Before Monday’s series-opener against the Padres, Giants manager Gabe Kapler broke out a new analogy.
Losing four straight, coming off a 2-6 road trip and slipping a season-high four games below .500 will have a manager searching for words.
“I believe this strongly: there’s a lot of baseball left to be played, and there’s a good run of baseball left in this team,” Kapler said. “I’m not going to say that our chances are perfect — I don’t think they are, it’s not like we’re very much within striking distance. But if you like poker, there’s the poker tournament analogy of a chip and a chair. I think that’s the only way to look at it.”
As long as you still have a seat at the table, there’s always a chance. Kapler made the hopeful observation pregame, when the Giants claimed a 0.8% chance at the postseason. Then San Diego fended off a late Giants push for a 6-5 victory.
The Padres, whom the Giants are chasing for the third wild card spot, pulled the chair out from under San Francisco Monday. Another win Tuesday could flip the poker table over onto them. A three-game sweep would dump the Giants’ drink on them.
“It’s not great,” outfielder Joc Pederson said postgame.
After four hours and 26 hours of play, San Francisco (61-66) has now taken five straight losses and drops. The gap between the Padres and Giants in the standings is the biggest it’s been all year — 8.5 games. For the first time in 2022, the Giants are five games under .500.
In Oracle Park, each club had to deal with a 10-minute stoppage in the first inning when home plate umpire Marvin Hudson injured himself, plus a 40-minute delay after the second inning when the stadium lights wouldn’t turn on.
During the stadium lights malfunction, players remained in their dugouts. Journey’s “Lights” played on the speakers. It took two hours to complete the first three innings.
Despite having their routines significantly altered, both Carlos Rodón and Mike Clevinger eventually returned to the mound.
Rodón had allowed three runs in the first inning — on a Juan Soto walk, Josh Bell single and Brandon Drury home run. Then after the delay, he surrendered two more on a walk and two barrels with exit velocities of 104.3 and 105.8 mph.
San Francisco’s All-Star lasted four innings and allowed five earned runs on four hits and four walks.
Clevinger, meanwhile, herked and jerked his way to three scoreless innings before allowing Pederson’s 19th home run of the season in the fourth. Pederson’s 420-foot shot to the deepest part of Oracle Park cut San Diego’s lead to 5-2.
The Padres added another run off Zack Littell, and the Giants’ offense went scoreless in the sixth and seventh — both of which ended on double plays.
Three scoreless innings from Jarlin García kept the Giants in it, and they rallied with three two-out runs in the eighth.
But the Giants petered out in the bottom of the ninth. Tommy La Stella, SF’s leadoff man, made his fifth out of the game. LaMonte Wade Jr.’s magic ran out. Wilmer Flores ended it quietly.
Not only did SF’s comeback fall short, Joey Bart — one of the Giants’ hottest hitters — exited early with an apparent head injury. The catcher took a foul tip to the facemask in the top of the third, hit in the bottom half, got evaluated for a concussion in the top of the fourth and then disappeared into the clubhouse in the bottom of the fourth after catching the side.
The Giants already have Brandon Belt shelved. Evan Longoria is dealing with a bum hamstring that he vowed to play through. Rodón is approaching his career-high in innings and Logan Webb has already long surpassed his.
With 35 games left, it seems like San Francisco is down to its final hand. This could be the series where it becomes clear that it’s time to fold.