What we learned as lights dim on Giants with another loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SAN FRANCISCO -- After a lengthy and odd delay, the Giants finally got their ballpark lights to work during Monday's game. But it might be time to turn off the lights on their 2022 season.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
With a 6-5 loss to the Padres, the Giants fell 8 1/2 games out of the third Wild Card spot with 35 to go. They wasted a golden opportunity to make up ground on the team they're chasing, and when they take the field Tuesday, they'll be just one game up on the fourth-place Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Giants had their best lined up for the homestand, with Carlos Rodón and Logan Webb getting the first two games against the Padres. But Rodón had a rough night, falling behind 5-0 and lasting just four innings.
The Giants had multiple chances to come back in the middle innings, but initially fell short. They stranded two runners in the fourth and another in the fifth. After a single and walk with one out in the sixth, Austin Slater bounced a 2-0 pitch from lefty Adrian Morejon to short for an easy double play. After a leadoff single in the seventh, Tommy La Stella hit into a double play.
Sports
In the eighth, the big hits finally came. Slater hit a two-run single with the bases loaded and J.D. Davis dumped a single into center to bring another run across and get the Giants within one. They wouldn't get any closer.
Rough One For Rodón
Not much went right for Rodón in his four innings. A walk, wild pitch and single got the Padres on the board in the top of the first and Brandon Drury made it a three-run inning with a two-run blast to left. In the fourth, Rodón walked the leadoff batter and then gave up a double and two-run single. In between, he took the mound only to be told to leave the field because of lighting issues, and he looked frustrated by the delay.
Rodón was charged with five earned runs, matching his total from his previous four August starts. The five-run outing was his third of the second half. He struck out just two, tying a season-low. Rodón had struck out 21 total batters over his previous two starts but he got just seven swinging strikes Monday on his 94 pitches.
Joc Jam
The Giants had just an infield single through the first three innings, but LaMonte Wade Jr. singled to lead off the fourth and Joc Pederson hit a loud two-run blast two batters later. The ball left the bat at 106 mph and traveled 420 feet, just getting over the wall in the deepest part of the yard.
The homer was Pederson's 19th of the year but his first at Oracle Park since June 25. He has just two homers in the second half, but this swing was certainly a positive sign. Pederson yanked a 93 mph fastball that was up and away from him.
The homer snapped a streak of 172 plate appearances without one for the Giants. That was their second-longest drought of the season.
Welcome Home?
The first night back after a three-city trip was an odd one. In the bottom of the first, La Stella popped a ball up in front of the Padres dugout and home plate umpire Marvin Hudson slipped as he followed catcher Austin Nola to the ball. Hudson apparently suffered a lower-body injury and there was a 10-minute delay as he was taken off the field by trainers and first base umpire John Tumpane went back to the locker room to get new gear on.
RELATED: Bart exits after taking foul ball off mask
That was easy compared to the second delay. Many of the lights at Oracle Park were out at the start of the game and the umpiring crew pulled players off the field before the top of the third. That delay lasted 40 minutes, with players going back to the clubhouse.
Even with a 6:45 p.m. PT start, this one went late. The seventh-inning stretch came at 10:12 p.m. PT, with public address announcer Renel Brooks-Moon telling the crowd, "Finally ... it's time to stretch."
