Giants swept by Mets to fall 3 back in wild-card race and within 2 games of .500

San Francisco Chronicle​

a day ago

The San Francisco Giants deployed a bullpen game to get through Sunday's series finale against the New York Mets, and it was their most reliable arm that relinquished a slim lead in a sweep-clinching 5-3 loss.
Randy Rodriguez, one of baseball's stingiest relievers, had allowed one home run (All-Star Game excluded) all season heading into the series finale. Clutching a one-run lead, Rodriguez broke character at the worst time when Ronny Mauricio launched a Splash Hit to tie the game 3-3. Two outs later, Soto gave New York the lead with a home run to left.
Not only was it the first time Rodriguez had allowed a home run since April 29 against the San Diego Padres, it was the first time he'd allowed multiple runs in an outing since that day at Petco Park. Plus, with the team needing a little extra from its entire pitching staff, it was the fifth time all season that Rodriguez pitched more than an inning.
Until that point, the bullpen had mostly kept the Mets' best hitters at bay – Mauricio, the nine hitter, had a four-hit day. Matt Gage, a 2014 Giants draft pick, came full circle as the Giants' opener. He needed just 10 pitches to get through a clean first inning, giving way for a bullpen game that saw seven relievers cycle through. Spencer Bivens was the bulk reliever, allowing two runs over three innings on six hits with three strikeouts.
Matt Chapman provided the Giants all their runs with a two-homer day. His solo home run in the fourth inning tied the game and his two-run homer, his 16th of the year, gave the Giants a short-lived 3-2 lead.
With the loss, the Giants fell three games back of the third and final wild-card spot are are now just two games over .500 at 54-52.
Overshadowing Chapman's home runs was another day of missed opportunities. The Giants were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, finishing the weekend series 0-for-23.
One miss came in the second inning, when Mike Yastrzemski walked and Dom Smith, playing against his former team, singled to put runners on the corners. But the bottom of the order couldn't execute with one out as both Patrick Bailey and Brett Wisely struck out to strand the runners.
In the third inning, Heliot Ramos got caught in an indecision between second and third base when Willy Adames made contact on a check swing, resulting in something of a swinging bunt. Ramos made a hasty decision to try to sneak into third base, where third baseman Mauricio tagged him out easily to end the inning.
They loaded the bases against Mets closer Edwin Diaz in the ninth inning, the tying run at second with one out. But Adames and Chapman struck out to end it and give the Mets their seventh straight win.
Briefly: Carson Whisenhunt's debut could be on deck for Monday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Giants' top pitching prospect joined the team in San Francisco as a member of the taxi squad on Sunday, at the ready in case the organization needs to make a roster move. Whisenhunt isn't on the 40-man roster. The 24-year-old left-hander known for a nasty changeup has a 4.52 ERA, 86 strikeouts and 28 walks in 18 starts with Triple-A Sacramento this year.