The indoor setting of Tropicana Field should have been a welcome sight for the Giants, whose arrival in Florida was delayed by a rain-induced doubleheader that could not have gone worse.
An air-conditioned and drama-free affair Friday against the Rays didn’t treat them any better.
There was no risk of being walked off for a third consecutive game as the Giants never held a lead or got on the scoreboard at all, in a 3-0 loss to begin the second leg of their road trip.
Robbie Ray surrendered solo home runs to Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero, while Shane McClanahan proved to be too much for the Giants’ meager lineup, which didn’t help its cause by erasing one of its six hits on the basepaths and two more via double plays.
The Rays went around the diamond to keep the Giants from scoring with runners at the corners in the fifth with an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play on a sharply hit grounder from Jerar Encarnacion, and Heliot Ramos bounced into another rally killer after Patrick Bailey singled to lead off the sixth.
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The shutout was the Giants’ seventh in their first 32 games, the most in the majors and only four off their total from all of last season. Their 3.25 runs per game are also the fewest in the majors.
What it means
After being walked off twice by the Phillies to seal a three-game sweep, the Giants fell to 0-4 on the road trip. Their fourth loss in a row matched a season-long streak that they had already reached twice before.
Facing one of the toughest southpaws in the sport, the Giants’ struggles against left-handed pitching persisted against McClanahan, who held them scoreless for six innings on only 73 pitches.
San Francisco fell to 2-7 against left-handed starters this season and 19-35 dating back to the start of last year, worse than any team besides the Rockies (9-38).
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Who’s hot
Ray hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his seven starts. He limited the Rays to only four hits over 6 1/3 innings, but two of them went over the fence — his second time surrendering more than one home run this season. Aided by the Rays’ contact-happy approach, it was also his second start without issuing a walk and his second-deepest start of the season.
Who’s not
Third base coach Hector Borg made another glaring mistake, giving Luis Arraez the green light to go for three on his ball into the right field corner in the fourth. Rather than a runner on second and one out, the Giants suddenly had nobody on and two away, and went down quietly.
Borg erred late in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader, holding the would-be go-ahead run at third in extra innings despite the ball deflecting off a defender’s glove and into no-man’s land.
Up next
The Giants have stopped each of their past season-long losing streaks from reaching five games. That task will fall on the shoulders of RHP Landen Roupp (5-1, 2.55 ERA), who has allowed only one earned run over his first three starts away from Oracle Park. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
