What we learned as Giants suffer home sweep vs. Dodgers

Share

Sometimes a dribbler rolling up the middle of the infield is a beautiful sight. That was the case Sunday when a Mike Tauchman single couldn't be fielded cleanly by Gavin Lux, breaking up Julio Urias' perfect game with one out in the sixth inning at Oracle Park. 

That was one of the biggest highlights of the day on a perfect sunny afternoon in San Francisco as the Giants lost 11-5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, completing a rough sweep at the hands of their rivals. The Giants did make a comeback push, scoring two runs in the sixth inning and three in the eighth, but it wasn't enough.

Anthony DeSclafani had his worst start in a Giants uniform, and perhaps the worst of his seven-year big league career. The right-hander allowed 10 earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings as the Dodgers put this game away in a hurry. DeSclafani gave up nine hits and walked three on a day he'll hope to soon forget. 

The good news for the Giants comes Monday. Why's that? The orange and black get a much-needed day off before facing the Diamondbacks in Arizona for a short two-game series in the desert. 

Here are three more things to know from a tough day at yard for the Giants. 

DeSclafani the Dodger Hater

San Francisco Giants

Find the latest San Francisco Giants news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.

What Giants' non-roster invitees, led by Eldridge, say about roster

Report: Giants agree to minor league deal with ex-Athletics reliever

DeSclafani came into Sunday as not only one of the Giants' best pitchers this season, but one of the best in the NL. He sported a 2.03 ERA and had a 0.919 WHIP. That's not exactly the case anymore. 

After getting knocked around the ballpark in a short amount of time, DeSclafani's ERA rose 1.51 points to 3.54 overall. He hadn't allowed more than three earned runs in a start all season long, and he allowed only one earned run combined in his last two outings. His 10 earned runs are a new career-high for a single start. 

Unfortunately for DeSclafani and the Giants, he has a history of getting hit hard against the Dodgers. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, DeSclafani came into Sunday 0-5 with a 5.02 ERA over his last five starts against the Dodgers. 

This was his first time facing the Dodgers with the Giants, and it likely won't be his last. *Whispers* Maybe it should, though. 

Spicoli in San Francisco

Phil Bickford finally made his San Francisco debut. Nobody expected it to be with the Dodgers, though.

The Giants selected Bickford with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft. But the Giants traded Bickford, along with catcher Andrew Susac, to the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 1, 2016, for reliever Will Smith. That trade worked wonders for the Giants, and the 25-year-old Bickford now is on the other side of the rivalry. 

Bickford made his MLB debut last season for the Brewers, allowing four earned runs in one inning. He also gave up two more runs in just one inning in his only appearance for Milwaukee earlier this season. The Dodgers selected him off waivers on May 3. 

In his Oracle Park debut, Bickford got Darin Ruf to groundout, hit Brandon Crawford with a pitch and struck out Mauricio Dubon.

The NL West is ... Really Good

Take a deep breath, Giants fans. This team still is on pace to win more than 90 games. OK, now back to the bad news. 

The Giants came into this series on a five-game win streak atop the NL West standings. They leave in third place, which is much closer to where they were expected to be with preseason predictions. But nobody saw them right in the thick of a tight race with the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. 

RELATED: Giants could be represented on Team USA in Tokyo Olympics

San Francisco dropped its first three games of the season to the Dodgers, and are 5-4 against the San Diego Padres.

Going into their off-day Monday, the Giants (28-19) will be two games behind the Padres (30-17) and one game behind the Dodgers (29-18). This should be a much better three-team battle than anyone expected, giving Giants fans every reason to tune in the rest of the way.

Download and subscribe to the Giants Talk Podcast

Contact Us