SAN FRANCISCO – For the Giants, September is all about experience and opportunity, and on Tuesday night they checked off both boxes.

At Oracle Park, Tristan Beck made his season debut out of the bullpen and former top player Marco Luciano completed his first MLB innings at second base – which could be his most important position in the future.

Beck struck out four times in 3 ⅓ innings, and Luciano went 1-for-4, including an RBI single that brought the Giants within one point. Luis Matos, another September call-up, pinch-hit twice but struck out both times.

Late comebacks gave the Giants’ young players the impression of an exciting game against a playoff contender.

Even though San Francisco is not mathematically out of the playoffs, the stakes are not high. It would take a miracle for the Giants to even play playoff-determining games in the final month of the season, and an 8-7 loss to Arizona was not the start of one.

“It was great to see the fight at the end,” manager Bob Melvin said after the game. “Obviously we were up until our last at-bat with a chance to potentially win the game when we were wondering early on how we were going to get through those innings. We do that all year long. Just when you think we might have let up a little bit in that game, we keep fighting hard at-bat and finishing games.”

In a sparsely attended game – the team announced that 23,545 fans were in attendance, the lowest of the season – the Giants scored five runs in the final two innings but needed more to mount a comeback in a game in which they trailed from the start.

Kyle Harrison (2.2 IP, 7H, 6ER, 3K, 1BB) increased his ERA from 4.22 to 4.56 this season and described his shortest career start as “just awful from the start.” Randal Grichuk beat both him and Beck in home runs, helping the Diamondbacks offense to a 7-1 lead that was only narrowed by home runs from Matt Chapman and Mike Yastrzemski.

It took the Diamondbacks 10 minutes to score three times against Harrison. Geraldo Perdomo started with a single to center, followed by Corbin Carroll’s double down the right field line. Before Harrison could defuse the threat, Randal Grichuk took him deep into the visitors’ bullpen and hit a two-run homer.

The Giants were able to get a run back in the second half of the first inning with a leadoff walk, and a double by Tyler Fitzgerald into the right field corner put Arizona starter Ryne Nelson in the same situation as Harrison: no outs and runners on second and third base.

But the Giants didn’t have as bad a record as the Diamondbacks, and coming from behind against a division rival heading into the playoffs isn’t easy.

Arizona scored another run against Harrison in the second inning, which was Luciano’s first time at second base. The former top prospect is expected to play second base regularly in September, and he made a smooth transition on a double-play attempt, but his strong throw required a big throw from LaMonte Wade Jr. to reach first base.

In the second, Luciano tried the first pitch he saw, snagged an inside fastball and flew to the first baseman. In the third, he botched a difficult play up the middle while running to right – a difficult play for a veteran second baseman, let alone one who is finding his footing at the position. Luciano later made an error – his sixth in 10 games on the field at the MLB level this year.

“It will be a bit of a learning curve at this position,” Melvin said of Luciano.

Luciano is with the big club to show how he could help the Giants next year, and with San Francisco all but eliminated from the postseason, it makes sense to think about 2025.

That’s one reason the Giants didn’t put too much pressure on Harrison, pulling him from the game before he got out of the third inning. Harrison had already surpassed his career-high innings pitched, leaving the field with two outs and the bases loaded in the third inning after throwing a grueling 73 pitches.

“It hurts to be knocked out so early,” Harrison said. “They fought back great and we were in it until the last pitch. I definitely didn’t do my job today.”

Beck replaced Harrison and made his season debut after an arm aneurysm prevented him from building on a promising 2023 season. Beck allowed a single – which gave Harrison two more runs – but could be very proud of his performance.

Beck’s looping curveball was effective, getting Josh Bell to strikeout and Corbin Carroll to face the ground.

Grichuk converted a hanging breaking ball from Beck for his second home run of the night and gave Arizona a 7-1 lead with a wall-scraper to left. About six months after surgery for his arm aneurysm, Beck allowed one earned run, struck out four runs and allowed two walks in 3 ⅓ innings.

The goal was always for Beck to return this season, even though the surgery left him unable to throw (or lift) for the longest time of his life. There was no ligament or muscle damage, but the rarity of Beck’s illness presented special challenges on his long road back to the mound.

“Everyone has been really encouraging and supportive throughout the whole process,” Beck said. “Every little milestone — first day as a catcher, first bullpen, first game in Sacramento. It feels great. When I got activated, a lot of guys came over and congratulated me. And even today, after I got the first point behind me, it was really special.”