Right-hander Adrian Houser had his best start as a Giant on Wednesday in a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Giants first baseman Rafael Devers high-fives teammates in the dugout Wednesday after his solo home run in the fifth inning of a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr cheers Rafael Devers’ solo home run in the fifth inning Wednesday against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
After figuring out some mechanical issues — and eliminating some movement that was tipping his pitches — Adrian Houser’s spot in the San Francisco Giants’ rotation looks much more solid after Wednesday’s outing against San Diego.
The upward trend for Houser is good news for the Giants, who signed the right-hander to a two-year deal in the offseason. Another notably slow starter, Rafael Devers, homered.
Progress, of sorts, but not on the scoreboard. Ty France’s two-out pinch-hit double snapped a 1-1 tie in the seventh, embattled former closer Ryan Walker gave up two more in the eighth and San Diego hammered down a 5-1 victory along with the series at Oracle Park. At 14-23, the Giants have the second-worst record in the league, behind only the New York Mets. They’ve dropped eight of their past nine.
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Giants reliever Ryan Walker walks back to the mound as the San Diego Padres’ Xander Bogaerts high-fives third-base coach Bob Henley after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning Wednesday at Oracle Park.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
“This isn’t something that you just magically come out of,” Houser said. “We have to grind through it, we have to fight through it, we have to get through it, and it’s going to take every one of us in here. It’s going to be some gritty wins, some grimy wins, do the small things right and win the small-ball games.”
The offense continues to lag; San Francisco had three hits Wednesday, including Devers’ first homer since April 8. Third baseman Matt Chapman is now the team’s slumpingest player, 0 for his past 24 going back to last Thursday.
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“It’s been obviously rough,” Chapman said, speculating that he’d subconsciously been trying to hit for more power. “I felt really good to start the season. I felt good going into that last road trip and then sort of lost that good feeling a little bit. … I started trying to maybe do a little bit too much at the plate, and what comes with that is swing-and-miss and maybe getting out outside of what you’re doing. I need to get back to just shortening it up and finding the barrel and then trusting that the power will come.”
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Giants first baseman Rafael Devers rounds the bases after hitting his solo home run in the fifth inning Wednesday against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
An error started things for the Padres when Chapman failed to come up with Fernando Tatis’ grounder to open the seventh. “I was playing in a little bit because they had attempted a few bunts earlier in the game, then he hit it hard into the ground,” Chapman said. “My initial read was to go get the short hop, and then I kind of backpedaled because I didn’t think I was going to get there, and I just had my glove in the wrong spot. … Just a bad read, and we’re kind of unable to recover after that one.”
San Diego
San Francisco
ab
r
h
bi
ab
r
h
bi
Totals
33
5
6
5
Totals
30
1
3
1
Merrill cf
4
0
1
0
Ramos lf
4
0
0
0
Machado 3b
3
1
0
0
Lee cf
4
0
0
0
Andujar dh
4
0
0
0
Schmitt 2b
4
0
0
0
Sheets 1b
3
1
1
1
Chapman 3b
3
0
0
0
Bogaerts ss
1
1
1
2
Devers 1b
3
1
1
1
Tatis 2b
4
1
0
0
Adames ss
3
0
0
0
Laureano lf
2
1
0
0
Eldridge dh
3
0
0
0
Castellanos rf
4
0
2
0
J.Rodriguez rf
3
0
2
0
Fermin c
4
0
0
0
Bailey c
3
0
0
0
Song ss
2
0
0
0
France ph-1b
2
0
1
2
San Diego
000
100
220
—
5
San Francisco
000
010
000
—
1
E_Chapman (4). LOB_San Diego 6, San Francisco 2. 2B_Merrill (7). 3B_France (1). HR_Sheets (4), Bogaerts (6), Devers (2). SB_Castellanos (0). S_Machado (1).
1
0
0
0
0
0
5
2
1
1
0
7
2
1
0
0
0
4
1
0
0
0
0
2
6
3
2
1
1
3
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
2
2
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
Houser pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.
WP_Walker.
ABS Challenge_Laureano (Strike-Overturned to Ball).
Pitch timer violations_France (batter).
Umpires_Home, Tripp Gibson; First, Clint Vondrak; Second, Todd Tichenor; Third, Adam Hamari.
T_2:14. A_34,181 (41,915).
Keaton Winn came on in relief of Houser, who’d thrown only 74 pitches and said he still had plenty left in the tank. “I felt fine, no real stress innings,” he said. “I felt like I could have handled it, but it’s out of my control.”
Asked about going to the bullpen there, with Houser dealing, manager Tony Vitello said the plan going in had been to go with some of the higher-leverage relievers and added that Ramon Laureano, up next, had the hardest-hit ball off Houser at 104 mph.
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Winn walked Laureano and after a groundout and a shallow flyball, lefty Matt Gage took over. The Padres countered with right-handed hitting France, who lofted a soft flyball down the right-field line. Jesús Rodríguez, called up Monday and making his first start in right with San Francisco, made a diving attempt but the ball clipped his glove as he was midair. The triple sent in both runners.
Giants utility man Jesus Rodriguez chases down Ty France’s flyball in right field that he couldn’t catch in the seventh inning. The hit went for a triple.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
“It looked catchable,” Vitello said. “He’s in the right position, got a good jump on it, showed no fear. There’s a little bit of a decision on how you’re going to attack the ball, he just didn’t catch it. … It would have been an outstanding play, but I think the play could have been made. I say that from my perspective; he’s played plenty of left field, hasn’t played a lot of right field.”
Walker, who gave up an inning-opening walk in the team’s loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday, did the same Wednesday and, with one out, gave up Xander Bogaerts’ homer to left; Bogaerts didn’t start the game but came in as part of the move after France pinch hit for shortstop Sung-Mun Song.
Houser was the talk of the American League with the White Sox last year after opting out of a deal with the Rangers; he put up a 2.10 ERA in 68⅔ innings with them before getting traded to Tampa Bay.
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That’s the Houser the Giants would like to see, but he had a worrisome four-start stretch in which he allowed 20 runs — and a dreadful 32 hits and six walks — in 20⅓ innings. He told the Chronicle last week that he was drifting toward third base in his delivery; once he got back to going straight down the mound, things snapped back into place. He’d also been tipping some pitches, so he worked on eliminating extra movement that might give anything away, but now “we’re on top of it,” he said.
Since then, he’s allowed seven hits and three walks in 10⅔ innings — a respectable WHIP — and three runs, all on solo homers. “The last two outings have been outstanding,” Vitello said.
Giants manager Tony Vitello walks back to the home clubhouse at Oracle Park after his club fell to the San Diego Padres 5-1 on Wednesday.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Wednesday was Houser’s best outing with the Giants. He went six-plus innings, gave up a homer to Gavin Sheets in the fourth and little else. He also worked out of his own little jam in the first after walking leadoff man Jackson Merrill. After Manny Machado moved Merrill to second with a sacrifice bunt, Houser got Miguel Andujar and Sheets to ground out.
He was working with Patrick Bailey, who remains the Giants’ best defensive catcher and game-caller; Bailey had been out of the lineup the previous two days after Rodríguez’s callup, but with Rodríguez in right field Wednesday, Bailey was back behind the plate.
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Rodríguez had two more hits — he’s batting .444 — and while the France triple was a tricky play, Rodríguez looked comfortable in right, with Jung Hoo Lee nudged over to center. The nicest play in the outfield came from Heliot Ramos, who made a sliding play in left to rob Merrill of a hit and end the fifth, with Houser applauding.
The Giants are, mercifully, off on Thursday and in much need of a reset.
“I think you want to take advantage of the day off,” Vitello said. “It’s been a long grind. It’s been a long time coming as far as the day off, and if anything, it’s probably a good time to for everybody to take a time out and do whatever it is they do, either relax or spend time with family.”