How the Giants move forward after series loss vs. Washington

WASHINGTON -- These Giants, it seems, are streaky. Less than a week ago, they were riding high, winners of seven straight. The Giants then followed that up with consecutive defeats to the Reds and a sweep at the hands of the last-place Nationals, culminating in Sunday’s 6-1 defeat at Nationals Park.

Anthony DeSclafani allowed four runs in four-plus innings behind opener Scott Alexander while the Giants’ offense remained ice cold against MacKenzie Gore and four relievers in Sunday’s matinee finale. San Francisco limped out of the nation’s capital on a five-game slide, matching its longest of the season.

Here are a few observations from what was an ugly weekend all around in D.C, where the Giants jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of Friday’s opener and wouldn’t lead again the rest of the series.

The end of a long trip
The Giants were en route to Detroit to play a makeup game against the Tigers on Monday that will wrap up their grueling 11-game, 4-city road trip to open the second half. That kind of schedule would tire any team, and the Giants are playing tired. They’ve been outscored 29-8 during their five-game skid; their starters/bulk relievers own a 10.89 ERA (25 ER/20.2) in that span.

The Giants were outplayed this weekend on both sides of the ball, but especially offensively. There is no shortage of slumping Giants hitters. Mike Yastrzemski is 2-for-his-last-39. Patrick Bailey is 2-for-his-last-22. J.D. Davis is 4-for-his-last-38. The Giants went 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position as a team over the three-game set.

And the bottom third of their order combined to go 3-for-24 with nine strikeouts over the course of the weekend, highlighting a weak area the club is expected to try to improve before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline.

“I think it’s important to have faith and confidence in all of our players, and at the same time I think it’s important to tell it like you see it,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I don’t think this is a secret. It’s been a very significant struggle. When you see that struggle, in particular when it's young players, we need to do a really nice job of setting them up for success through quality coaching, saying the right things at the right times if we are able to, and showing our belief in these players. We aren’t trying to say these struggles aren’t happening or aren’t hurting us. Of course they are. Everybody sees that. But this is when we get behind our players.”

What’s on the shopping list?
It’s important to keep perspective. Even after this weekend, the Giants remain right in the thick of the National League playoff picture, retaining a grip on the second NL Wild Card spot. But their last three losses further highlighted their need for reinforcements in the rotation, where they are thin behind co-aces Logan Webb and Alex Cobb.

San Francisco didn’t show any ability to endure the rare rough start from Webb on Saturday; veteran lefty Alex Wood struggled in Friday’s opener, and their decision to open with Alexander in front of DeSclafani on Sunday backfired immediately. Kapler, Wood and Webb all spoke openly this weekend about the rotation’s struggles, meanwhile the bullpen received a boost with the return of leverage reliever Luke Jackson.

“All of our pitchers know that the best way to help this team is to come in and deliver the best possible innings at any given time,” Kapler said.

Well, someone had to be the first
How unlikely was this three-game sweep to Washington? Not only had San Francisco arrived in D.C. having recently won seven straight, but it had been more than two years since the Nationals swept anyone.

That’s right. Before this series, the Nationals hadn’t swept any of their last 96 series, the longest such streak in MLB history. Their last sweep of three or more games came all the way back on June 16, 2021, against the Pirates.

Sunday also marked the first time the Giants have been swept by the Nats since Aug. 5-7, 2019, the year Washington won the World Series.

“Going forward, it’s really important for us to stay calm, not press at all,” Kapler said. “All good teams, all good offenses, go through challenging times. We’ve gone through several of them this year … I have nothing but confidence in this group. (We need to be) nice and even through a down time, just like we’re nice and even through an up time.”