LOS ANGELES – Can Tyler Fitzgerald get help?
The rookie shortstop is in regards to the only thing that works within the Giants' beleaguered lineup, and he was again answerable for the majority of their offense against the Dodgers on Tuesday night. Once again, one man's superhuman performance wasn't enough to lift eight other slackers.
Fitzgerald hit a clean sweep to left field that put the Giants on the scoreboard within the second inning and hit a house run in his fifth consecutive game – the primary Giants rookie to accomplish that – but that was all his teammates could manage in a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers.
It was the Giants' fourth loss in five games for the reason that All-Star break, they usually didn’t rating even 4 runs. In 17 games this month, they've averaged a paltry 3.47 runs per game, and it's been five weeks — since June 17 — since they scored five runs, the number needed to offset Jordan Hicks' second-shortest start of the season.
In one among his final starts before moving to the bullpen, Hicks looked like a pitcher running on reserve. Although he was making only his third start since July 3, the converted reliever has already surpassed his profession high in innings and “probably has one more (start),” manager Bob Melvin said before the primary pitch, “and then we'll have to make a decision.”
Hicks struggled to search out the strike zone or get effective outs. He sank two wild pitches past catcher Patrick Bailey, drew a season-high five walks and struck out two batters, but mostly pitched his way out of trouble by the point the Dodgers modified their lineup for the third time, with runners on the corners and one out within the fourth inning.
After taking Shohei Ohtani out of the sport twice, Hicks couldn't do it a 3rd time. The two-time MVP hit a 1-1 slider to right field and prolonged the Dodgers' result in 4-1 with a two-RBI double. That ended Hicks' night after 3⅔ innings and 92 pitches. It was only the second time in 20 starts that he failed to finish 4 innings.
Fitzgerald's home run within the second inning could only bring the Giants inside one run after Hicks allowed the Dodgers two runs of their first at-bat: he scored Freddie Freeman, walked Teoscar Hernández and allowed Gavin Lux to bring home each runs with a double, giving them a 2-0 lead.
The home run was Fitzgerald's fourth in 4 games for the reason that All-Star break, and his streak of 5 consecutive home runs began on July 9. It puts him in exclusive company: He is barely the fifth player within the San Francisco era to hit a house run in five straight games and the primary since Barry Bonds in 2004 to hit a house run in seven straight games.
As he began his first game of the second half in Colorado on Saturday, Fitzgerald said it had been 11 days since he faced an actual pitcher. Since then, Melvin hasn't been in a position to take him out of the lineup, moving him to the seventh hole on Tuesday night.
In 4 trips to the plate, Fitzgerald reached base 4 times. After hitting a house run on his first at-bat, he drew a four-pitch walk on his second at-bat and hit a single the opposite way that would have began a seventh-inning rally. However, the subsequent batter, Mike Yastrzemski, hit a ground ball that led to an inning-ending double play.
After Alex Vesia walked the primary two batters of the ninth inning, Fitzgerald added one other hit and RBI to his line, bringing home Matt Chapman from second base to chop the Dodgers' result in 5-2. That reached the potential tying point with no outs, but Wilmer Flores singled, Brett Wisely went down swinging and LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded out to finish the sport.
Aside from Fitzgerald, the remaining of the Giants lineup had a complete of two hits out of 29, with the opposite two hits coming from Heliot Ramos.
Since the beginning of the second half, Fitzgerald has accounted for six of the Giants' 11 RBIs while hitting 7-of-13, 4 home runs and a double. The remainder of the team has a combined batting average of .149 (22-of-148) with 42 strikeouts and 7 extra-base hits, just two greater than Fitzgerald alone.
Remarkable
With their seventh consecutive loss at Dodger Stadium, the Giants' lack of success at their archrival's stadium reaches historic proportions. They haven't gone this long and not using a win at Chavez Ravine since 1980, after they lost eight straight here in three seasons for the primary time. As of the beginning of 2022, they’re 5-16 at this stadium.
Next
It won't get any easier because the Dodgers are expected to activate RHP Tyler Glasnow and LHP Clayton Kershaw from the injured list for the last two games of the series. On Wednesday, LHP Robbie Ray will face Glasnow as he makes his club debut and first start since March 31, 2023 before undergoing surgeries on his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
Originally published:
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