rockies. Entering Sunday 1.5 games back of the third NL wild-card spot, a Giants win would have been huge for a team turning it on at the right time. Now, they’ll look to recuperate Monday to begin a four-game series against the Braves.
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