LOS ANGELES -- While just about all of the attention has been paid to the missing hitters, the Giants quietly lost two key relievers last week, too.
Dominic Leone and Zack Littell both tested positive for COVID-19 and neither made the trip down to Los Angeles for a quick two-game series, but manager Gabe Kapler still had his late-game trio -- Camilo Doval, Jake McGee and Tyler Rogers -- in place. He never got a chance to use them against the Dodgers, and on Wednesday that was in part because of a wild stretch of missed opportunities for the lineup.
Starting with Brandon Crawford's leadoff homer in the second, the Giants got the leadoff runner on base in eight consecutive innings. Crawford, who got to jog around the bases, was the only one to score. In fact, he was the only Giant to touch home plate, period, in a 9-1 loss, and one of just two to score in the two-game series.
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Crawford's blast gave Alex Wood a brief lead, but the Dodgers got two off him in the fourth inning and pulled away against the bullpen, particularly relievers who don't usually pitch for Kapler in closer games. Kapler never turned to his main guys because the lineup never caught up, but they certainly had chances.
In the third, Luis Gonzalez hit a single but was stranded on third. Darin Ruf led off the next inning with a walk but didn't score. Kevin Padlo singled in the fifth and never moved. Wilmer Flores singled in the sixth and only touched second when he scrambled back to first on a long fly ball. Mike Yastrzemski singled in the seventh and was wiped out by a double play. Joey Bart walked in the eighth and also was part of a double play.
Finally, Ruf led off the ninth with a single off former Giant Reyes Moronta and watched the next three Giants fly out.
The Giants had eight leadoff hitters reach base. None of them were followed by another hit or even a walk.
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"We were pitched to well and I don't think we were able to capitalize on some deeper counts and they made pitches when they needed to," Kapler said. "I thought it was that simple."
Perhaps it was. The Giants might have had a chance to steal one had they gotten a tie game to Rogers, but instead the Dodgers blew it open in the seventh. When Freddie Freeman's triple made it 7-1, 52,000 fans at Dodger Stadium chanted his name. In the visiting dugout, the Giants wore flat faces. They looked ready for the flight back to San Francisco.
This has been perhaps the toughest stretch of Kapler's three seasons in charge. In addition to losing five of six, the Giants have had five players come down with COVID-19. They got Yastrzemski back on Wednesday, but it'll be a few more days before they are whole.
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There was not a lot of talk in the clubhouse about what is missing, but it was clear on the field, and as the Giants prepared to leave a tough series behind, they were hopeful that Littell, Leone and Brandon Belt would rejoin them soon.
"It's not a group of complainers in here, for sure," Wood said. "It's one of those things where we're still coming to the yard ready to play every day, battling our asses off and just treading water until we get some of these guys back and get healthy and get our full squad back. A lot of them are coming tomorrow or the next week or so, so it'll be nice to have some of those guys back for sure.
"Two tough ones here in LA against a good team. It's hard to come in here short-handed and play a team like that. But, we'll go home and we'll be home for a little bit. I think it'll be good for us to get back to Oracle."