What we learned as Giants get swept by Padres in Mexico City originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
MEXICO CITY — For two games here at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, the focus was on getting the ball in the air and watching it fly. That made it especially ironic when the winning runs Sunday were scored on a ball that didn’t travel far enough for a Giants defender.
With the score tied, two outs and two on in the eighth, Matt Carpenter hit a pop-up to center that got knocked down by the wind as Mike Yastrzemski — who had been playing on the track — desperately sprinted in. Yastrzemski’s diving effort came up an inch short and two runs scored, giving the Padres their first lead in a game they would go on to win 6-4.
The Giants lost both games in the first-ever regular-season MLB series in Mexico City. The late Padres rally on Sunday wasted an impressive performance by Alex Cobb, who gutted through five innings at 7,349 feet.
A day after the teams combined for 27 runs and 11 homers, LaMonte Wade Jr. got the scoring started with a liner that cleared the right field wall just five pitches into the game. The Giants got two more solo shots in the first four innings, taking a 4-0 lead as Cobb twirled a gem.
The Padres got three back in the fifth, but Scott Alexander pitched a clean sixth and John Brebbia struck out the side in the seventh.
When Tyler Rogers ran into trouble in the eighth, Gabe Kapler turned to closer Camilo Doval for a five-out save. The first batter he faced singled, tying the game.
Carpenter’s flare didn’t just give the Padres the lead, it also cost the Giants a key piece. Yastrzemski limped towards the dugout after he got up and he was immediately removed. That injury came a few innings after he looked shaken up when he slammed into the center field wall while trying to make a catch.
Here are the takeaways from the Giants’ loss that drops them to 11-16:
Figured It Out
With runners on the corners and no outs in the third, Cobb threw a nasty two-strike curveball past Manny Machado and then got Juan Soto to hit into an inning-ending double play. That sequence alone should have made him the NL’s Cy Young favorite, but the thin air in CDMX comes for all.
Cobb gave up a two-run homer and an RBI single in a long fifth inning, but he got out of the jam by striking out Xander Bogaerts. The strikeout was the 1000th of Cobb’s career and capped an impressive day.
Cobb was charged with three earned, but he gave the Giants some needed innings and allowed just one homer. He took advantage of the thin air, running his fastball up to 97 and averaging 95.7.
Unlike many others who took the mound this weekend, Cobb didn’t ruin his ERA. He walked off the mound sitting at 2.43.
Maybe He’s The Cy Young?
Brebbia was one of four Giants relievers who gave up a run in Saturday’s game, and a day later he joked that he might take one for the rest of the bullpen.
“Maybe I’ll soak up a few innings today just so nobody else has to pitch,” he said of the hitter-friendly environment.
Brebbia got the seventh and had one of his most impressive outings as a Giant. He struck out the side, capping the frame by blowing a 95.8 mph fastball past Fernando Tatis Jr.
As always, Brebbia had more fun than anyone. When there was a review of a pitch that the Padres hit Tatis, Brebbia walked up to the plate and chatted with the star right fielder and catcher Joey Bart. After the strikeout he held his hand out the whole way back to the dugout, either doing fake handshakes or asking to be checked for an illegal substance.
To The Moon
Mitch Haniger’s solo shot in the fourth went an estimated 460 feet, a distance reached by a Giants hitter just 13 times in the Statcast Era.
And yet, it was just the third-longest homer of the weekend. Brandon Crawford hit one 482 on Saturday, a Giants record since Statcast began doing more precise tracking in 2015, and Wade hit one 470.
Haniger’s blast was his second of the weekend. He’s quickly making up for lost time after missing most of April because of an oblique strain.