SAN FRANCISCO —The Giants took “finding new ways to lose” into a different stratosphere on Friday night. Highlighted by an eighth-inning triple play, they fell to the Nationals, 4-1, for their 11th loss in the first 13 games of the second half. The Dodgers are winning at this time of writing, and if they hold on, they’ll trail the Giants by only a game in the National League West.
Here’s more on what unfolded Friday night.
The big moment
Brandon Crawford came up in the eighth inning with a chance to give the Giants the lead. It would’ve taken a grand slam, but on the absolute end of the positivity spectrum, the possibility existed. The Giants ended up on the wrong side of the spectrum. The absolute, polar-opposite side of the positivity spectrum listing every outcome with the bases loaded and no outs.
He lined out to Ryan Zimmerman at first base, who stepped on first base to get the second out, and then threw to third to complete the triple play. If one moment in time can represent two weeks, this was it.
At the plate
When Gregor Blanco lined a two-out, two-strike RBI single to center, it felt like the moment Bruce Bochy was clamoring for. The one he lamented not getting in Thursday’s failed ninth-inning comeback. Blanco gave the Giants a 1-0 lead on Scherzer, but it lasted all of one inning. Scherzer rocked back for 116 pitches over seven innings and held the Giants at bay with five hits and two walks.
The Giants reached a new low, of course, in the eighth inning. Highly underrated aspect of the triple play: Nationals lefty Sammy solis got one inning’s work while facing one hitter. Eduardo Nunez made his Giant debut as the Giants sparked a ninth-inning rally for the second straight night. Representing the tying run with two outs in the ninth, he struck out on a full-count pitch.
On the mound
The Nationals never dumped a big inning on Samardzija. They chipped away. At the score, at his ERA, and at the Giants’ hopes of turning around this losing skid. The right-hander allowed four runs over six innings, staking him to a 7.09 ERA over his last seven starts. That’s not good enough with the way the Giants’ offense — or any offense — is going.
Samardzija’s greatest reprieve came in a six-pitch first inning. Every inning afterward became more laborious, and he didn’t throw another perfect frame after the first. Trouble began in the fourth inning when Wilson Ramos and Jayson Werth slapped consecutive hits to knot the score. Ben Revere lined a single past the drawn-in infield to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead, but the most crushing, emblematic swing came via Daniel Murphy’s RBI triple.
The pitch before Murphy touched down in triples alley, Dave Righetti met Samardzija and Trevor Brown on the mound. It’s likely they discussed pitching around the left-handed Murphy to face Ramos. Or at the very least, the message was not to let Murphy get anything too hittable with two outs. But that’s precisely what he got. Samardzija unfurled the first pitch to Murphy down the heart of the plate, and Murphy dropped his bat thinking he had his 21st home run of the year.
He didn’t, but he stepped on the Giants when they couldn’t allow for it.
In the ‘pen
Left-hander Matt Reynolds made his Giants debut and got two outs in the seventh inning. Hunter Strickland finished the seventh, setting Derek Law up to do Derek Law things. The right-hander needed only seven pitches to work through the eighth. Sergio Romo navigated the ninth inning while allowing only one hit.
On deck
Admittedly, Jake Peavy’s coming off one of the most bizarre losses he can recall. He allowed only four hits, but three left the yard for two-run home runs. That tacked six runs to his record on a night he seemed to throw the ball well. He starts Saturday afternoon against rookie Reynaldo Lopez, who allowed six runs to the Dodgers in his major league debut 10 days ago. First pitch at 1:05 p.m. on KNBR 680.
videos courtesy of MLB.com
