SAN FRANCISCO — For the first three-and-a-half months of the season, the Giants maintained their home-field advantage at Oracle Park. Over the last month, the ballpark at China Basin has been unfriendly territory for the home team.
With a 4-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday night at Oracle Park, the Giants have now lost 12 of their last 14 games at home. They’re now 29-29 in San Francisco, and they’re a loss away from dropping their fifth straight set in San Francisco.
Logan Webb hasn’t been immune to those team-wide struggles, allowing four runs over 6 1/3 innings to the Padres. Webb has historically pitched better at home than on the road, but he has a 7.17 ERA over his last four starts at this venue.
“At one point in time, this was a real home-field advantage for us,” said manager Bob Melvin before Monday’s game. “Recently, that script has been flipped.”
A month ago, the Giants had a 27-17 record at Oracle Park after taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies, a respectable mark for any contender. Since then, they dropped two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers; were swept by the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates; dropped two of three to the Washington Nationals; and lost the first of three to the Padres.
One of the Giants’ lone bright spots on Monday was right fielder Drew Gilbert, who checked off a couple milestones in the bottom of the third inning.
After failing to reach base in his first three games, Gilbert flipped a bloop single into left field against the Padres’ Yu Darvish for his first career hit and received a resounding ovation from the Monday night crowd. Gilbert then showed off some quickness by swiping second for his first steal, though he was thrown out trying to advance to third when the throw got away.
Following five scoreless frames from Webb and Darvish, both teams scored their first run of the game in the sixth.
Jackson Merrill gave the Padres a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning, but Rafael Devers tied the game back up in the bottom of the frame with an opposite-field solo homer. For Devers, it was his 22nd home run of the season and his third in his last four games.
The contest remained tied for about five minutes of real time as the bottom third of San Diego’s lineup jumped on Webb in the seventh.
Gavin Sheets led off the seventh with a double, then manager Mike Shildt sent in Bryce Johnson as a pinch-runner. Jake Cronenworth gave the Padres a 2-1 lead with a single to score Johnson, then No. 9 hitter Freddy Fermin snuck a two-run shot over the left-field fence to put the Giants in a 4-1 deficit. After retiring Fernando Tatis Jr., Webb was pulled from the game.
