Giants lose battle of All-Star lefties, 2-1

Robbie Ray was good but Daniel Peterson was better Saturday night, with Mark Vientos delivering the most crucial hit in the New York Mets win.

During an up-and-down first half of the season, the San Francisco Giants could always rely on their All-Star starting pitching duo of Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Since the All-Star break, the team is now 0-4 when one of their aces takes the mound, including Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Mets.

The crucial moment of the game came when Ray walked Juan Soto and Starling Marte, who came around to score on a two-out double by Mark Vientos.

That was the Mets’ second hit with runners in scoring position, following an infield single that loaded the bases with no one out in the 4th. That time, Ray struck out Vientos and got Francisco Alvarez to ground into a double play.

As for the Giants, they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Their lone run came after Willy Adames and Matt Chapman singled, Casey Schmitt walked to load the bases, and Jung Hoo Lee got Adames home with a groundout.

In the 9th, Lee got incredibly unlucky off closer Edwin Diaz. He crushed a pitch 399 feet that hit off the bricks in right, having to settle for a double on a ball that would have been a home run in 29 other ballparks.

Schmitt led off the inning with a 97 MPH line drive — caught by the third baseman for an out. With two outs, Patrick Bailey hit a ball 106 MPH — caught by the first baseman. Diaz picked up his 22nd save and the Giants lost for the sixth time in eight post-All-Star games and eight of their last 10 overall.

It feels like we write the same things in these recaps. The Giants get runners on, and don’t drive them home. Their defense is a little worse than you’d expect, or sometimes, exactly how bad you’d expect. Rafael Devers making an error at first base? Of course, he’s barely played there. Devers made up for it with a nice scoop on the next chance for an inning-ending double play.

But Matt Chapman making his 10th error of the season? Seems impossible.

Mets starter Daniel Peterson (7-4) gave up 8 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings, but got out of a number of jams, thanks to good luck and some unpredictable Giants base running. With two on in the first, Chapman lined into a double play, with Devers getting caught off second. With two on in the second, it was Luis Matos grounding into a double play. Chapman struck out with two on in the 5th, and in the 6th, Wilmer Flores’ leadoff single turned into a leadoff out when he tried to make it a leadoff double.

Peterson seems to be using the Kirk Rueter approach. Not a ton of strikeouts, plenty of base runners, and plenty of ground ball outs. Maybe we’ll learn he has a fancy shed, too.

Positives of the game includes the Giants getting 12 base runners and the bullpen trio of Joey Lucchesi, Tyler Rogers, and Randy Rodriguez stifling the Mets for three innings. Ryan Walker had an adventurous outing in relief of ray in the 6th, walking the bases loaded before escaping with a strikeout.

It was Steph Curry Bobblehead night, and the Giants could have had a victory if they managed to put up three. Let’s hope this loss doesn’t have a chilling effect on future Golden State Warriors promotions like Big Face Coffee Night, a Brandin Podziemski bobble head where he’s on the sidelines of a Valkyries game, and Quinten Post’s Stroopwafel Treat Day.