Ildelmaro Vargas Washington Nationals second baseman (center) takes a leap to avoid the sliding San Francisco Giant Matt Chapman and to attempt completing a double play at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Apr 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

Washington (5-6). 002 010 101. 5. 8. 1

San Francisco (4-8). 010 002 000 3 10 0

Time: 2:41

Attendance: 24,380

SAN FRANCISCO–In the snippet of time since the start of the 2024 season, the home field of your San Francisco Giant has looked more like Playland at the Beach as Oracle Park. It’s been a roller coaster. After splitting their opening series at San Diego, the Giants were swept by Dodgers in Chavez Ravine came home to win two exciting games out of the three they played against the visiting Padres here by the shores of McCovey Cove, which gave Melvin’s mob its first series win of the year.

The Giants were poised to get a significant boost from the mound work of last year’s Cy Young winner, Blake Snell, who, along with Matt Chapman, was a last minute addition to the team’s roster. Those signings took the sting out of what had been an unproductive off season.

But Snell’s debut against the rebuilding Washington Nationals was a debacle, San Francisco’s offense was nowhere in sight, and the fielding left much to be desired. Tuesday night Bob Melvin’s crew had to pick itself up, dust itself off, and start all over again.

They sent the promising left handed rookie Kyle Harrison (1-1,4.91 at game time). The youngster was making his third start, but the first at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, of the season. He was 1-0, 2.66 and had held opponents to a batting average of .195 here before tonight.

His performance in tonight’s exciting 5-3 loss was impressive, especially in the. early innings but faded top adequacy later on. He lasted six innings and threw 93 pitches, 62 of them qualifying as strikes. The three runs he yielded were earned lowered his ERA slightly, to 4.76, and he ended the night with a no decision. He struck out eight Nationals and didn’t walk any.

The Nats had announced Josiah Gray as their starting pitcher, but the all round nice guy and clubhouse leader was placed on the 15 day injured list, owing to a flexor strain in and around the elbow of his right, pitching, arm. His replacement, announced after the Giants had posted their lineup, was Joan Adon, a right handed converted reliever with a five pitch arsenal and a lifetime big league record of 3-18, 6.45 whom they recalled today from their AAA, Rochester Red Wings farm team, although he obviously had joined the team earlier.

The 25 year old Dominican acquitted himself well, holding the Giants to one run, which was earned, on three hits and a base on balls over four innings of work. He notched a pair of strikeouts and threw 72 pitches, 42 for strikes. He left the game, replaced by Roberto García, and was not involved in the decision. The contest became a bullpen game for the capital crew when Jordan Weems replaced García after a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth.

A walk to Thairo Estrada, Mike Yastrzemski’s second hit of the season, a single in his 21st at bat, and Patrick Bailey’s sacrifice line drive to center put the home team ahead after two innings of play. That didn’t last long.

Harrison, who had retired the first eight Nats he had faced, seven by strikeout yielded a two out single to Jacob Young in the top of the second. He had Young picked off, but the speedy center fielder took off for second and slid beneath LaMonte Wade, Jr.’s throw to Nick Ahjed.

Young repeated his robbery on the next pitch and crossed the plate at a more leisurely pace when CJ Abrams sent a 423 foot blast over the right field fence for his third home run of the season and a 2-1 Washington advantage. Two frames later, Young singled to center and pilfered his third bag of the game and fourth of the season and then scored on Abrams ‘single to right.

San Francisco knotted the score in its half of the fifth. Chapman led off with a single and, after a called third to Estrada, which the video replay showed to have been erroneous, was forced out at second on a dazzling grab and behind the back toss from shortstop Abrams to second sacker Ildemaro Vargas. Bailey’s single to right moved Mike Yastrzemski into scoring position, and Ahmed’s single to right, combined with right fielder Lane Thomas’s errant throw, brought the tying runs in.

Ryan Walker, who relieved Harrison for the seventh, was the victim of bad luck. After issuing a lead off walk to Jesse Winker, he allowed a broken bat Texas League single to Riley Adams, Both runners advanced on an infield out, and Tracy Lipscomb’s sac fly to the right field warning track brought Winker in with the tie breaker, making it a 4-3 game.

Dylan Floro set the Giants down in order in the home seventh, and Taylor Rogers took over for them in the visitors’ eighth, retiring the first two batters he faced, hitting the third with a pitch, and passing the ball to his right handed brother Tyler the Submariner, who got the frame’s final out.

Hunter Harvey followed Flores in the eighth, retired Chapman and Estrada before being forced to leave the game when he was hit by a hard line drive off the bat of Yastrzemski. Kyle Finnegan replaced him, walked Bailey, and got Ahmed on a fly to left center.

Back to back DC doubles by Winker and Adams off Rogers to open the top of the ninth netted a run and seemed to put the game out of reach for SF. It did, but the Giants didn’t make it easy for them. Jung-Hoo-Lee, greeted by loud and premature chants of “MVP” led off with. a sharp single to left.

He moved up 90 feet on another single to left by Wilmer Flores, who had pinch run for Wade in the fifth and remained in the game to play first. Austin Slater then pinch ran for the erstwhile pinch runner. Finnegan got ahead of Soler, 0-2 before SF’s DH worked a full count and drew a bases loading walk.

That brought Conforto to the plate. He quickly fell behind, 0-2, fouled off two pitches, took a ball, and hit a nubber in front of the plate that Finnegan fielded and tossed to Adams for the force at home. It now was Finnegan vs. Chapman. Chapman swung and missed. And then bounced into a 6-4-3 game ending double play.

Weems (1-0, 1.89) was the winning pitcher; Finnegan got the save, his fourth. Walker was charged with the loss, He’s now 1-1, 2.70)

Tuesday, afternoon, at 12:45 the squads will go at it. again. Southpaw Patrick Corbin (0-1, 6.97) will be on the bump for Washington; right Jordan Hicks (1-0 0.75), for San Francisco. The Giants then will fly to St. Petersburg for a day of rest before the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday the 12th.