SF Giants offense stifled by Joey Lucchesi in 7-0 loss to Mets

The SF Giants lineup was stifled by another left-handed starting pitcher while one mistake from Anthony DeSclafani undid a promising outing.

The SF Giants are still searching for their first series victory at Oracle Park this season after a 7-0 loss to the New York Mets on Friday night. The Giants lineup continued looking overmatched against left-handed pitching while a costly defensive mistake and one hanging slider undid a promising outing from Anthony DeSclafani.

SF Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani delivers a pitch against the Mets. (2023) / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

DeSclafani made his fourth start of the season for the Giants. The veteran righty entered the game with a 1.42 ERA on the season and cruised through the Mets' dangerous lineup at times. However, a pair of costly mistakes led him to finish with his worst line of the season. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks across five innings pitched with five strikeouts.

A trio of Mets singles in the top of the second gave New York an early 1-0 lead, but DeSclafani quickly recovered. He breezed through the third and fourth innings and looked to be headed for another quality start before the fifth.

Mets second baseman Luis Guillorme led off inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Nimmo. After DeSclafani struck out Francisco Lindor in a nine-pitch battle, he was just one out away from escaping the inning unscathed.

Then, Jeff McNeil connected on a swinging bunt that dribbled out in front of home plate. Giants catcher Joey Bart scrambled forward to field the ball and throw out the McNeil. Bart's throw to first base sailed a bit towards the foul line and bounced off McNeil before it could get to first baseman Wilmer Flores.

The official scorer ruled the play a single. However, Bart had enough space to get a throw to Flores in time. It would have been an impressive play, but failing to execute proved costly.

On the next pitch, DeSclafani hung an 87.3 mph slider to Pete Alonso. The Mets first baseman crushed his league-leading 10th home run of the season. Just like that, the Giants trailed 4-0.

He did it AGAIN!🐻‍❄️ pic.twitter.com/e4wyg6F7Hr

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 22, 2023

At the plate, the Giants offense continued to look overmatched against left-handed pitching. Mets southpaw Joey Lucchesi made his first big-league start since 2021, and the soft-tossing lefty dominated. Despite topping out at just 91.2 mph, Lucchesi induced plenty of soft contact and struck out nine across seven shutout innings of work. The Giants only managed four hits and two walks against Lucchesi, a Newark, California native.

Lucchesi was a solid starter at times from 2018-2021 with the Padres and Mets, but his 4.24 ERA over that span was reflective of a back-end starter. Maybe the 29-year-old veteran coming off UCL surgery has taken a massive step forward, but the Giants lineup is struggling so mightily against lefties that it's hard not to give some credit to facing a lineup rife with slumping hitters.

David Villar is one of many Giants bats trying to escape an ugly funk at the plate. He has just two hits and two walks in his past 26 plate appearances with 12 strikeouts. With right-handed power threats Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater both remaining on the injured list, Villar has become one of the Giants most important hitters against lefties. However, Villar now has an OPS south of .500 on the season when hitting with the platoon advantage.

In one of the few highlights for the Giants offensively, center fielder Brett Wisely (Giants #22 prospect) recorded his first-career MLB hit in the bottom of the second inning on a soft line drive to left field.

First big league hits never get old. Congrats, @brettwisely!🙌 pic.twitter.com/SbRkk65NFS

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 22, 2023

Giants reliever Taylor Rogers completed his first perfect inning of the regular season, retiring all three Mets he faced in the sixth. While it was a clear step in the right direction, Rogers continued struggling to miss bats, failing to induce a swinging strike.

Sean Hjelle (Giants #28 prospect) had a solid outing in relief. Hjelle's sinker topped out at 97 mph while his curveball generated whiffs on more than half of opposing swings. However, after striking out four across two shutout innings, he allowed three runs on five hits and a hit batter in the ninth.

The SF Giants are now 6-13 on the season. They will try to avoid losing this four-game series to the Mets tomorrow night. Giants ace Logan Webb is scheduled to start against David Peterson, another Mets lefty. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM Pacific.