SAN FRANCISCO -- Not even Josh Hader can save the Giants right now.
As bad as the Giants have been in the second half, Hader, formerly the best left-handed reliever in the game, has been worse. But he closed out a 5-4 win and a Padres sweep on Wednesday, dropping the Giants to 61-68. They have lost seven straight and 11 of their last 13.
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Hader's season started to go off the rails in July when the Giants stunned him with a walk-off grand slam. He has completely lost his command -- and his high-leverage role -- since a trade to the Padres, but they were out of fresh arms in the ninth.
Thairo Estrada immediately put the pressure on with a bloop to center and he went to second on a wild pitch. But Tommy La Stella flied out, Luis González struck out and Austin Wynns flied out.
That was it for a team that now must decide how to handle veterans in September, which will become a month-long audition for 2023. At one point Wednesday, the Padres had eight hits to the Giants' one, and the score probably shouldn't have been anywhere close to what it was.
Allowed to hang around, the Giants rallied in the seventh, with Joe Musgrove providing a lot of the help.
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Musgrove has dominated the Giants this year but went walk, hit-by-pitch, hit-by-pitch to open the seventh. Bob Melvin stuck with his most consistent starter and the Giants scored runs on a fielder's choice grounder and single to left.
The Giants patched together another run in the eighth, literally. Evan Longoria has a bad hamstring and can't run anywhere close to full strength, but he pinch-hit for a slumping Mike Yastrzemski and hit a ball far enough into the left field corner that he cruised into second. Longoria was replaced there by Austin Slater, who dislocated his finger on Tuesday and can't swing a bat but can run and field. Slater scored when Joc Pederson dumped a single into center, cutting the deficit to one.
Turn The Page To September
Alex Wood's month started with a six-run outing against the Dodgers. It ended with the Padres putting four runs on his line in 4 2/3 innings. Wood failed to get through five for the third consecutive start and he now has been charged with 19 earned runs in his last three starts, raising his ERA to 5.10.
The latest rough outing came on a day when Wood was sharp early. He retired the side in order in the first three innings and struck out four, but the Padres got a run on a Manny Machado single in the fourth and then sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth. Wood was lifted with the bases loaded and Machado coming up and the Padres went up 4-0 when he hit a double to right-center.
Too Much Joe
The Padres have a lot of bigger names on their roster, but Musgrove has been their best player when they've faced the Giants this season. He has faced them four times and allowed just four earned runs in 27 2/3 innings. The Giants have just 14 hits in those 27 2/3 and have struck out 25 times, including 11 times on Wednesday.
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Musgrove is one of the more underrated players in the league and the Giants have no choice but to figure him out. Earlier this month, he signed a five-year, $100 million extension.
Frustration Boiling Over
It has been an odd series for the umpires, who lost one of their own to a lower-body injury on Monday and then had two calls overturned very early in Tuesday's game. In the finale, the Giants showed constant displeasure with the strike zone.
Brandon Crawford was ejected in the third inning, a few minutes after he disagreed with a check-swing call. Wilmer Flores and Pederson also questioned called third strikes. Pederson hung around long enough that manager Gabe Kapler came out to make sure he didn't lose another player.