SF Giants swept by Mets in bullpen game as trade deadline looms
SAN FRANCISCO — As the July 31 trade deadline looms, manager Bob Melvin told reporters prior to Sunday’s series finale that he believes the Giants “have enough here to go where we want to go.” The last three games at Oracle Park have said otherwise.
With a 5-3 loss on Sunday evening, the Giants were swept by the New York Mets. They dropped to 54-52 on the season, falling three games back of the final Wild Card spot. They’ve lost seven of their first nine games in the second half.
Their lack of starting pitching depth was exposed as they utilized their first planned bullpen game of the year, the product of Hayden Birdsong being optioned and Landen Roupp being injured. They’ll have to find a way to cobble together innings on Monday, too. The offense’s inconsistencies remained prevalent even with Matt Chapman’s two homers, finishing the series with five runs while going 0-for-23 with runners in scoring position.
San Francisco is sliding, and reinforcements — plural — are necessary.
Matt Gage began the Giants’ bullpen by pitching a perfect first inning, retiring Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto on 10 pitches. Spencer Bivens followed Gage as the bulk guy, allowing one run over the next three innings. The game was tied at one going into the top of the fifth as Chapman hit a solo homer, his 15th home run of the season.
Bivens had already thrown 53 pitches over his first three innings of relief, one shy of his season high, but manager Bob Melvin sent Bivens out for the fifth inning to face the bottom of the Mets’ lineup. The decision backfired as Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio hit back-to-back doubles, the latter driving in the former, to give New York a 2-1 lead.
San Francisco took its first lead in the bottom of the fifth as Chapman sent a two-run homer over the center-field fence, but New York had its response in the top of the seventh when Mauricio and Juan Soto hit a pair of solo homers off Rodríguez to take a 4-3 lead. The Mets increased their advanced to 5-3 in the top of the ninth with an RBI double from Nimmo.
The Giants loaded the bases with one out against All-Star closer Edwin Díaz for the heart of the order, but Willy Adames and Chapman struck out to end the ballgame.
Whisenhunt to potentially make debut on Monday
Carson Whisenhunt, the Giants’ top pitching prospect per MLB Pipeline, is currently on the taxi squad for the Giants and could make his major-league debut on Monday.
“There’s potential that he could be part of tomorrow,” Melvin said prior to Sunday’s game.
Whisenhunt, 24, represented the Giants alongside right-hander Trent Harris at the All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta. This season, Whisenhunt has a 4.42 ERA over 18 starts with Triple-A Sacramento
The team has yet to announce who will start on Monday. San Francisco currently has two vacant spots in its starting rotation following Hayden Birdsong’s demotion and Landen Roupp’s right elbow injury.