Anthony DeSclafani outdueled by Marcus Stroman in SF Giants 3-2 loss to Cubs

Joc Pederson had four hits and Anthony DeSclafani had his best outing in more than a month, but the SF Giants still fell short against the Cubs.

The SF Giants were unable to build upon their three-game winning streak on Friday night, falling 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs. While Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani delivered an excellent outing, Cubs ace Marcus Stroman, who could be the biggest name moved at this summer's MLB trade deadline, shined brighter. The Cubs improved to 27-36 on the season.

SF Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani pitches against the Cubs on June 9, 2023 / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

DeSclafani and Stroman both worked around a pair of first inning baserunners, although the Giants benefitted from a bit more good luck. Cubs second baseman Nick Madrigal worked a lead-off walk and attempted to steal second base on a 3-2 pitch against Seiya Suzuki. While Suzuki took ball four, Giants catcher Patrick Bailey still threw down to second base, where second baseman Thairo Estrada kept a tag on Madrigal. While Madrigal beat the throw, his foot slid past the bag.

The Giants challenged the original safe call, arguing that Madrigal had advanced to second on the walk, and thus, was tagged out when his foot slipped off the bag. The replay review crew agreed. Stroman also walked the first batter he faced before allowing a single but induced a rally-killing double play from Estrada.

The Giants got the scoring started in the bottom of the third. Wade drew a two-out walk and Pederson lined his second single of hte game to center field. This time, Estrada did not waste the opportunity, and pulled a sinker from Stroman down the left-field line for an RBI double, which gave San Francisco a 1-0 lead.

🎵Every time he gets it we gonna score🎵

⭐️ https://t.co/etev0TBTK2 pic.twitter.com/QcJuq8iOSt

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 10, 2023

DeSclafani managed to corral his erratic command after the first inning. While he lacked the sharpness that defined the start to his season, DeSclafani induced a ton of soft contact to keep the Cubs off the scoreboard. The veteran right-hander continued leaning on his slider more than any other pitch but mixed in his four-seam fastball more than usual as a pairing with his sinker.

After surrendering at least six runs in two of his past three outings, DeSclafani looked sharp for the majority of his outing. However, after six shutout innings, DeSclafani began to lose the thread in the seventh. He allowed a lead-off single to Seiya Suzuki to start the inning and was removed from the game after walking Ian Happ.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler turned to rookie righty Ryan Walker in the high-stress situation. Walker had earned an opportunity like this, dominating opposing hitters since his call up. However, he immediately allowed a sacrifice fly, which put two runners in scoring positing with only one out. After hitting Matt Mervis to load the bases, Nico Hoerner squared up a first-pitch sinker for a two-RBI single that put the Cubs ahead 2-1. Walker issued another run to score on a walk and a single before he was replaced by Tristan Beck (Giants #19 prospect), who finally retired the side.

DeSclafani ultimately two runs on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts across 6+ innings pitched.

Trailing 3-1, the Giants offense would need another rally to avoid dropping the first game of the series. Brandon Crawford lined a one-out double to right field in the bottom of the seventh for the top of the order. Stroman induced a groundout from Wade but would not get a chance to face Pederson (who was 3-for-3 against him) for a fourth time and finish the inning.

Joc recorded his fourth hit of the game and an RBI after this call was overturned 👏 pic.twitter.com/6Pc55sAo1g

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 10, 2023

Cubs manager called upon Mark Leiter Jr. Leiter fell behind Pederson 3-0, but induced a soft swinging bunt up the first base line, Leiter bounced the throw to first base and, upon review, Pederson was called safe with an RBI infield hit.

Leiter struck out Estrada to end the seventh and returned to the mound the following inning. Despite facing a platoon disadvantage against three power-hitting outfielders (Michael Conforto, Mike Yastrzemski, and Blake Sabol), Leiter retired the side in order.

After another shutout inning of work from Beck, Cubs manager David Ross turned to top reliever Adbert Alzolay, who recently supplanted Leiter as the team's closer. Kapler deployed J.D. Davis as a pinch-hitter for catcher Patrick Bailey (Giants #22 prospect) to lead off the inning, suggesting that the hip tightness that led Davis to be scratched from the starting lineup was only a minor issue.

Davis flew out to left field. Then, Kapler turned to another pinch-hitter, veteran infielder Wilmer Flores. Alzolay struck out Flores on five pitches. Finally, Alzolay struck out Crawford to secure his third save of the season.

Now 32-31 on the season, the SF Giants are six games back of the Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West. Kapler has not yet announced a starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Cubs. Whoever gets the start will face veteran Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks. First pitch is scheduled for 4:35 PM Pacific.