The Giants could not have gotten off to a worse start Monday night, but that's not what they'll regret.
Anthony DeSclafani gave up back-to-back homers to start the night but the lineup then went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, wasting several great opportunities in the late innings of a 3-2 loss to the Dodgers. The Giants have lost back-to-back games for the first time since May 21-23, when they got swept by the Dodgers at Oracle Park.
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SIGN UP HERE The Giants faced Trevor Bauer for the second time and saw a different version, but once again they couldn't do much. Bauer's four-seam spin rate was down 375 rpm from his dominant start against the Giants at Oracle Park, but he kept the lineup off balance with a mix of cutters, sliders and looping curveballs, allowing just the two earned runs in six innings. The Giants were hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position against Bauer.
They kept getting chances against the Dodgers bullpen, and had a great shot to tie it up in the eighth when Wilmer Flores got his fourth hit and reached third with one out. Gabe Kapler turned to pinch-hitter Curt Casali, who struck out, and LaMonte Wade Jr. ended the threat by flying out on what was otherwise a big night.
Mike Tauchman nearly led off the ninth with a hustle double, but he was called out as he overslid the bag and there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the call. Kenley Jansen finished it out from there.
Solo Power
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DeSclafani needed just 26 pitches to get through the first two innings, but unfortunately for him, two of the first seven left the yard. Mookie Betts hit a leadoff homer and Max Muncy followed with his sixth in his first 24 at-bats this year against the Giants.
The third inning was scoreless, but the Dodgers forced DeSclafani to throw 29 pitches, and he gave up another solo homer -- this time to Will Smith -- in the fourth. In his first 15 starts, DeSclafani allowed just eight total homers and didn't have any multi-homer games.
DeSclafani went five innings, allowing just those three runs on the solo homers. He had allowed three total earned runs in his first four starts of June.
Meet LaMonte
Wade was in Triple-A when Bauer dominated the Giants at Oracle Park earlier this year, but he didn't waste much time making an impact against the reigning Cy Young Award winner. Wade lined a 109.3 mph single to lead off the game, notching the hardest hit of his career. His previous high on a hit this season was 106.2 mph.
Wade didn't hit the ball nearly as hard his next time up but had the right launch angle, lofting one just over Mookie Betts glove in right for a solo shot, his sixth of the year. The Giants got relatively positive news on Brandon Belt on Monday, but Wade is going to be their primary first baseman for at least a few weeks here. Right now, that's a very good thing.
Bruin-on-Bruin Crime
Somewhere in New York, Gerrit Cole let out a loud cheer at around midnight eastern time. Cole and Bauer have a well-known feud going back to their UCLA days, but Cole's brother-in-law took Bauer way, way deep in the sixth to get the Giants back within one.
Brandon Crawford led off the inning with a 444-foot shot to dead center, his 17th of the season. It was Crawford's longest homer since Statcast began tracking in 2015, and it was his longest this season by 22 feet. With 17 homers in the first half, Crawford is just four away from tying his career-high.