What we learned as Giants shut out by Phillies, keeping Justin Verlander winless originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants responded to their worst stretch of the year by winning six of seven over the past week, but they came up well short Wednesday in a bid to sweep the first-place Philadelphia Phillies.
Justin Verlander fell behind early and the offense gave him the customary lack of support while he was on the mound. Once he headed back to the clubhouse, this one turned into a blowout. The Phillies scored seven runs in the eighth and ran away with a 13-0 win in a game that ended with Mike Yastrzemski on the mound for the Giants.
Verlander fell to 0-7 on the year, but this performance was more about the lack of offensive punch. The Giants did end up taking the series, but their full-strength lineup didn’t do much. They won 3-1 on Monday night and had just one run until Patrick Bailey’s wild walk-off in the ninth on Tuesday. In the finale, they had just three hits off lefty Jesus Luzardo, who became the latest southpaw to dominate the Giants this season.
On It Goes
Verlander had good stuff early, hitting 96.9 mph in the first inning and striking out Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. That fastball was his firmest since April. He struck out seven over six innings, but was charged with four runs — two earned — and left with little hope of even getting a no-decision.
Verlander already was the first Giants pitcher to go 14 starts to begin a year without picking up a win. His previous high as a big leaguer was seven consecutive starts at any point without a win, and he now has more than doubled that to begin his Giants career.
Verlander is the first MLB pitcher since 2023 to start his season with 15 winless starts. Kansas City’s Jordan Lyles got to 15 that season and Colorado’s Chase Anderson got to 16. Verlander’s next shot to get a win — and avoid tying Anderson — should come after the break against either Toronto or Atlanta on the road.
Move Over, Logan
The bullpen has blown a lead six times in a Verlander start, but on Wednesday, that was never in play. Another problem was, though.
Verlander has received just 26 runs of support in 15 starts, the second-worst run support in baseball. Only Chase Dollander of the historically bad Colorado Rockies has gotten less support from his lineup. The Giants scored five runs behind Verlander in Chicago on May 6, but in every other start, he has received three runs or fewer of support. Even Matt Cain and Logan Webb would think that’s hard to swallow.
On It Goes, Part II
At the start of the Diamondbacks series last week, the Giants thought they were seeing better swings from Jung Hoo Lee. When he came through with a three-hit game later in the week, it seemed his lengthy slump might be over. That turned out to be too optimistic.
Lee struck out with two on in the first and finished 0-for-2 with a walk. After batting .143 in June, Lee is still searching for his old consistency. He is 5-for-22 with no extra-base hits since the big game at Chase Field, and his OPS is in danger of slipping under .700 for the first time since the first series of the year.
The Giants have given Lee a few days off recently, but he’s likely to get three starts this weekend. Right-handers Dustin May, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the big weekend series for the Los Angeles Dodgers.