John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Surreal.
All Wilmer Flores had to do was touch first. All Brandon Crawford had to do was find a way to touch second. All Trevor Gott had to do was not give up five runs. All the Giants had to do was not implode.
But it all happened in a bizarre ninth inning, setting up an extra-inning loss in an 8-7 shocker to the A’s at Oracle Park on Friday in one of the more sudden meltdowns in recent memory.
With one out in the ninth, Matt Olson launched a homer off Gott to make a 7-2 game into a 7-3 yawner. But Mark Canha walked, and Robbie Grossman chopped one to first baseman Flores, who didn’t step on the bag but instead went to second base, his throw pulling Crawford off the base. Gott plunked Khris Davis, setting up a hanging curve to Stephen Piscotty, whose grand slam tied the game.
Unbelievable.
The Giants put the winning run on third in the ninth, but Pablo Sandoval (now batting .159) bounced out. The A’s pushed the winning run across in the top of the 10th off Jarlin Garcia when a couple sacrifices — the RBI coming from Mark Canha — doing the trick to score Matt Chapman.
In the Giants’ 10th, Brandon Belt (.132) and Mauricio Dubon (.224) struck out with ghost-runner Austin Slater (he of the injured elbow) on second. Liam Hendricks struck out Mike Yastrzemski to finish the stunner.
The loss dropped the sliding Giants to 8-13 and 3-9 in their past 12. In the Battle of the Bay, the A’s won and the Giants beat themselves on a night that started with such promise from their veterans (including Flores, who finished with a season-high four hits).
The Giants are much better against southpaws than righties, and the righty-heavy lineup came through. Evan Longoria jump-started the Battle of the Bay with a first-inning home run before Hunter Pence crushed a three-run shot in the third. Longoria would knock a few more in during a two-run fourth, and that looked to be more than enough for Johnny Cueto.
Always mesmerizing, the 34-year-old was brilliant for a second straight outing. With a fastball that’s a tick up — it averaged 91.7 mph — Cueto couldn’t be touched for six innings an outing after he pitched a no-hitter into the sixth. (This time, Pence would help, not hurt his cause.)
Good luck timing Johnny Cueto ⏱ pic.twitter.com/xjLHKzHbHj
— KNBR (@KNBR) August 15, 2020
Cueto was touched up in the seventh, when he allowed two runs with the big blow being a Robbie Grossman triple. But that was just one of three hits he surrendered while walking two and striking out five on a night he threw 104 pitches — his most since Sept. 19, 2017. And this quality start came against a powerful Oakland lineup.
Yastrzemski added an eighth-inning home run — his fifth of the year — reminding the younger (or less experienced, at least) bats have been stronger this year.
The Giants’ mental game and bullpen have not been strong, Flores and Gott establishing that again Friday in a loss that will sting a long while.
