San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Series Loss Against Cubs

2 of 2

May 25, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) is safe at home as San Francisco Giants as catcher Buster Posey (28) makes a late tag during the eighth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /

3 DOWN

1 – Right Down the Pipe

Giants’ pitchers allowed 10 home runs to the Cubs during the series, and almost all of them came on mistake pitches. Johnny Cueto surrendered three on Tuesday, and all three were pitches that leaked back into the middle of the plate. Matt Moore gave up two more on Wednesday, both to Anthony Rizzo, and both pitches were right down the middle. Jeff Samardzija allowed three solo shots on Thursday, and while the first inning homer hit by Kris Bryant actually came on a pretty nice pitch, the other two were clearly mistakes.

2 – Bad Mistakes

The Giants showed off a much better brand of baseball in the few weeks ahead of the Cubs’ series, but they were back to making bad mistakes in Chicago. None were more noticeable than the ones that occurred in the series finale. In the fifth inning with the Giants threatening, Denard Span was picked off of first base. In the eighth inning with the bases loaded, Josh Osich threw a wild pitch to score one run, and Buster Posey committed a throwing error to allow another run home.

These are the kinds of mistakes that the Giants can’t accord against a team like the Cubs.

3 – Arroyo’s Rookie Wall

Since a blazing start that gave Giants’ fans hope for the immediate future, Christian Arroyo has hit the rookie wall, and he’s hit it hard. In four games against Chicago, Arroyo was hitless in 16 at-bats with five strikeouts, dropping his season average to .191. Since his game-winning, two-run double in St. Louis, Arroyo has just one hit in 20 at-bats.

This is not unexpected for any rookie. Opposing pitchers have gotten his scouting report and have made the proper adjustments, and it’s on Arroyo now to make adjustments of his own. So far, he has been unable to do so. Thursday was supposed to be an off-day for the rookie in an effort to give him some time to relax and clear his head, but Eduardo Nunez’s tight hamstring forced him out of the lineup and Arroyo back in.

With some veterans just about ready to come back from rehab stints, Arroyo may be destined to head back to Triple-A for a short while to adjust and get some confidence back. That’s probably the best thing for him at this moment in time. But he will certainly be back.

Next up, the Giants are heading back home to open a six-game homestand. The Atlanta Braves are coming to town for three games, and are without star first baseman Freddie Freeman. They are 20-25 on the season after splitting a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Home/San Francisco Giants