Where do Giants turn as mess of a season continues with another series loss?

SAN FRANCISCO — With everything else going on, it can be easy to forget sometimes that the biggest storyline for the Giants this year was supposed to be a manager who made history just by taking the job.Tony Vitello knew that decision would bring levels of scrutiny he had never faced before, even in the SEC, and under different circumstances, his decisions in the seventh inning Wednesday might have gone under the microscope for a couple of days.Adrian Houser was having his best start as a Giant and had thrown just 73 pitches when he went back out for the seventh. His first pitch led to a routine grounder to third that Matt Chapman kicked. Vitello came out right away and called for his bullpen.A few minutes later, the San Diego Padres took the lead on a fly ball to right that bounced off the glove of a rookie catcher who has experience in the outfield but still had a lot asked of him when he was put in one of the toughest right fields in baseball. They were the types of decisions that Vitello might ordinarily spend some time replaying after the 5-1 loss. But right now, how can you really expend much energy on the day-to-day moves of a first-year manager?What is anyone on the bench or behind the scenes supposed to do when experienced players manage just three hits and fail to draw a walk for a second straight day? What buttons do you push when the opposing team is so comfortable against your best hitters that the bulk innings guy (Matt Waldron and his 9.88 ERA) enters to face Rafael Devers, Chapman and Willy Adames? What do you do when the latter two combine to go 0-for-6 again with a crushing error from a five-time Gold Glove winner, or when the starting catcher responds to three days off by striking out twice in another hitless game? Or when the guy who easily closed out the Los Angeles Dodgers just two weeks ago gives up a run in his third straight relief outing?It’s been a mess of a season, and the final two games of another lost series fit right in. Just about the only positive Wednesday was the fact that the Giants don’t have to run it back Thursday. “I think you want to take advantage of the day off,” Vitello said. “It’s been a long grind. It’s been a long time coming as far as the day off, and if anything it’s probably a good time for everybody to take a timeout and do whatever it is they do, either relax or spend time with family.“If I could look at Friday, it’s come to the ballpark with a little bit of that Little Leaguer (attitude we’ve talked about) and enjoy playing the game. Enjoy being around one another, and expect adversity, because it’s going to come. It’s coming in every form and fashion this year so there’s going to be more of it. That’s not going to change.”Vitello said there were some tired players in the clubhouse, but the hope was that the group would get a boost from Monday’s call-ups of Bryce Eldridge and Jesús Rodríguez, who had the misplay in right field but also picked up two more hits. Instead, the Giants lost two of three. They’re nine games under .500 already and percentage points ahead of the New York Mets at the bottom of the National League. For every step forward (Rodríguez’s solid series, Houser’s start, etc.) there are two steps back.The Giants are on pace for 100 losses, which would have seemed unfathomable to the clubhouse in the spring. They’re last in the big leagues in homers, steals, on-base percentage and runs scored, which also would have seemed impossible given the resumes in the room. After the latest one-run performance, Chapman said he did not see this coming. But he stuck to what has been the rallying cry throughout these first six weeks. There’s a lot of baseball left. “It’s a tough balance, because you want to make it happen and we want to get it going and we want to play better and want to win and take better at-bats and score more runs,” Chapman said. “But sometimes trying to do that and letting it happen are two different things. You have to have that urgency to find a way to take those at-bats and get on base and find ways to make it happen, but when you try too hard sometimes you’re just kind of digging yourself a bigger hole.“It’s kind of a tough balance, but the guys in this room, a lot of us have been there before. We’ve had good careers and I think we’re going to find our way out of this thing. Obviously it needs to happen sooner rather than later, but I have full confidence in everybody in this room. We have a lot of talent in this room and a lot of good players, and we’re going to come together and we’re going to get it figured out.”Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Where do Giants turn as mess of a season continues with another series loss?

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