MIAMI — A ballclub is only as good as its bullpen, so it should come as no surprise, then, how difficult it is for the Giants to build any semblance of momentum this season.
And just when it looked like they were going to win their fourth straight game for the first time all year, they were sent right back to the starting line. once again.
The decline began in the 4-3 loss to the Marlins as soon as Landen Roupp left the game.
Sam Hentges, who took over to start the seventh inning, struck out Estuary Ruiz to put the speedy hitter on base to lead off and allow the second batter of the inning to reach as well.
Instead of protecting the one-run lead that Rupp delivered, Hentges allowed both runners to score, tipping the score in Miami’s favor. Leadoff man Liam Hicks singled a single through the right side of the infield and Owen Casey, three short of the cycle, sent a deep fly to left field.
The runs proved crucial in the Giants’ seventh loss in 30 games when they took the lead after six innings.
Rupp had the Giants in position to build on Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep with a bounce-back performance. He surrendered a solo home run to Cassie in the first inning but allowed just one more run the rest of the way while completing six innings.
Their clubs weren’t necessarily living up to their end of the bargain.
Traffic was not an issue for either team, as Rupp allowed runners to reach in all six of his innings and the Giants put up six men in the first three innings against the Marlins’ bullpen.
Daniel Susak came within a few feet of a grand slam that would have been his first career home run, but settled for a long sacrifice fly that ended as the only run the Giants were able to capitalize on their early opportunities.
Rafael Devers led off the sixth with a no-nonsense home run to the upper deck in right field — his 11th of the season — and it once again looked like the Giants were in action when Jung Ho Lee followed with a double.
Casey Schmidt belted a single to Lee to briefly put the Giants ahead, 3-2, but the inning ended as quickly as it started, leaving two more runners stuck in the corners.
What does it mean
Manager Tony Vitiello rolled up four innings as a magic number of sorts — the Giants are 24-7 when getting that far — but they couldn’t get there despite having no shortage of opportunities.
Ultimately, they needed more support for a bullpen that had been one of the seven worst in the majors since the end of April, with a 4.94 ERA.
They fell to 7-37 in an MLB-leading 44 runs held to three or fewer runs.
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Who’s hot?
Willie Adams collected his 1,000th career single with a single to lead off the second inning.
The milestone came in Adams’ first hit since hitting his 12th and 13th home run of the season in San Francisco’s doubleheader sweep of the Braves on Wednesday.
Ten of those home runs have come since May 18, second only to Juan Soto (11) for the most grand slams in that span. However, Adams admitted after Wednesday’s games that his shot “wasn’t at its best” and that he was “trying to become more consistent.”
Adams was 1-for-31 dating back to his last home run before coming home with two runs on Wednesday.
Who is not
Rupp was 5-1 with a 2.55 ERA over his first six starts.
Since then, the Giants have lost all eight of his starts heading into Friday’s game, with Rupp allowing four or more runs five times to raise his season ERA to 4.24.
It was a different story this time as Rob wandered around traffic each half but left after six goals leading 3-2, having scored seven goals, and one away from matching his season high.
He was on pace to get his first win since he last faced the Marlins, on April 26, when he limited them to two runs over 7 innings in his longest start of the season.
the next
Trevor McDonald, who was originally scheduled to start the series opener, will get the ball on Saturday in Game 2, with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m. ET. This could be his last chance to prove he’s worthy of holding down his rotation spot with Tyler Mahle returning from a hamstring strain on Wednesday.