The San Francisco Giants have spent approximately the last two months basking in the hot and humid Arizona weather due to a combination of spring training and Opening Day, and following the gut-punch that was their 9-3 loss on Thursday, the team will be content knowing it won’t have to return for a couple of months.
Several disturbing trends which crafted the narrative of San Francisco’s first three games of the season were clearly present on route to San Francisco’s first four-game series loss against the Diamondbacks since 2008. Like clockwork, Giant starters couldn’t hold on to the lead they inherited while left fielders are still battling to find their way on base.
Jeff Samardzija coughed up the two leads he inherited, both by way of the long ball. With the Giants up 2-0 lead, the Shark allowed back-to-back jacks to David Peralta and Paul Goldschmidt in the bottom of the fourth. Buster Posey put the Giants ahead with an RBI double in the sixth, but Arizona came right back with a Jake Lamb three-run home run, which began a run of seven unanswered runs.
Bruce Bochy penciled in Chris Marrero to start against Diamondback lefty Robbie Ray, but went hitless in three plate appearances with a strikeout. Marrero’s poor day at the plate prompted Bochy to move Aaron Hill, who launched a solo home run in the third, to left and bring in Joe Panik off the bench.
Hill’s mid-game transition to left field epitomizes San Francisco’s lack of production from both Marrero and Jarrett Parker who have combined for zero hits and nine strikeouts in 16 plate appearances thus far. The former Diamondback hasn’t played any meaningful games in left field since his freshman season at LSU, but if Marrero and Parker continue to sputter, Bochy may have to innovate.