San Francisco – Alex Cobb discussed his frustrations in another tough night on the mound. Last Sunday, Cobb struggled against in his last start against the Oakland A’s.
Cobb’s struggles on the mound continued today in the Giants 9-3 loss against the Rangers at Oracle Park. This is the Giants sixth loss in the last seven games highlighted by the current four-game skid.
“I don’t think it was his best outing,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Obviously, he’s a guy that we’re always depending on to go deep into games. I don’t think it was his best outing and he’ll come back next time and get them.”
Including tonight’s performance, Cobb has now given up nine earned runs in 10 ⅓ innings in his last two home starts, this after allowing just six through 49 ⅔ innings in his first eight starts this season at home.
“He’s been one of our best pitchers,” Kapler added. “He’s just done a really nice job for us all season.”
Cobb went just 4 ⅓ innings on the mound, allowing a season-high six runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
“(The Rangers) are a good team and you’re going to have to try to limit as much damage as you possibly can,” said Cobb. “We needed some things to go right and they didn’t.”
Cobb’s rough night started early after Corey Seager launched a solo home run to straightaway center to give Texas the early 1–0 lead.
He seemed to gain some control after Seager’s home run, retiring eight of the next nine batters he faced as he cruised through the second and third innings. But things turned for the worse in the fourth and fifth innings.
Cobb opened the inning allowing four straight base hits, including an RBI single to Rangers catcher Mitch Garver to put Texas ahead. Ezequiel Duran’s sacrifice fly scored Adolis Garcia to extend the Rangers lead to 3-1, and Leody Taveras single to right and scored Garver to cap off the Rangers three-run, fourth inning. He got Marcus Semien to ground out to short for the inning-ending double play to escape further damage.
But that damage would come again in the fifth inning. Seager drew a leadoff walk to start the frame, then after striking out Nathaniel Lowe, Cobb allowed singles to both Garcia and Garver before getting taken out with one away in the fifth.
Southpaw Alex Wood came in and settled down the Rangers lineup, getting J.P. Martinez to hit a sacrifice fly to center, then forcing Josh Smith to ground out to first. He would retire the next seven straight batters before allowing a standup triple to Ezequiel Duran with one away in the eighth.
“You can build off of a guy that can come in after four days rest, after a really good outing in L.A.,” Cobb said.
Wood’s hot streak ended in the ninth when he allowed a leadoff triple to Semien, followed by a single into the right field gap by Seager, scoring in Semien. On the next at-bat, he overthrew a routine grounder down the third base line over the head of Flores. He got tagged for a two-RBI single to deep right by Garver before getting pulled with in the ninth for right-hander Jakob Junis.
Wood pitched four innings of relief, allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts as well.
“We had a decent thought that Alex can give us some decent length today,” said Kapler. “He did a nice job of getting us through the middle innings. It’s not easy to come into that situation.”
The pitching struggles for San Francisco were easily complimented by the struggles with the Giants lineup.
San Francisco found a way to tie the game at one apiece in the first inning on an RBI single by Patrick Bailey, scoring Wilmer Flores who doubled with two outs in the first.
Then, with a chance to take the lead, the Giants loaded the bases in the second inning, and even knocked out Rangers starter Andrew Heaney after just one out in the second.
However, reliever Grant Anderson got Austin Slater to ground out to first for the inning ending double play.
San Francisco got a solo homer to right from Michael Conforto in the fourth inning, and a solo homer by Heliot Ramos in the ninth (the first of his career), but once again could not truly get anything going at the plate throughout the night.
The Giants have scored a total of five runs through the last three games including Saturday night’s loss.
