Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
LOS ANGELES — Shaun Anderson has allowed 18 earned runs this season.
Seven of those have come before he could record three outs.
The first inning bit Anderson again Tuesday in a 9-0 loss at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles ripping him as soon as he took the mound.
Joc Pederson led off with a home run, Alex Verdugo singled and Justin Turner doubled, the Giants buried in a 2-0 hole immediately that would balloon after Anderson left the game.
It raised his first-inning ERA to an even 9.00 — seven earned runs in seven innings — and the 24-year-old rookie said he would look into tweaking his preparation for his next outing.
“Nothing huge. Nothing drastic,” Anderson said after mostly managing a dangerous Dodgers lineup that went on to destroy the Giants bullpen. “I do need to bear down a little bit on those first innings. This isn’t the first time it’s happened. I’ll look into it and kind of whether I need to throw an inning first in the bullpen or what.”
Opponents are now batting .438 (14-of-32) with four home runs off Anderson in the first inning. He’s only surrendered one home run outside that frame all season.
Bruce Bochy acknowledged they would discuss what to do to get Anderson ready from the onset.
“If we had a real good answer we would solve it,” the manager said. “Sometimes you tweak things in how you prepare. … We’ll talk about it. But you know what, the kid’s throwing well. So it’s not like we have to do a lot.”
After the first, Anderson weathered base-runners and navigated traffic well, allowing seven hits and three walks but just three runs in his 5 2/3 innings.
Buster Posey, his battery mate, said Anderson was merely missing a bit high with his early pitches, but didn’t see anything out of the norm. If Anderson does make a change, Posey said, it’s just part of being a young pitcher.
“It’s part of the maturing process, figuring out how you can be at your best,” the catcher said.