J.D. Davis, Anthony DeSclafani aren't enough in SF Giants 7-6 loss to Tigers

J.D. Davis' standout series in Detroit continued alongside a solid outing from Anthony DeSclafani, but the SF Giants still lost to the Detroit Tigers.

The SF Giants were unable to bounce back from Friday night's loss in Detroit, wasting several opportunities in a 7-6 loss to the Tigers. Third baseman J.D. Davis continued to have an excellent series in Motown on both sides of the diamond, and starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani overcame several fielding mistakes by shortstop Brandon Crawford in his third excellent outing of the season. But the bullpen's continued inconsistency alongside the offense's continued inability to score in extra innings led the Giants to fall to 5-9. The Tigers, on the other hand, improved to 5-9.

Tigers starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen allowed six earned runs across four innings of work, failing to hold the Giants scoreless in each of the first three innings. LaMonte Wade Jr. and Thairo Estrada started a rally in the first inning with a walk and single. Davis drove in Wade with an RBI single while Estrada scored on a groundout by Matt Beaty, who was called up from Triple-A prior to the game.

In the second inning, left fielder Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect) jumped on a hanging breaking ball from Lorenzen for his first extra-base hit since April 6th. Sabol's drive to right-center field snuck over the wall for his second career big-league home run. Sabol has struggled to translate his spring training success at the plate to the regular season, but the catcher/outfielder is hopefully on the verge of escaping his cold streak.

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Davis returned to the plate with a 4-1 lead and a runner on first base in the third inning. The most productive hitter on the team so far this season, Davis jumped on an 85 mph changeup for his team-leading fourth home run of the season. Davis is now hitting .341/.391/.659 with 13 RBI in as many games. The former Mets slugger also had another impressive defensive play at the hot corner.

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— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 15, 2023

For most of the game, it seemed like those six runs would be enough for the Giants to cruise to victory. Starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani was excellent on Saturday afternoon, cruising through 6.2 innings pitched. While he allowed three runs over the course of his outing, only two were earned. In fact, a trio of errors by shortstop Brandon Crawford likely cost DeSclafani a chance to work into the eighth inning.

SF Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers. (2023) / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

DeSclafani allowed five hits, including a solo home run to Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter, over the course of his outing but did not walk a batter and racked up five strikeouts. It was technically his worst statistical outing of the season, but for an overworked Giants bullpen, he gave manager Gabe Kapler exactly what he needed. Still, when he was removed from the game with a runner on first and two outs in the seventh, the righty seemed destined to get a well-deserved win. 

Crawford committed errors on back-to-back plays in the bottom of the fifth inning, and easily could have been scored with a third error in the seventh. It was a stunning sight for fans who have been accustomed to the surehanded shortstop. With Estrada and Davis delivering All-Star level production and David Villar holding his own early this season, Crawford could see his playing time shrink significantly if he is unable to escape a cold stretch at the plate and defensively.

While Giants reliever John Brebbia escaped the seventh unscathed, things unraveled in the eighth. Tigers second baseman Nick Maton led off the inning with a single, and Brebbia walked Riley Greene to put two runners on base for Javier Báez. In a 12-pitch battle, Báez hit a soft line drive to deep left field. Sabol, who is a below-average defensive outfielder, misread the ball off the bat and fell to the ground unable to make the catch. Báez jogged into second base with a two-RBI double. With outfielder Heliot Ramos (Giants #17 prospect) on the bench, Kapler likely regrets not making a defensive substitution.

With the tying run in scoring position with nobody out, Kapler strangely decided to bring in rookie swingman Sean Hjelle over left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers. Rogers has struggled mightily this season but is a veteran setup man. Plus, three of the next four Tigers hitters were lefties. Nevertheless, Hjelle allowed a single to first baseman Spencer Torkelson, which tied the game at six.

Neither team scored in the ninth, with Giants reliever Tyler Rogers working around a lead-off walk. Sending both teams to extra innings for the second consecutive day. And, once again, the Giants were unable to score a run in the top half of the 10th despite starting the inning with a runner on second base.

Rogers returned to the mound in the bottom of the 10th, inducing three consecutive ground outs that kept the game alive. Davis and Estrada made a pair of impressive plays to keep the grounders from reaching the outfield, which likely would have led to a walk-off single.

But, San Francisco's offense once again wasted a free runner in scoring position in the 11th. Taylor Rogers was asked to try to do the impossible once again. A passed ball by Joey Bart, allowed the free runner to advance to third before Rogers had recorded an out. With the infield in, Miguel Cabrera chopped a grounder up the middle for a walk-off single.

The Giants were supposed to benefit from MLB's changes to the regular-season schedule, which expanded interleague play. Yet, they have now lost a series at home to a Royals team that lost 97 games in 2022, and are one loss away from being swept by a Tigers team that lost 96 games in 2022. It's early in the season. There are still small-sample-size excuses. But there's a growing case that the Giants might be headed for a 90+ loss season.

The SF Giants will send their ace Logan Webb to the hill on Sunday, where the Rocklin, California native will make his first start since signing a five-year, $90 million contract extension on Friday. Webb and the Giants lineup are scheduled to go up against Tigers  left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 AM Pacific.