SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants have hit rock bottom.
No, they most likely will not repeat 2017’s 64-98 fiasco. This year’s team has shown more fight. But the same existential dread that permeated 2017’s lost season was evident Saturday night when the Brewers took their third straight game in this four-game series by a score of 7-1, dropping the Giants to 52-54 and putting their playoff hopes in a serious bind.
The contrast between the two teams was stark Saturday night. The Brewers were jovial and loose on the field, with their ground balls finding holes and their starting pitcher, journeyman Jhoulys Chacin, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Giants’ injury-depleted lineup. A young team, the Brewers played with an energy that the Giants’ veteran group sorely lacked.
The Brewers scored first in the second, when bloop singles from Eric Kratz and Christian Yelich scored three to put the Brewers up early. Eric Thames then singled away from the shift, advanced to second on a ground ball and scored on a slow ground ball single up the middle by Orlando Arcia to make it 4-0.
In the fifth, Ty Blach replaced Johnny Cueto on the mound and was promptly taken to task by the Brewers. Yelich took a hanging 0-2 curveball to the opposite field for a solo home run to stretch the Brewers’ lead to 5-0. Lorenzo Cain and recently acquired third baseman Mike Moustakas registered back-to-back singles before Jesus Aguilar blooped another single to right, scoring Cain.
Nick Hundley delivered the Giants’ first hit and only run of the game on a solo shot in the sixth.
With the non-waiver trade deadline approaching on Tuesday, the Giants cannot escape their current freefall. With their loss Saturday and the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Atlanta Braves, the Giants are now 7.5 games back in the NL West and 5.5 games back of Arizona for the second NL wild card spot. With little roster flexibility as the deadline approaches, the club will have difficult decisions to make in the coming days.