Giants pitch six scoreless innings, still lose to Mets

This was not the worst loss of the Giants' young season. Disabuse yourself of that notion. The Giants lost a game in which they couldn't turn a game-ending double play against the Dodgers in the ninth inning. That was a game I thought about when I was getting coffee in the morning. Friday night's game against the Mets is a game that I'm thinking about because I'm contractually required to.

No, this wasn't the worst Giants loss of the season. This was just the loss with the fewest redeeming qualities. With any luck -- nay, justice -- this will be the game with the fewest redeeming qualities of the season. The Giants couldn't hit Steven Matz, unless they were hitting into hard-hit outs. The fourth starter pitched like a 43rd starter. They allowed 12 runs in a single inning.

That's not to say there were no redeeming qualities. There was a homer. Oh, and six scoreless innings from the pitching staff! Scoreless innings are a great way to help your team win.

The third inning was, no joke, the highest-scoring inning in Mets history. Strawberry, Hernandez, and HoJo! Piazza, Ventura, and Alfonzo! Beltran, Wright, and Delgado! They couldn't do this, those losers. This was the first time the Mets scored 12 runs in one inning in franchise history. It was the 8,637th regular-season Mets game. If you account for the extra-innings games, rain-shortened games, and the times the Mets didn't have to bat in the bottom of the ninth, I'll guess the Mets have played just short of 80,000 innings in franchise history.

The scored more runs in the third inning of Friday's game than they have in any of those 80,000 innings.

Think about what a 1-in-80,000 kind of chance looks like. It's Barry Zito hitting an inside-the-park homer. It's Buster Posey stealing five bases. It's a paisley butterfly, and you got to watch it fly by your window. You're lucky. You're lucky. What a gift.

What a gift.

Pay it forward.

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The argument for Jake Peavy keeping his job:

1. He was pretty good last year, considering
2. He was pretty good in 2014, at least in the regular season with the Giants
3. There isn't a clear, unambiguous replacement for him in the minors

Peavy wasn't so hot in 2013, but he was excellent the season before that. The argument for him remaining in the rotation is that he's been valuable for his team in three out of the last four years, and only fools make snap decisions about anything in April.

The argument for Jake Peavy losing his job:

1. That, right there

I MEAN DID YOU SEE THAT?

There are times when it looks like Peavy cannot get a single out. That's a ridiculous thought, considering a pitcher who allows a .400 on-base percentage to the batters he faces wins 60 percent of the time. There's no such thing as a pitcher who can't get a single out, at least not above rookie ball.

But you see it. The hitters who just don't care about the breaking balls below the zone. Who foul the pitches on the corners off until they get a better one. Who never look uncomfortable. What's Jake Peavy going to do against Yoenis Cespedes? What is he going to do? Can't throw a fastball by him. He knows the dooky is coming, so he's more likely to lay off.

It's a game like this in which Peavy looks completely untenable. Which isn't quite fair, considering that he was fine three out of the last four years, and he was excellent in his last start, you goldfish. But if this start doesn't get you thinking, you didn't watch this start.

I still don't think there's a great option in reserve. Chris Heston is fine, sure, but he was also unimpressive this season so far. Clayton Blackburn has been an early flop in Triple-A, and Ty Blach has been even worse. The Giants don't have a great option.

No. No, no, no, that's just not realistic.

This is totally going to happen. Jake Peavy's greatest gift to the Padres is going to be holding a spot open for Tim Lincecum, who is going to no-hit the Padres again and lead the Giants to even-year nonsense. Unless it's a complete flop and we long for the simple six-inning banality of ol' Peavy again.

Let's wait until the showcase. But Peavy doesn't have the homegrown stink about him. That's not something in his favor. Whereas in February, I thought, "Oh, no way," it took one weirdo nightmare game to think, "ehhhh, I don't know, maaaaybe."

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Did Peavy throw a 3-2 slider to the pitcher with two runners on in the second inning?

You know what, I'm not even checking.

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Don't judge Mike Broadway too harshly. I'm not sure how many third innings he's appeared in over his professional career, but it can't have been too many, especially in recent seasons.

You can judge him, though. And on a roster with 13 pitchers, which seems unnecessary, I don't know ...

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Did you know the Giants are the least fun team in the major leagues? It's true. Back in 2014, I compiled a list of the last position players to pitch for each team. The Giants had the third-longest drought, behind the Braves and Exponationals. Since then, the Braves have used Jonny Gomes in a blowout, and the Nationals used Tyler Moore and Clint Robinson.

The Giants officially have the longest position-player-pitching drought in the major leagues. It's been 25 years, since Greg Litton pitched on July 4, 1991.

A list of Giants players who weren't alive the last time the Giants used a position player as a pitcher:

• Steven Okert
• Trevor Brown
• just about every player in the minor leagues

Madison Bumgarner wasn't potty trained the last time the Giants used a position player as a pitcher. If you thought his snot rockets were something, well you haven't seen his

This recap is over.