The final score didn’t matter Tuesday night between the Giants and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Early in the game it was announced Hall of Famer and Giants legend Willie Mays peacefully died at 93 years old.
On the field, the Giants’ offense was silenced and starting pitcher Logan Webb once again didn’t get enough help in a 5-2 loss to the Cubs.
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Tyler Rogers entered the night throwing seven scoreless innings in June. He left now throwing 7 2/3 innings while allowing three earned runs this month.
There were no late-night heroics this time, and the Giants now head to Wednesday needing a win to take the three-game series. The score, the Giants’ loss, everything was secondary.
Here are three takeaways from the Giants falling to 36-38 on the season.
Mr. Reliable
San Francisco Giants
Webb continues to be a manager’s best friend. The Giants’ ace also is the horse of the staff. His last start snapped a streak of pitching seven innings in three straight starts. He fell one inning short.
Webb on Tuesday then began a new streak, throwing 101 pitches in seven innings. Dansby Swanson’s two-run homer in the second inning might have been his only mistake.
Swanson used an inside-out swing on a sinker down and in and hit a deep fly into the Wrigley Field jet stream to center field. The homer had a 103.4 mph exit velocity and near perfect 35-degree launch angle. It also wouldn’t have been gone at Oracle Park.
Or five other ballparks.
The Cubs managed six hits off Webb, who struck out five and walked only one batter. Chicago left five men on base when Webb was in the game, and the Cubs were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Webb induced 11 groundouts and just two fly outs.
Rogers’ Rare Implosion
All seven of Webb’s innings went to waste immediately when he was replaced by Rogers to begin the bottom of the eighth inning. Rogers already had given up two runs before recording a single out. He allowed four straight hits and issued his second walk all season long.
Rogers left with the bases loaded and two outs. The next batter, Christopher Morel, drove in the third run of the inning on a single to shortstop Nick Ahmed.
The submariner has been automatic this season out of the bullpen. Rogers hadn’t allowed a run all month. He last did so when the New York Mets scored three runs off him on May 26.
Rogers again allowed three runs to score three weeks later, raising his ERA from 2.38 to 3.12.
Bats Go Cold
The Giants’ impressive offensive showing Monday night didn’t translate to Tuesday. Their first three hitters in the lineup went 0-for-12 and struck out three times. The first six batters combined for one hit.
Backup catcher and No. 9 hitter Curt Casali was the only Giant to have multiple hits.
He also drove in both runs.
The Giants had a total of four hits and 12 strikeouts. Four batters struck out multiple times, and Jorge Soler had three strikeouts for the fifth time this season.