PHOENIX–When the Giants opened the second half of the season with a 4.0 game deficit in the National League West, they knew they’d have to merge to the fast lane if they hoped to catch up to the pack.
Fourteen games after the All-Star break, the Giants are stuck in traffic, losing ground and plodding along instead of cruising on the open road.
After a starting pitcher allowed five first-inning runs for the second straight night, San Francisco couldn’t drive up a hill that proved all too steep in a 9-3 loss to the Diamondbacks Saturday.
For the 19th time this season, the Giants handed the keys to rookie left-hander Andrew Suárez, who turned in his worst night behind the wheel and the worst of any San Francisco starter this season.