Giants wage war on the entire concept of winning

In the sixth inning of the San Francisco Giants game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon, Brandon Crawford found himself in the batter’s box to lead off the inning.

Crawford, who finished fourth in NL MVP voting a year ago, was in a 1-2 count, stymied by three straight knuckle curves from Zac Gallen. Crawford, a lefty, had the handedness advantage against Gallen, a righty.

On the fourth pitch, he laid down a bunt. It went foul. Strike three.

In the seventh inning of the San Francisco Giants game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon, Brandon Belt found himself in the batter’s box with two outs and runners at second and third. The Giants needed some runs.

Belt, who finished third in NL wRC+ (minimum 350 plate appearances) a year ago, was in a 1-2 count, stymied by the very existence of Zac Gallen. Belt, a lefty, had the handedness advantage against Gallen, a righty.

On the fourth pitch, he laid down a bunt. It went foul. Strike three.

The Giants lead the Majors in bunt hits, god bless them. But if you want a sequence that defines the 2022 season, it’s that: two of their three best position players from a year ago, with a handedness advantage, in two-strike counts, laying down bunt attempts.

It was the embodiment of a shrug.

Not this kind of shrug:

Not even this kind of shrug:

But this kind of shrug:

Belt got booed as he walked off the field. He got booed as he walked back on the field for the eighth.

The boos weren’t really directed at him. He was the straw that broke the camel’s back, with the camel’s back being the fanbase’s collective dream that, following the greatest regular season in franchise history, the Giants could at least don the makeup and say the lines of a team fighting for the playoffs.

But no. Not only did the Giants not look the part, but they didn’t look like they were trying to look the part.

That was the case when Mike Yastrzemski helplessly threw to third following a D-Backs one-on single, a fielding mistake that has become the free piece in the middle of the Giants bingo board.

It was the case when Joc Pederson, attempting to track down a fairly routine fly ball, instead ran past it, as though he were doing those wide receiver drills where you try and catch a ball thrown behind you. But he’s not a football player, and it showed.

And, sadly, it was the case when Logan Webb took the mound. A day after the Giants reminded you of how capable they are of losing when a star pitcher throws the ball well, they reminded you that they’re even better at it when a star pitcher throws poorly.

Webb tried to work around his struggles. He allowed a single and a walk in the first inning, but got out of it with a double play. He walked a batter in the second inning, but got out of it with a double play.

And then the dam broke in the third inning, and when Webb finally walked off the mound he’d allowed 12 baserunners in just 4.2 innings, ceding five runs (albeit just three earned).

It was his first time since September 27, 2020 — when he faced four batters in a relief appearance — that he didn’t strike out a single batter.

Bad days happen, even for star pitchers. Bad days happen, even for good hitters. Bad days happen, especially for awful defenses.

It’s just that when all three happen, it’s really hard to win a game, which is why the Giants lost 5-0. And when even two of the three happen regularly, it’s really hard to win consistently, which is why the Giants five-game winning streak came to a screeching halt, resulting in a split four-game series against a bad team, while at home.

The Giants, too, might be a bad team. They’re certainly trending in that direction.