Giants invent new way to lose in 3-0 defeat by Brewers

Bats went silent and bullpen wasted a strong Hayden Birdsong start. Oh, and Tyler Fitzgerald got hurt!

One thing you can’t say about this year’s San Francisco Giants team is that they lose in uncreative ways. Blowing enormous leads, routine lazy fly balls drop between outfielders, bizarre obstruction calls, giving up seven runs in one 11th inning, the team has done it all. But dropping a game thanks to a walk and three straight wild pitches is incredible even by 2024 Giants standards.

The Milwaukee Brewers scored their first run of a 3-0 victory Thursday night at Oracle Park without a single hit. Camilo Doval walked Willy Adames, then threw three wild pitches to send the Brewers shortstop home. For the record, the franchise record for wild pitches in a single game is four, and Doval nearly matched that in one inning.

One inning later, Brewers rookie Jackson Chourio hit a two-run homer into Levi’s Landing to stretch the lead to 3-0, becoming the youngest player in MLB history to achieve a 20-20 season.

But the Brewers wouldn’t need the insurance runs, as the Giants were shut out for the sixth time this season. They didn’t get their first runner to third base until Mark Canha singled and Jerar Encarnacion doubled off Brewers closer Devin Williams (11 saves) with one out in the ninth. That represented 40% of the team’s hits for the entire game and 28.6% of their baserunners. But Grant McCray struck out for the third time in the game — and the 35th time in his 85 plate appearance in the bigs (41% of the time) — and pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey grounded out to end it.

The Giants got very little going versus Brewers starter Frankie Montas, who improved his record to 7-10. Montas struck out eight in his six innings of work, giving up two hits and two walks. The closest thing they had to a rally happened in the 4th inning, when Matt Chapman and LaMonte Wade, Jr. walked with two outs, but Encarnacion lined out.

Wade was what passed for an offensive star for the Giants in this game, reaching base on a hit and a walk in his two plate appearances. Curt Casali had a double before his wild pitch adventures, while Mike Yastrzemski followed up his two consecutive games with home runs with a three-strikeout performance.

Starter Hayden Birdsong threw five strong innings, striking out four and giving up only two hits and a walk. After rough outings in his last two starts, he came through with his best start since he struck out eight in five shutout innings July 27 against the Colorado Rockies. Erik Miller pitched a scoreless sixth inning, marred only by his own field error, and Spencer Bivens pitched a scoreless ninth.

Unfortunately Bivens also gave up Chourio’s two-run homer in the eighth, but it sounds a whole lot better to focus on his clean inning, and the five consecutive batter he retired after the game-sealing dinger.

To add injury to the insult of a shutout, the Giants lost Tyler Fitzgerald in the third inning to lower back tightness. After the game, Fitzgerald said that he felt his back locking up before the game, but added that he wasn’t concerned, because something similar happens every year to him. He’s going to get an MRI tomorrow, though it’s not clear if fans should feel better that it’s actually a recurring back issue.

Friday night, the Giants welcome another likely playoff team, the San Diego Padres, with a chance to clinch the season series. They’re 6-4 against the Dads so far this season, with a chance at a real moral victory in winning bragging rights. At stake:

• What city has the best Mission district?
• Should burritos be packed with rice or french fries?
• Who gets custody of Tim Flannery?

The Giants’ playoff hopes may be lost, but there’s still a lot to play for. They just need to score one single run.