Anthony DeSclafani

Giants get taste of their own medicine in loss to Stroman, Cubs

Logan Webb and Alex Cobb have kept the rotation afloat this season. On Friday night, the Giants got a taste of what it would be like to face their two best starters.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Logan Webb and Alex Cobb have kept the rotation afloat this season. On Friday night, the Giants got a taste of what it would be like to face their two best starters.

Marcus Stroman, the only National League pitcher with a higher ground ball rate than Webb and Cobb, allowed just one run and watched his lineup rally late. The 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs snapped a three-game winning streak for the Giants, who couldn't carry over their own late success from Coors Field.

Had things worked out a little differently before the lockout two years ago, Stroman might have been a Giant. They pursued him but he signed a big three-year deal with the Cubs, and in Chicago, he has perfected the same recipe that Webb and Cobb use every five days. Stroman got 13 outs on the ground and five more on strikeouts.

"I think it's just the continued competitiveness that comes out of Marcus every time he takes the mound. It's pretty impressive," manager Gabe Kapler said. "Excellent command, control of a sinker-slider combination that can be really challenging, particularly for right-handed hitters. We had some early solid contact between Joc (Pederson) and (Mike Yastrzemski) and a hard ground ball from (Thairo) Estrada. It was just not enough to really do any damage."

For most of the night, DeSclafani was the equal of Stroman, who is making a bid to start the All-Star Game for the National League. But his fourth walk ended his night and put two on with no outs in the seventh. The Cubs went on to score three runs after reliever Ryan Walker entered.

Walker is a rookie, and while the Giants think very highly of his future, that was still a tough spot. Kapler didn't have many cards to play, though. Camilo Doval and both Rogers twins pitched the final two games in Denver, and the Giants don't like to use a reliever three straight days. Scott Alexander has a hamstring issue, further limiting Kapler's options.

The four walks came a start after DeSclafani walked three, but he said he felt this was a step in the right direction overall.

"I'm working on some mechanical stuff in between starts and still felt a little out of whack," he said. "The walks are not ideal. It's tough. I've got to stop walking so many guys, but for the most part, I feel like I did a fine job of competing."

—- When Kai Correa was hired as Kapler’s bench coach, he got an audio version of the MLB rulebook so he could learn all the ins and outs quickly. That paid off in the first inning.

Nick Madrigal took off for second on a walk and the Cubs were confused when the Giants challenged.

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Correa knew that the Giants could ask to see if he slid past the bag and then got tagged, and that’s exactly what happened. The savvy move helped DeSclafani get out of an early jam. Patrick Bailey got the third out when Seiya Suzuki took off for second and was thrown out in a more traditional way.

“That’s a sweet sequence of events for Pat Bailey and for our club,” Kapler said.

—- The Giants announced after the game that John Brebbia will be the opener for Saturday’s game. Sean Manaea has generally taken down several innings in games started by Brebbia.

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