SAN FRANCISCO — The Cubs had lost the three-game series against the Giants at Oracle Park before stepping on the field for the finale Thursday.
“It was just a bad night,” manager Craig Counsell said after the Cubs’ 12-3 loss to the Giants that decided the series Wednesday. “Nico [Hoerner] had a good night and did some good things. But we didn’t pitch well, left some scoring opportunities out there.”
The rout included a bizarre play in the fifth inning that put the momentum on the Giants’ side.
Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker’s throw was on line for his cut-off man and home plate. But it took the unluckiest of bounces. The Giants’ Matt Chapman was heading back to first base after an RBI single down the right-field line when Tucker’s throw hit him in the back of the helmet.
The contact redirected the ball enough to send it over catcher Carson Kelly. Another run scored, and Chapman advanced to second. He, too, would score when Casey Schmitt hit a two-out single to left field.
Cubs left-hander Taylor Rogers replaced starter Colin Rea and struck out Jung Hoo Lee to escape the inning. The damage, however, had been done.
The Giants had control of the game with a 7-3 lead after a three-run rally. But they continued to tack on.
In the sixth inning, Rafael Devers launched his second home run of the game, this time for three runs off Rogers.
The next inning, Chapman homered off left-hander Jordan Wicks.
The game had gotten so out of hand by the eighth that the Cubs put catcher Reese McGuire on the mound. He, too, gave up a home run, to Heliot Ramos.
Hoerner was the team’s early offensive hero, launching a three-run blast in the second inning.
The Cubs, however, failed to capitalize when they had the bases loaded with one out in the first and fifth innings. They grounded into double plays to end both without scoring.
“Maybe things go different if . . . we put some runs on the board in those innings,” Counsell said. “Maybe we can line [up] the pitching and be a little more aggressive with it. But that didn’t happen.”
Hoerner with RISP
Hoerner entered Thursday with a .382 batting average with runners in scoring position, the best mark among National League qualified hitters.
“Nico’s skill set is made for that,” Counsell said Thursday morning. “He’s one of the two or three hardest players to strike out in baseball this year. You get rewarded for contact in a lot of situations.”
Indeed, Hoerner’s 7.3% strikeout rate entering Thursday was the second-lowest among qualified major-league hitters, behind only the Padres’ Luis Arraez (2.7%).
Giant competition
The Cubs had the Giants to thank for bringing the Brewers back down to earth over the weekend.
After the Cubs won three of five games against the Brewers at Wrigley Field last week, the Giants took two of three in Milwaukee. That helped the Cubs make up ground on their division rival while sweeping the Angels. They had trimmed the Brewers’ lead to five games by Sunday night.
That’s where the Giants’ assistance ended. After being swept at Oracle Park this week, the Cubs slid back to 6½ games behind the Brewers.
