NEW YORK — This would almost be easier for the Giants to understand if there was an injury, or a prolonged lack of feel with one go-to pitch, or a constant lack of command. Instead, Jake Peavy has spent most of April feeling healthy, feeling good with his work on the mound — and trying desperately to find positive results.
Friday night was another rough one for Peavy, who has an ERA of 8.61 and WHIP of 2.00 through five starts. He got just six outs and gave up six earned runs, walking five of the 15 batters he faced. Afterward, Peavy said he’s healthy, and he doesn’t feel particularly wild or lacking in stuff.
“I’m not concerned with thinking anything is going the wrong way,” Peavy said. “That being said, we’ve got to find a way to get some results the next start in Cincinnati and get back in the win column.”
Great American BallPark is generally not a nice place to pitch, but anything will look comforting after the night Peavy had at massive Citi Field. He was charged with half of the runs in the 12-run third and Mike Broadway was hit with the others as the Giants fell, 13-1.
“I’ve never seen a 12-run inning,” Peavy said, shaking his head.
[RECAP: Instant Replay: Giants mashed by Mets, allow 12 in 3rd inning]
It unraveled quickly, with eight straight reaching base and all eight scoring. Yoenis Cespedes added a grand slam off Broadway, who at least managed nine outs on a night that didn’t chew the bullpen up as much as it could have.
Catcher Buster Posey said he doesn’t see a glaring common thread in Peavy’s poor start. Manager Bruce Bochy doesn't, either, noting that Peavy had walked just two before Friday.
“He was just off with his command,” Bochy said. “He was trying to make his pitches and he wasn’t missing by much, and that came back to haunt him.”
Peavy was especially annoyed by a Michael Conforto double that came on a pitch selection the young slugger had already swung through twice and twice fouled off his front foot. Lucas Duda’s 10-pitch walk put Peavy in the danger zone and Neil Walker ended his night with an RBI single.
“It’s hard for me to go back and really get a hold on that,” Peavy said. “It wasn’t like I was spraying it everywhere. I couldn’t quite make the pitches there in the third inning. It was really one of those freak things.
“It’s not a good feeling because you know you’re putting your team in a hole. You’re hoping the bleeding is going to stop.”
Peavy went back and looked at clips of his start after getting pulled. He said he doesn’t feel as far off as the numbers show.
“For two innings tonight, I felt just like I wanted to,” he said.
And then came the third. Forty-two minutes after it started, the Giants trailed 12-0. Peavy was left trying to figure out how to prevent this from happening again.
--- Joe Panik said he felt some tightness in his groin while pushing out of the box late in the game. He doesn’t think it’s serious at all, but he’ll get reevaluated on Saturday.
--- Sergio Romo felt good after playing catch for the first time since going on the DL. He'll move from 60 feet to 75 feet for Saturday's session.
