San Francisco Giants: Holland Solid, but Offense Goes Silent in 2-1 Loss

The highs-and-lows with this San Francisco Giants offense continues in 2018 as they lost a close game to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday 2-1.

Derek Holland gave up a pair of first innings runs, and that proved to be all the Diamondbacks would need.

Holland would go on to earn the quality start lasting six innings and allowing just the two runs on 2 hits and a walk with 8 strikeouts. It really was a very impressive start for the lefty, and had the Giants given him a lead I think he could have gone another inning.

As it was, the Giants hitters were baffled all night by Zack Godley and the Diamondbacks pitching staff, which gave up just 1 run on 5 hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts. They faced just three batters over the minimum in this game.

Buster Posey — shocker — and Brandon Crawford each had a pair of hit, while Andrew McCutchen had the other.

Here are some takeaways from this game:

Strikeouts: The 12 strikeouts are a bit alarming considering we weren’t facing their ace. The Giants still have the 10th fewest strikeouts in the league so far this season, but this will be something to keep an eye on. We all wanted more pop in the lineup, but with that comes nights like tonight where everyone will be striking out.

Ebb and Flow of Offense: I think something we’re going to have to understand and live with this year is the ebb and flow of the offense. I don’t think we’re going to see a consistent offense all year that puts up three or more runs every night. Instead, we’re going to have an offense that will put up two runs or less for a stretch, and then have a stretch where they are on fire. We saw that a little bit in spring training, and that’s the way it’s played out so far in the regular season. It’s frustrating as a fan, but you have to be patient and take the good with the bad.

Solid Pitching: We got our sixth quality start of the season last night, and only had to use two arms out of the bullpen. We currently rank seventh in the league in ERA. Our pitching, despite losing two of our best arms in the rotation, has consistently been solid so far this year.

Next: San Francisco Giants: Ups and Downs of Opening Week

The Giants and Diamondbacks will meet up again on Tuesday as each staff’s current ace will square off with Patrick Corbin and Johnny Cueto on the mound.