The Chicago White Sox starter Lance Lynn delivers against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Jul 1, 2022 (AP News photo)

Chicago (AL) (36-39). 1. 6. 0

San Francisco (40-35). 0. 3. 1

Friday, July 1, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO-In a column published in The Athletic the day before yesterday, María Guardado quoted tonight’s starting pitcher for the Giants, Alex Cobb, as saying that his team is in “a division that doesn’t allow you to go through slumps. ….You’re trying to climb up the division with two teams in front of you, your margin for error is much smaller. “It’s there, it’s just not all clicking at the same time. …. We know we’re close.

We know we’re a good team. We don’t feel like we’ve played good ball, at least since the beginning stretch when we went on that tear. But we know that we’re capable of being that team. We’re just waiting for that streak to hit.”

The 34 year old veteran of 10 big league seasons, who entered the game at 3-3, 5.48, didn’t contribute much to the streak on which he based his claim to optimism. He went 1-0, 4.82 in April; 2-2, 6.04 in May; and was 0-1, 4.82 for June when he toed the rubber at 7:16.

His best previous outing in ’22 came on May 29 in Cincinnati, where he held the Reds to a pair of runs, both earned, in six innings. He’s already been on the injured list twice this season and hadn’t gone more than six innings in any of the 10 games he’d started.

It’s not as if Cobb’s voiced confidence were unnecessary. The Giants are in sore need of some encouragement. They entered the month in third place in the NL West, their record of 40-34 (.541) putting them 6-1/2 games behind the pacesetting Dodgers and, what is more worrisome, a game behind the Cardinals in the race for the final wild card berth. It’s still early, but not that early; we’re a week away from the halfway point in this strange season.

Tonight, after being defeated 1-0 by the underperforming White Sox, Cobb’s stoic confidence seemed misplaced.

For his part, the 34 year old veteran of ten seasons in the show pitched a fine game, although he showed signs of tiring in his fifth and final frame.

He shut the Sox out in those five innings, allowing only three hits, one of which was of the infield variety, and one walk. He chalked up three Ks on his road to a no decision that lowered his ERA to 4.59.

Cobb’s opposite number, Lance Lynn, who spent eight years with the Cardinals, Twins, Yankees, and Rangers before joining the ChiSox last season, has the history to be a formidable opponent.

He was 115-77, 3.48 lifetime at the end of last season. As with Cobb, injuries got Lynn off to a slow start this year. He tore a tendon in spring training and didn’t return to active duty until June 13.

To get an idea of how serious a blow to Chicago’s chances the sidelining of Lynn was, take a look at what the team did to try to soften the blow. They signed as his replacement one time Giant ace Johnny Cueto, who received a warm ovation from the crowd of 35,266 when he stepped out of the dugout between the third and fourth innings.

Since his return from the IL, Lynn had started three times, in which he went 1-1, 6.19, pitching deeper into the game with each successive outing. It’s early in the season for the 35 year old veteran, if not for MLB as a whole.

It’s also noteworthy that he brought with him today an impressive record against current members of the Giants active roster, having held them to a .111 batting average and an OPS of a mere .372. He has a very effective four seamer, in spite of it not being eye popping fast, a heavy cutter, an excellent sinker, a 12-6 curve, and a changeup. His performance tonight

Before game time, the Giants announced that they had placed Anthony DeScalfani on the 15 day IL due to an inflamed right ankle he suffered in his catastrophic third inning against Cincinnati here on June 26. The right handed hurler was replaced on the active roster by Jason Vosler, who was recalled from Sacramento and started tonight at third base, batting in the seventh spot.

After Cobb set the Sox down in order in the top of the first, Brandon Belt’s single, sandwiched between walks to Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski, enabled San Francisco to load the bases on Lynn after he’d retired the first two batters he faced. This brought the resurgent Tommy LaStella, who was hitting .349 for his last 15 games, to the plate. Lynn fanned him on an 0-2 cutter to end the threat.

Helped by some outstanding defense, especially Donovan Walton’s brilliant play on Andrew Vaughn’s grounder to short in the fourth and Yastrzemski’s running grab of Yoan Moncada’s drive to the left center field wall in the fifth, Cobb held the visitors scoreless until John Brebbia relieved him to open the sixth episode.

The only damage Chicago could inflict on him was a one out walk to José Abreu, who has been on an offensive tear of his own for the past two weeks or so. Tyler Rogers took over in the seventh, also allowing nothing but a free pass, to AJ Pollock, who was wiped out in a 4-6-3 double play .

Meanwhile, Lynn was magnificent. He went six full innings, allowing only three hits and two walks while shutting out the home team on 104 pitches, 63 of which counted as strikes. He reduced his ERA to 4.50, but all he got for it was a no decision before Joe Kelly replaced him after the seventh inning stretch. As if to emphasize how well matched the two teams were, all Kelly allowed was a walk.

Dominic Leone was the Kapler-Bailey combine’s choice to pitch the top of the eighth. He got his first two men, but Andrew Vaiughn made it interesting with a two strike two bagger to left center, bringing up Luis Robert, who has been enjoying a hot streak in which he hit .349 in his last 15 games. Leone got him to bounce to the mound on a 92mph cut fastball.

Tanner Banks, the first southpaw to pitch tonight, took to the mound for the Giants’ eighth. Naturally, the two left handed batters he would faced were replaced by right handed pinch hitters. Austin Slater replaced LaMonte Wade, Jr., and walked on four pitches.

Then it was Darin Ruf for all-star candidate Joc Pederson. Banks got him to hit into a bespoke 6-4-3 twin killing and then issued Flores a passport to first. The inning ended with Belt looking at a called third strike.

It was Camilo Doval pitching for the Giants in the crucial top of the ninth. Abreu flew out to Slater, now playing in deep center field. Gavin Sheets sent a bouncing ball to Belt at first, but his throw to Doval covering bounced off the pitcher’s glove for an E1.

The intrepid 24 year old recovered to strike out Yoan Moncada looking before yielding a single to third by Pollock that Vosler went into such contortions to catch that his throw to Belt drew the first baseman off the bag.

Then Leury García laced a line drive single to right, scoring Adam Hansley, pinch running for Sheets, from second, which he had reached on Pollock´s single. The play at home was close, but the call was correct. The run was unearned, but it was Doval’s fault.

The Giants would have to score against ex-Athletic Kendall Graveman if they were to avoid another gut wrenching loss. Yaz flew out to left. La Stella, a fellow ex-A, popped out to short, leaving it up to the recently recalled Vosler. He grounded out to second.

The win went to Banks. He’s now 1-0, 3,45, Doval took the loss, leaving. him at 2-4, 2.88.

The three day series resumes tomorrow at 1:05 when the two bleary eyed teams will send right handers Dylan Cease (6-3,2.56) and Logan Webb (7-2,3.04) to do battle in what promises to be another pitchers’ duel. But, as Thomas “Fats” Waller once said, “one never knows, do one?”