SAN DIEGO — With a chance to get greedy, the Giants played their worst defensive game of the year.
A couple of early misplays dug a hole, which you can’t do against this San Diego Padres team. One night after totaling 16 hits, the Giants had just four and lost 7-1. They finished with a series victory at Petco Park, but not a sweep.
The Giants did nothing against right-hander Nick Pivetta, the Padres’ Opening Day starter. He struck out eight, including five straight at one point, but went just five innings before turning it over to relievers.
The strength of San Diego’s roster is the bullpen, but the Giants got a run back in the seventh after falling behind 3-0 when Adrian Houser was on the mound. That wasn’t nearly enough with Mason Miller looming.
Perhaps the game’s most dominant pitcher, Miller entered to face the potential tying run with two outs in the eighth. After getting Heliot Ramos to pop up, he watched as Ramon Laureano added two insurance runs with a homer off Jose Butto, and the Padres kept going.
Butto ended up coming off the field with a trainer after issuing his fourth walk and blowing the game open. His fastball velocity was down to about 90 mph by the end of his outing.
Houser in the House
Houser signed a two-year deal in the offseason and finally got to make his Giants debut after waiting an extra day because Logan Webb got pushed up. He gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings, but deserved better. Two of the runs were unearned and a little luck could have prevented the third, too.
Houser looked to be out of the first inning when he got a slow roller to third, but Matt Chapman’s throw to first got away from Casey Schmitt, who was charged with an error. Jackson Merrill had been running on the play and he came all the way around from first to score the game’s first run.
A similar play brought a run home in the fifth. Chapman’s throw sailed on Schmitt but ticked off his glove; this time, the error was on Chapman.
The sixth began with an infield single and then a hard liner that got away from Luis Arráez, who had gotten off to a good start defensively. A double from Gavin Sheets made it 3-0 and ended Houser’s day.
They’re Alive!
For the first time in 31 years, the Giants used the same group of position players in six consecutive games. In the seventh, Tony Vitello finally turned to his bench.
Jerar Encarnacion pinch-hit for Patrick Bailey against tough lefty Adrian Morejon with a runner on and the Giants trailing by a pair. Encarnacion had the first pinch-hit at-bat of the season for the Giants, but hit an inning-ending grounder to second.
Bailey’s departure meant Daniel Susac made his MLB debut in the bottom of the seventh. The Rule 5 pick had his parents and fiancée in town all week just in case, and it paid off at the very end of the trip.
Still Winning That Trade
Caleb Kilian is back five years after he was dealt to Chicago for Kris Bryant, and so far, the results are very promising. Kilian won a job in camp and has made two scoreless appearances out of the bullpen, including 1 2/3 innings on Wednesday.
Kilian came on for Houser with two runners in scoring position and one out in the sixth. He got a grounder to third that Chapman turned into an out at the plate and then struck out former Giant Bryce Johnson. In the seventh, Kilian buzzed through the top of the order, ending the inning with a strikeout of Jackson Merrill.
Kilian’s fastball has ticked up as a reliever and he hit 98 mph to Merrill. Between him and Keaton Winn, the Giants might have some solutions for a bullpen that looked like a weak spot heading into the season.
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