The San Francisco Giants have been shut out in eight different games this season.
If not for first baseman Brandon Belt, Sunday could have been the ninth occasion.
Though the Giants did push a run across in the ninth inning, it was Belt’s seventh inning solo shot that ended New York Mets’ right-hander Jacob deGrom’s shutout bid and took starter Johnny Cueto off the hook for a loss.
Belt’s team-high 14th home run of the season marked his third round-tripper of the past week, but San Francisco still wishes it could receive more consistent offense from the left-handed slugger.
In the top half of the fourth inning, Belt struck out against deGrom with runners on the corners and just one out, and his whiff played a critical part in helping deGrom escape the frame without allowing a run.
After a 1-for-4 afternoon at the plate, Belt’s average clibmed up to .228, which is still 40 points below his .268 career average.
Belt’s struggles are not isolated, as the rest of his teammates have failed to pick up the slack during a miserable first half of the season. With a 5-2 loss on Sunday, San Francisco dropped its 50th game of the year, and fell a stunning 23 games below .500, a depth Belt said no one in the organization expected to reach this season.
“It’s hard to explain,” Belt said. “I don’t think anybody expected it to be this way coming into the season. You know, I think the way I look at it as is we had a great first half last year and a pretty bad second half so hopefully we can reverse that this year and have a really good second half and see what happens.”
The Giants’ roster featured a few fresh faces Sunday, as 23-year-old Ryder Jones made his Major League debut as the team’s starting third baseman, while reliever Kyle Crick appeared in his second big league contest, and his first at AT&T Park.
Earlier this season, the Giants called up infielder Christian Arroyo, who was later sent back to AAA after his averaged dipped below .200, and left fielder Austin Slater, who has staked his claim to the starting left field job with an impressive first month in San Francisco.
On Saturday, manager Bruce Bochy indicated the Giants will continue to give younger players opportunities to play as long as the veterans struggle. Belt said that he knows the complexion of the clubhouse will continue to change, but that as a professional, it’s imperative to improve and play up to his potential on a daily basis.
“I think just as professionals, you want to go out there and prove yourself every day and we have a job to do when we come to the ballpark so no matter what situation we’re in, we have to go out there with the idea that we’re going to cause some damage and we’re going to do the best we can on that given day. So I mean, the clubhouse is changing a little bit but I think you just try to keep that out of your head and welcome the guys that come up and go out there and try to do your job.”