SAN FRANCISCO – Giants fans suffered the latest gutpunch this week of a lengthy second-half dry spell when the San Diego Padres completed a three-game sweep at Oracle Park with an 11-1 victory.

The thrashing on Wednesday – San Francisco’s 13th loss in its past 14 home games – appeared to be the final knell of a Giants season that looked promising just a couple of months ago. On June 15, while trailing the division-leading Dodgers by just two games in the NL West standings, the Giants acquired Dominican slugger Rafael Devers from Boston in a stunning move that seemed to put them well in position to scrap for the division title, and maybe even contend for the World Series.

Instead, in the ensuing weeks, the team fell apart. The Giants have gone 18-31 since the trade, including a woeful 7-20 at home. But in no game during that futile stretch did the team lose by as many runs as it did on Wednesday.

Even before the game, fans said they were frustrated by the team’s collapse. Though the slump had coincided neatly with Devers’ acquisition, the universal diagnosis among fans interviewed seemed not to point to the designated hitter, but to an overall batting order which had put up a woeful four runs over the previous four games – all of them at home.

“Terrible,” said Greg Johnson, a fan from Marin County who has supported the Giants for the last 25 years. “They need to fire the hitting coach and a bunch of the other coaches.

“There’s something strange about how the hitters hit. They tend to go out in deep center field. They’re not pulling the ball into the left field bleachers, which is the easiest way to hit a home run here.”

Johnson also voiced his disappointment with the Giants’ farm system. The organization, he said, could have drafted Corbin Carroll and Jackson Merrill in 2019 and 2021, but had instead drafted a series of “busts” like Hunter Bishop.

“The fact that they’ve had to bring in all of these players from other teams is an indication that they’re not developing players on their own,” he said.

Andy Evangelista, a “very rabid” fan from Millbrae, agreed that the team’s hitting approach as a whole was the issue, singling out players such as Willy Adames and Matt Chapman.

“Everybody wants to blame other people, but it’s the players. They’re not hitting as well as they should be,” he said. “It’s a little disappointing seeing some of the players like Adames, Chapman, a lot of the key guys we’re depending on, just aren’t getting into it in the clutch. I just think as a team, we have a poor batting approach.”

As a longtime season ticket holder, Evangelista also found it baffling that the Giants had been outhit so often at home.

“The frustrating thing is I see other teams coming in here with better hitting approaches, able to make contact in key situations, that basically we don’t do,” he said. “I had greater expectations, but I get it; reality hits and I’m kind of accepting it.”

Steven Holmes, a Giants fan since childhood who drove from Bakersfield with his family, said he believed the team would improve once Devers became more settled.

“I think it’s just a matter of acclimating into a new system and new stadium,” he said. “I think he’s coming around.”

Several fans volunteered their support for Buster Posey, the Giants legend who took over as president of baseball operations this year.

“I’m a big fan of Buster Posey, and I think he’s making good decisions,” said Howard Look, a fan from Mountain View who has watched almost every game this season. “I think the lineup is fundamentally strong and there’s just a lot of bad luck in baseball.”

Gary and Nancy Olimpia, longtime season-ticket holders from Monterey, agreed. “I think Posey’s going to be a winner,” said Gary, as Nancy nodded her agreement.

“We’re hopeful, and we wish Buster all the luck in the world,” she said. “He’s trying to pick the right people, and we’re proud of him still. We love him, because he’s our hero.”

When Wednesday’s game ended, some fans asked each other if they’d be at Oracle Park on Friday – when the Giants face the Tampa Bay Rays  – to cheer the team on nevertheless.

Outside the stadium, Summer Abella, a longtime fan from Livermore bedecked in Giants apparel, wore a wry smile as she relived the day’s sorrows. The game, she said, was the last gasp for the team’s playoff chances.

Related Articles

Without Yastrzemski, SF Giants try to find what future holds in right field

Kurtenbach: The SF Giants season is (unofficially) over. Thank goodness

SF Giants can’t avoid sweep to Padres, endure latest blowout loss

SF Giants’ bats come up small vs. Padres as losing skid hits four games: ‘It’s just not happening, and its frustrating’

SF Giants send Whisenhunt to Sacramento, ask Tyler Fitzgerald to play new position

“I mean at least we got on the board, but you know what? The season is pretty much over for us,” she said. “It wasn’t a bad season, but I’m looking forward to next year already.”

She said she’d had few hopes even before the game that the Giants would prevail, given the team’s previous two losses to the Padres at home. But she had one message – and it was a sentiment echoed, it seemed, by practically the entire fanbase through their words and their actions.

“I mean, just keep hope. Stay faithful,” she said. “All we can do is support them until the next year.”