SAN FRANCISCO — As the season started to collapse on the last homestand, the Giants at least could lean on one fact. They had seven games left against a San Diego Padres team they were hoping to chase down.

Their destiny was in their own hands, but it now looks like the Padres might instead put the final nail in the coffin. They have dominated the first two games of this stretch of seven meetings in 10 days, getting a 5-1 win Tuesday after a similar performance Monday.

The Giants are two games under .500 for the first time all year. They’re now nine games behind the Padres, who are a game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race. 

The long first inning Monday included a strange run on both sides. Robbie Ray got two quick outs, but Tyler Fitzgerald slipped on a popup to right, letting it fall for a two-out bloop. After a double put two in scoring position, Ray stumbled on the mound and got called for a balk that brought a run home. 

The Giants countered in the bottom of the inning after two-time Gold Glove Award winner Manny Machado couldn’t handle a line drive hit right at him. That put two on for Wilmer Flores, who hit a swinging bunt that died in front of Machado, tying the game. 

From there, it was all Padres.

The Giants scored one run for the second consecutive game and have totaled just four over their last four games, failing to reward the 145,000 fans who have come through the gates at Oracle Park. They have dropped 12 of 13 at home and fell under .500 in home games, which seemed impossible to accomplish earlier this year when it seemed they were walking someone off every other night. 

Long Day For Ray

Ray became just the 10th big leaguer to throw at least 113 pitches in a game this season and the first Giant. It was his highest count since he came back from Tommy John surgery and the fifth-highest of his career. Ray had thrown 110-plus pitches just one other time since turning 30. 

The Giants have pushed Ray and Logan Webb hard in recent weeks, in part because they traded away two of their best relievers. This was Ray’s fourth consecutive start of at least 100 pitches, and he hasn’t seemed to wear down at all. The Padres put four runs on his line, but three of them came in the first couple of innings, with Jose Iglesias doing most of the damage with a two-run homer that hit the top of the wall and bounced over. 

Welcome Back

Before Saturday, Fitzgerald had never played a game in right field at any level. The Giants got him some experience in center and left the previous two seasons, but the need right now is in right, where they have been going with left-handed hitters Drew Gilbert and Grant McCray. Desperate for offense and a better matchup against Cortes, they recalled Fitzgerald, who started in right field for Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday and Sunday. 

It was a somewhat windy night, and Fitzgerald misjudged the popup in the first. He looked much more comfortable after that and resembled a seasoned right fielder in the fifth when Manny Machado smashed one to the track. Fitzgerald got a good jump and easily got into position to make the catch. 

Fitzgerald was hitless in two at-bats, flying out twice. He said before the game that he feels more comfortable than he did in his last big league stint, but he’s still searching for his 2024 power swing. 

Dom Barrels 

It’s tough to get a long hitting streak going when you’re not an everyday player. Sometimes you’ll get just one shot to swing the bat, and that was the case for Dominic Smith on Tuesday. 

Smith pinch-hit for Fitzgerald with two on and one out in the sixth and bounced a single to right, extending his streak to 15 games, the longest of his career and longest active streak in the big leagues. He then was replaced by Gilbert, a pinch-runner. It was the third time that Smith has extended his streak as a pinch-hitter, which had not been done by a Giant since 1936.

The streak is the longest by a Giant since Donovan Solano reached 17 games in 2020. It didn’t lead to any runs, though. Patrick Bailey and Heliot Ramos followed with popups, stranding all three runners. 

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