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Something wasn’t working between first and third base Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park, as the typically surehanded Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt teamed up to cost the Giants the first two runs they allowed in 7-1 drubbing to the Padres.
Schmitt was charged with an error for failing to reel in a wide throw from Chapman in the first inning that ricocheted into the outfield, allowing Jackson Merrill to race home from first and open a 1-0 lead.
Chapman took the blame for a throw that sailed over Schmitt’s mitt and into foul territory on a play that should have ended the fifth inning. Instead, Gavin Sheets scored from second to make it 2-0.
Adrian Houser pitched better than the defense behind him in the season debut for the Giants’ No. 5 starter but ran into trouble when San Diego turned its lineup over for a third time. Just one of the three runs on Houser’s line was earned, but three of the Padres’ seven hits against him came in consecutive at-bats after he recorded the first out of the sixth, bringing manager Tony Vitello out with the hook.
The Padres’ ace, Nick Pivetta, rebounded from his stinker to open the season and put San Francisco’s bats back in hibernation. After more than doubling their season totals with nine runs on 16 hits to clinch a series win Tuesday, the Giants mustered just four hits while striking out a season-high 14 times.
Despite the getaway day defeat, Vitello’s first games in the road grays have to be considered a success. The first-year manager won’t be celebrating a sweep on the short charter flight back to San Francisco, but his team rebounded nicely from an 0-3 opening series by taking two of three in San Diego.
Willy Adames had been on a tear since moving into the leadoff spot, but the Giants shortstop was held hitless to snap a brief three-game hitting streak. The 0-for-4 effort came in SF’s first loss in four games with Adames batting leadoff, dating back to Game 162 of last season.
Luis Arraez was responsible for three of the Giants’ four hits, including their only one in five innings off Pivetta. Arraez gave them a second with a double off Adrian Morejon to begin the seventh, and Harrison Bader got them on the board with a two-out line drive into left field for their third hit of the afternoon.
The multi-hit effort from Arraez against his former team left him batting .304 after six games, the best mark among the Giants’ starting lineup that has featured the same nine players in all of their first six games.
The description could fit anybody in a starting lineup that doesn’t feature one player with an OPS that starts with a seven or higher. For the fourth time in their first six games, the Giants were held to one run or less and three or fewer hits. Even with their nine-run outburst on Tuesday, the Giants are averaging just 2.3 per game, the fewest in the majors, with a .559 team OPS — better only than the A’s.
Besides the bats, Jose Butto hasn’t looked like the same pitcher who tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings for Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic. Butto is suddenly the biggest question mark in the Giants’ bullpen after retiring only one of the seven batters he faced in his second shaky outing in three games.
Butto issued four walks, allowed three hits and found the strike zone on only eight of his 28 pitches, forcing Vitello to burn another arm, lefty Ryan Borucki, with seven more games in the next seven days.
The Padres extended their lead from 3-1 to the eventual final margin after Butto entered the game.
Robbie Ray makes his second start of the season Thursday as the Giants return to Oracle Park to begin a seven-game home stand against the Mets and Phillies. Tyler Mahle gets the ball Friday, followed by Landen Roupp and Logan Webb to finish off a four-game weekend set with New York.
