Alex Wood was one of the Giants' most consistent pitchers last year and he rarely was lit up during San Francisco's franchise-best 107-win 2021 season, as he allowed five or more runs just twice in 26 starts.
But this season has been a different story for the 31-year-old lefty.
Wood was charged with eight earned runs in the Giants' 9-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday night at Target Field, marking the sixth time in 25 starts this season he has given up at least five earned runs in a start, including his second straight.
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"It just stinks," Wood told reporters in Minnesota after the loss. "At a time when the guys need me to step up, I have two bad ones in a row. Pretty frustrating overall."
The Giants are fighting for a National League Wild Card spot but now sit at 61-63. The loss drops them six and a half games behind the San Diego Padres for the final playoff spot with 38 games to play.
While Wood didn't walk any Twins batters, he wasn't able to locate his pitches in the strike zone, leading to Minnesota teeing off on him for six hits and eight runs in three innings. Carlos Correa and Gary Sanchez each hit two-run homers off Wood.
"Balls were in the middle of the plate," Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after the game. "Threw a lot of strikes. Didn't walk anybody but caught of lot of plate and they were able to drive those balls. The ball Correa hit was the first blow but there were several of those and they put some good swings on him."
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Per Baseball Savant, Wood relied on three pitches against the Twins -- his sinker, slider and changeup -- and his velocity was in line with his averages this season. And 44 of his 60 pitches were for strikes. He simply wasn't fooling Twins batters or missing bats.
Wood now has given up 15 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings pitched over his last two starts, pushing his ERA all the way up to 5.00. Immediately after the game, it was too soon for Wood to diagnose what the problem might be.
"I haven't watched [the outing] back yet," Wood said. "I'll wait until tomorrow to do that. But it's just disheartening, the whole thing."
With each loss, the Giants are watching their playoff hopes grow dimmer, much to the dismay of Kapler, who is trying to rally the troops for one final push as September approaches.
"Every loss sucks," Kapler said. "They all suck equally, in my opinion. There are some that sting a little bit more but winning is the only thing that feels better."
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Kapler and the Giants have to do a lot of winning over the final five weeks if they want to return to the postseason this year, and they'll need to get Wood straightened out to help the cause.