SAN FRANCISCO -- By the bottom of the seventh on Sunday night, Giants manager Gabe Kapler had Blake Sabol in left field, LaMonte Wade Jr. in center and Joc Pederson in right. The Giants pulled out all the stops to try and finish with a .500 road trip, but they could never catch up at Citi Field.
They drew eight walks and got hit by three pitches, but they couldn't take advantage of the Mets' mistakes, losing 8-4 on the final night of a trip through Toronto and New York. After sweeping their first three road series of June, they went 2-4 on this trip and now face a tough turnaround, with a cross-country flight followed by a Monday night game at Oracle Park.
The trip started with perhaps the best bullpen game of the year. It ended with a curious decision, as Ross Stripling was pulled after throwing just 24 pitches in two sharp innings. Alex Wood was supposed to be the bulk innings guy, but he struggled with his command and gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings.
The Giants got two runs back on Blake Sabol's homer and kept pushing. They got some help in the eighth when two different Mets relievers drilled two Giants, and with a walk mixed in, they loaded the bases for J.D. Davis, the former Met. Adam Ottovino had started his outing with six straight balls, but he recovered to strike Davis out on three pitches.
Here are three observations from the Giants' loss on Sunday:
Mixed Bag
Stripling's first start since May 17 ended up being more of an opener appearance, but it was about as good as he has looked as a Giant. In his second appearance off the injured list, Stripling struck out two, walked one and didn't allow a hit in his two innings. His fastball hit 94 mph and he threw 16 of 24 pitches for strikes.
News
Stripling has allowed just one run in five innings since returning, and he should be stretched out if the Giants want to give him another shot at really starting. In a rehab start 10 days ago, Stripling threw 66 pitches.
Wood wants another shot at starting, too, but Sunday's outing was a rough one. He threw just 34 of 57 pitches for strikes and had his first career outing with more than three walks in fewer than two full innings. Wood's best pitch often is his changeup, but he threw just four of 16 for strikes.
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Sloppy At Citi
With a runner on first and two down in the fourth, Tommy Pham hit a flare to left that Luis Matos couldn't get to. The rookie tried to deke Brandon Nimmo, who was on first, but the ball skipped past him, allowing Nimmo to score. Pham should have been caught in a rundown between second and third, but nobody was covering second and he retreated.
An inning later, Mark Canha hit a popup to shallow center that dropped between Matos and Thairo Estrada. That one didn't end up costing the Giants.
In the seventh, Wade pinch-hit for Matos and then stayed in center field the rest of the way. He had played just two innings in center since the start of the 2022 season.
Good Karma
When a young Giants fan interfered with a ball in play on Friday, Sabol ran over to tell him that everything would be fine, and he later took a picture with the family. Two nights later, he added another New York memory.
Sabol got the Giants within a couple of runs with a pinch-hit homer in the seventh, the first of his career and third this year for the Giants. The homer was the eighth this season for Sabol, who made his debut across town at Yankee Stadium at the end of March.
