Giants fall to Miami on Marte’s three-run home run in eighth inning
The Giants continue to struggle at the plate in a loss to the Miami Marlins.
The Giants played on the East Coast for the first time since 2019 but left their bats at home.
Starling Marte broke open a tie-game Friday night with a three-run home run off Giants reliever Wandy Peralta, giving the host Miami Marlins a 4-1 win.
It was exactly the kind of blow the Giants had been seeking all night but were unable to deliver as they fell to 8-5, wasting another strong performance by starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani.
The Giants managed just four hits and a single run on Evan Longoria’s run-scoring single in the fourth inning against Miami starter Daniel Castano.
Other than that, it was a lot of nothing. Mike Yastrzemski doubled and tripled, Donovan Solano hit a couple of line drives in tough luck, but for the most part it was a series of weak at-bats against Castano and four relief pitchers.
The Giants came into the game hitting .207, so it’s not as if hitting hasn’t been an issue. But they were unable to deliver the long ball and were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“I think it’s fair to say that in small stretches, most offenses will struggle,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said in a postgame video conference. “That’s not to say it’s not frustrating. It is. That’s not to say we don’t need to string more consistent at-bats together. That’s absolutely true. At the same time I don’t think it’s any time to panic about the way the offense is performing.”
After reliever Matt Wisler (0-2) recorded the first out in the bottom of the eighth, pinch-hitter Jesus Aguilar drew a one-out walk, with Kapler bringing in Peralta to face Corey Dickerson.
Dickerson, a left-handed batter, slapped a single to left, with Magneuris Sierra coming in to pinch run. Not that Miami needed Sierra’s speed on first, because there was nothing to do but trot around the bases when Marte unloaded his second home run of the season 427 feet to left center field.
Miami Marlin(g)s. pic.twitter.com/NxEr8kuMl2
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) April 17, 2021
“He’s got big power. He punishes mistakes,” Kapler said. “That was just a pitch he’s going to drive more times than not. I think if Wandy could have it back he’d put it in a different location.”
Opposing hitters were 3-for-16 against Peralta going in to the inning.
Anthony Bass (1-2), the third of four relief pitchers for Miami, picked up the win with a scoreless eighth and Yimi Garcia finished off the Giants with a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save as the Marlins improved to 6-7.
DeSclafani continued a trend which has seen Giants starting pitchers work at least five innings in every game this season. He gave up four hits and a single run on a solo home run by Jazz Chisholm (his fourth) leading off the fifth inning.
In his previous start, DeSclafani pitched six scoreless innings against Colorado and he’s got one walk an 12 strikeouts in the last two games. He lowered his season earned run average to 1.06.
DeSclafani is aware of the run of solid pitching by the starters but is too busy executing pitches to make much of it.
“I’m sure it’s probably in the back of everyone’s mind just a little bit, but you’re just focusing at the task at hand,” DeSclafani said. “That’s getting ahead of guys, executing pitches and trying to go deep into the game.”
DeSclafani could have gone another inning, but he was lifted for pinch-hitter Tommy LaStella, who flied to center with two outs in the seventh. Wisler pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning until giving the walk in the eighth.
The Giants squandered a chance to take the lead in the sixth after Yastrzemski’s one-out triple to right against reliever Adam Cimber, who replaced Castano.
Cimber recovered to strike out Longoria for the second out, walked pinch-hitter Brandon Belt, then retired another pinch-hitter, Alex Dickerson, on a fly to center.
Belt’s walk kept alive a streak of 27 games reaching base against Miami.
The Giants were briefly charged with their third error of the season when Brandon Crawford couldn’t make a play on a ground ball by Jazz Chisholm. Crawford double-clutched the ball slightly and didn’t make a throw, but had little chance to get the speedy runner anyway.
Later, the official scorer changed the error to an infield hit for Chisholm.