Giants try hard to win, try harder to lose

It’s not something that any San Francisco Giants fan wants to hear said, and it’s certainly not anything being stated in the locker room, even with muted tones when the cameras aren’t looking. But there’s no shame in losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers as things currently stand. Not when the Giants are missing five of their Opening Day starters and two of those starters’ backups, all courtesy of a string of malady misfortune that even the Dodgers broadcast labeled as “historic.” Not when the Giants are playing their 14th game in as many nights, against a team that has had two off days during that span and hasn’t left the West Coast. Not when reeling from the devastating news that their lead hitter, spark plug, and infectious ball of hat-dropping joy could potentially miss the entire season.

No, there is no shame in losing when dealt that hand, to make no mention of the opponent hiding behind the cards across the table.

But an absence of shame does little to subdue competitive urges. And it does nothing to quell the desire to Beat LA, no matter the time, day, standings, and situation. A loss to the Dodgers is a loss to the Dodgers, and “shameless” is nothing more than a TV show I keep telling people I’ll watch even though I know I probably never will.

And so the Giants’ 6-4 loss in 10 innings to the Dodgers stings. It stings extra because they almost won, even though it would have stung just as much had they been blown out. It stings extra because they haven’t beaten the Dodgers this year, even though it would have stung just as much if it blew a perfect record against LA. It stings extra because the Giants are so far behind the Dodgers in the standings, even though it would have stung just as much if the teams were jockeying for position.

It stings because it’s the Dodgers, and the day it no longer stings is the day we walk the slow march to hand in our resignation of fandom, effective immediately.

The bittersweet silver lining in the once-in-a-decade rash of injuries is that the Giants — and by extension, the fans — are afforded the opportunity to watch a bulk serving of prospects who just might help the team, be it now or down the road. It’s a win-win situation, but it’s also a lose-lose situation. If the youngsters play well, the Giants become a better team, but also have to face the reality that perhaps they should not have waited for injuries to dictate the situation. If the youngsters don’t play well, the Giants receive valuable data points that make future personnel decisions easier, but they also are subjected to having players on the team not playing well.

It is fitting, then, that those youngsters, who have descended on Oracle Park like college freshman arriving in August, won the game for the Giants and then lost the game for the Giants, further muddying your evaluations.

The Giants took the lead in the second inning when Blake Sabol singled with a runner on first to create an honest-to-goodness rally, and then Luis Matos no-doubtered one to left field, tattooing more runs to former future Giant Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s ledger than the last three teams he faced had, combined.

They retook the lead in the sixth inning when Heliot Ramos bashed a two-out RBI single, bringing life to the ballpark and ending Yamamoto’s night — a night in which he gave up more earned runs than in any start save for his MLB debut.

The lead was there to take in part because Jordan Hicks’ strong outing had been preserved not once, but twice by sensational bits of glove, arm, and footwork from Casey Schmitt, who played the type of game that made you question all the reports that his Gold Glove-esque third base defense probably won’t translate to shortstop.

They were positioned for late-game theatrics in part because Erik Miller had a three-batter stretch in which he struck out Mookie Betts, struck out Shohei Ohtani, and retired Freddie Freeman, a triumvirate of in-their-prime MVPs.

They almost accomplished those heroics when Ramos singled with one out in the ninth inning and then stole second base.

We’ve reached intermission in our play, and you should be able to tell from the preamble that the narrative arc is going to disappoint you in the second half. But the show must go on. Still and all, I’d be a poor host if I didn’t at least pause the action to not only offer one final glimpse of happy baseball, but also to shine a light on the crew behind the scenes. I know you’re supposed to do that after the show, but there will be no time. We’ll all be in a sad Didn’t Beat LA stupor, so let’s shout them out now while we still have the heart to applaud.

Hicks had a fantastic outing, avoiding walks and giving up just seven hits and two runs in five innings which, if you weigh for the competition, is basically like throwing an eight-inning shutout. His first foray into a rivalry that he’ll spend many, many years taking part in was absolutely a success, and he showed grit in pitching so well after allowing a leadoff home run to Betts.

Mike Yastrzemski had one of the best plays of the year, Supermanning to such an extreme that Soulja Boy took notice, going fully parallel to the Oracle Park grass to somehow catch a ball slicing away from him harder than 95% of my tee shots, saving both a run and an extra-base hit.

LaMonte Wade Jr., Matt Chapman, and Wilmer Flores had key at-bats to jumpstart rallies, and a few key defensive plays as well.

Okay, second act. We’ve seen what the youngsters can do, dutifully leading the Giants to the doorstep of victory against the behemoth Dodgers.

But it isn’t all pretty, as I’ve spent 1,000 words building up for.

In the third inning, Hicks picked off Ohtani at first base for what should have been the third out, but Schmitt couldn’t catch the throw from Wade and Ohtani went to third instead of to the dugout. The error was correctly given to Wade, but Schmitt did no favors, and also hit 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts. Ohtani didn’t score, but the stress mounted on Hicks.

In the fifth inning, a two-out wild pitch by Hicks allowed Andy Pages to move from second to third, where he would score on an Ohtani infield single. While correctly called a wild pitch, it was one that an MLB catcher should still catch, and Sabol did not. Assuming no Butterfly Effect shenanigans, the run does not score if it’s caught.

In the sixth inning, a one-out wild pitch by Luke Jackson allowed Max Muncy to move to second, where he would score on a two-out ground rule double by Gavin Lux. While correctly called a wild pitch, it was one that an MLB catcher should still catch, and Sabol did not. Assuming no Butterfly Effect shenanigans, the run does not score if it’s caught.

In the seventh inning, before so impressively retiring the Dodgers Hall of Fame-bound trio, Miller threw the same changeup on consecutive pitches to Kiké Hernandez, who put the second one in the bleachers.

In the ninth inning, after Wilmer Flores drew a leadoff walk to put the walk-off run on base, Tyler Fitzgerald was called in for pinch-running duties. Wearing a neon “I’m going to steal second base” sign over his head, and aware of all that entails, Fitzgerald was picked off by Blake Treinen before a single pitch was thrown.

In the tenth inning, Brett Wisely was called off the bench to hit for Schmitt, and struck out in the kind of way that makes you think “I could do that.”

In the sixth inning, on Lux’s RBI double, Matos tripped trying to track it down. In the tenth inning, on the game-winning double by Will Smith, Matos took the type of route that made me delete Apple Maps and never look back. I doubt he catches either ball, even with the correct route, but confidence was certainly not inspired for a team left with the dreaded prospect of patching a JH Lee-sized hole in the middle of the grass for many months.

The youngsters giveth, and the youngsters taketh away. The Giants had no business beating the Dodgers, but by the grace of their lovable kiddos, they damn near did. And they had no business teasing us like that just to fall flat on their face, but by the grace of those flawed, in-AAA-for-a-reason prospects, they did exactly that.

It’s going to be a long and ugly next few weeks, unless it’s a quick and glorious next few weeks. It’s why they play the games. And it’s why you begrudgingly keep watching.