SAN FRANCISCO — With two strikeouts within the backside of the ninth inning, the Giants reached 1,468 for the season, a franchise document. With two errors within the prime of the tenth, they prolonged their MLB lead within the class. With three groundouts within the backside of that inning, they turned the primary staff to lose an extra-inning sport this yr to the San Diego Padres.

That about sums all of it up for the Giants, who lost 5-2, falling to fourth within the NL West standings and placing themselves able the place solely a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend will assure even a .500 season.

There was a vibrant spot within the loss, although. Or you possibly can name it a flash.

Speedy rookie Tyler Fitzgerald stole two bases in his seventh profession sport, exhibiting off his defining trait, one which has been almost totally lacking from an unproductive and often-boring Giants lineup. The Giants rank final within the huge leagues with 59 stolen bases. They’re considered one of simply two groups, together with the Colorado Rockies, with fewer steals than Ronald Acuña Jr. this season. 

But Fitzgerald envisions a sooner future. 

“I want to bring speed to this team and make it exciting for the fans to watch,” the 26-year-old utility man mentioned. 

Fitzgerald turned simply the second Giant to document a number of stolen bases in a sport this season and tied Bryce Johnson for the quickest dash velocity (29.5 ft/second) by a Giant on a stolen base this yr. Johnson is an fascinating comparability, as a result of he has adopted a path Fitzgerald will attempt to keep away from. 

As the previous saying goes, you may’t steal first base, and Johnson hasn’t hit sufficient in his Giants cameos to totally benefit from his velocity. Fitzgerald has a .833 OPS by way of seven video games, a promising begin, and he hit 22 homers within the minors this season, so the Giants know there’s some upside there. It’s only a matter of tapping into it. 

If Fitzgerald can hit sufficient, he ought to be an enormous a part of the combo subsequent yr. He labored his approach by way of the minors as a shortstop, however he has added versatility this season and Gabe Kapler has been snug utilizing him in heart subject and at third base over the past week.

It’s in heart subject the place Fitzgerald’s velocity might in the end have the most important influence for the Giants, who’ve had a few huge hits drop in entrance of veterans within the outfield over the previous couple weeks. Asked how a lot Fitzgerald’s velocity would play into offseason discussions about bettering the outfield protection, Kapler mentioned “a lot.” 

“Tyler has got world class speed and athleticism. If we can get him to a place where he has those types of instincts and gets great jumps, we’ll really have a complete player potentially,” Kapler mentioned. “He’s received some work to do with the bat, he’ll proceed to work on these issues. We need him to be good in any respect the positions he performs. It’s good to get him some publicity to 3rd base and he is exhibiting a bit little bit of vary there. 

“Since the primary type of barely inaccurate throw he had, he appears to be calming over there on the sizzling nook. We’ll hold attempting to present him as many seems to be as attainable.”

This could be new for the 2023 Giants, nevertheless it’s not for the participant himself. Fitzgerald was 45-for-53 on stolen base makes an attempt at Louisville and is now 72-for-81 as an expert. Across three ranges this season, he has been thrown out simply thrice in 37 makes an attempt. 

With simply three video games left, Fitzgerald doesn’t have a lot time to construct a resume heading into the offseason. But Wednesday’s sport definitely was one which staff officers will keep in mind as they attempt to overhaul a place participant group that could be the least athletic in baseball.

“The word ‘refreshing’ was thrown around quite a bit in the dugout as he was stealing those bags,” Kapler mentioned. 

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