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Joc Pederson's home run lone SF Giants highlight in 6-1 loss to Nationals

The Washington Nationals completed a sweep of the SF Giants on Sunday afternoon, bringing San Francisco to 5-5 on their current road trip.
Marc Delucchi|
Joc Pederson's home run lone SF Giants highlight in 6-1 loss to Nationals
Joc Pederson's home run lone SF Giants highlight in 6-1 loss to Nationals

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The SF Giants lost to the Washington Nationals 6-1 on Sunday afternoon, meaning the Giants have once again impeded their place in the standings with a disappointing series against one of the worst teams in the National League. Injuries and a road trip into some of the worst weather the East Coast of the United States has to offer surely contributed to the Giants' lifeless performance in the nation's capital, but it nonetheless is a disappointing outcome. They are now 4.5 games back of the Dodgers in the division.

Young Nationals lefty Mackenzie Gore across five shutout innings of work, allowing just four hits and two walks while racking up eight strikeouts. Left-handed pitchers, in particular, have been a problem for the Giants all season since three of their top hitters (Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, and LaMonte Wade Jr.) have been unable to generate much power without a platoon advantage. Rookies Patrick Bailey (Giants Top 2 Prospect) and Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospect) teamed up for back-to-back hits to start the top of the fourth inning, which put runners on second and third with nobody out. However, Gore struck out Yastrzemski and David Villar before retiring Casey Schmitt to end the inning.

On the other side of the equation, the Giants used Scott Alexander as an opener for Anthony DeSclafani, but things did not go well. Alexander was pulled with two outs in the first inning after allowing two hits. DeSclafani, who is not used to entering a game with runners on base, surrendered a walk and two-run single that put the Giants in an early 2-0 hole.

DeSclafani continued looking mediocre on Sunday, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and two walks (two strikeouts) in 4.1 innings of work. It's worth remembering that the two first-inning runs were charged to Alexander as well. So, when DeSclafani was removed at the end of the fifth inning, the Giants trailed 6-0.

The closest to thing to a highlight for the Giants came in the top of the sixth against Nats reliever Jordan Weems. Pederson entered the game as a pinch-hitter and blasted a solo home run, his 10th of the season.

The SF Giants are now 54-46 on the season but will have a chance to finish their first road trip of the second half off above .500 with a win on Monday against the Detroit Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 AM Pacific.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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