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The San Francisco Giants are spiraling at the worst possible time, and Tuesday night’s 8-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks was just another punch to the gut in a brutal stretch. The D-backs launched four home runs — including back-to-back blasts from Randal Grichuk and James McCann — while Zac Gallen dominated on the mound in what felt like a statement win for Arizona and a red flag for San Francisco.
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead behind a solo homer from Willy Adames and a Patrick Bailey groundout that scored Daniel Johnson, the Giants offense flatlined again. From the third inning on, it was all Arizona. San Francisco managed just five hits total and fell victim to a barrage of long balls, poor defense, and yet another night of pitching struggles.
Hayden Birdsong, who looked locked in early with five strikeouts through two innings, completely unraveled in the fourth. The young right-hander opened the inning by throwing 10 straight balls, issuing back-to-back walks and then grooving a fastball that Jake McCarthy crushed for a go-ahead three-run homer. Birdsong exited after four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) with four walks.
The outing marked Birdsong’s third straight start allowing at least four runs. Since joining the rotation in May, he has a 5.54 ERA and has failed to complete five innings in his last three outings. The potential is there, but the consistency is nowhere to be found.
Giants continue to struggle, in danger of getting swept by D-Backs
The bullpen didn’t offer much help either. Carson Seymour relieved Birdsong and was tagged for four runs across three innings, though only two were earned thanks to two costly passed balls by catcher Patrick Bailey — both of which directly led to D-backs runs. Bailey, usually among the most dependable defenders behind the dish, had an uncharacteristically poor night.
His first passed ball in the third allowed McCann to advance, setting up Geraldo Perdomo’s RBI single. His second came on a dropped third strike with two outs in the fifth, keeping the inning alive for Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who promptly smashed a two-run homer to extend Arizona’s lead. The following inning, Grichuk and McCann went back-to-back to make it 8-2.
On the other side, Gallen was in vintage form. After allowing two early runs, he retired 12 straight Giants and finished with seven innings of one-run ball (one run was unearned), striking out 10 and walking none. He collected 16 whiffs — eight on his signature curveball — in his most dominant start since early June.
This latest loss drops the Giants to 45-41. Just three weeks ago, they were tied for first in the NL West. Now, they’ve lost seven of their last eight and 13 of 18 since June 12. They're now 8.5 games back of the Dodgers and only 1.5 games ahead of the Diamondbacks, who have won the first two games of this series.
The Giants’ issues run deep — inconsistent starting pitching, a cold offense (just nine runs in their last five games), and now even their usually sharp defense is cracking. With Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt sidelined, Wilmer Flores returned to third base for the first time in over a year. While he handled his lone opportunity cleanly, it’s clear the Giants are stretching to patch the infield together.
Manager Bob Melvin said pregame that Flores was “up for it” and wanted to help the team win. With injuries mounting and the season slipping, the Giants will need much more than willingness — they’ll need a spark. And fast.
