For the seventh game in a row, the San Francisco Giants failed to score more than three runs.
They couldn’t even reach that number on Friday, falling 7-2 to a San Diego Padres team that despite being 25 games under .500, has beaten the Giants in seven of their last eight matchups.
The Giants fell a game behind the New York Mets, who beat the Phillies on Friday, in the NL Wild Card race. They currently sit in the second spot, a game up on the St. Louis Cardinals who lost to Chicago. Their chances in the NL West are all but mathematically squashed, trailing the Dodgers by seven games with eight remaining.
Padres starter Edwin Jackson was far from stellar, walking five and allowing four hits in six innings, but did enough to get the win against a Giants offense that has scored 10 runs in it’s last seven games.
To say things did not start out well for San Francisco starting pitcher Albert Suarez would be an understatement.
The right-hander gave up hits to the first four batters he faced, including a three-run shot by Will Myers to give San Diego an early 3-0 advantage. The Giants had the bullpen going before Suarez recorded a single out.
Suarez stayed in the game, however, and didn’t give up another run, lasting four innings and extending his streak of starts without allowing more than three runs to 12.
Third-base coach Roberto Kelly may have cost the Giants a chance to put a dent in the early San Diego lead, holding Brandon Belt at third base on a Joe Panik double with two outs in the bottom of the first. It appeared as if Belt would have beaten the throw home, had Kelly not have held him, something ultra-aggressive former third base coach Tim Flannery likely wouldn’t have even considered. The next batter, Ehrie Adrianza, grounded out with runners on second and third to end the inning.
Posey put the Giants within a run in the fifth inning, smacking a two run double off the center field wall. Any hopes that it might be the beginning of a comeback were dashed in the bottom half of the inning, when San Diego put up a four spot, increasing their lead to 7-3. San Francisco reliever Matt Reynolds was a disaster, allowing all four runs in the inning after loading the bases with no outs.
Madison Bumgarner will try to turn things around for the Giants on Saturday, in his first start since being pulled for mysterious reasons against the Dodgers, facing off against the struggling Zach Cosart, who hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning in four consecutive starts. First pitch is at 5:40 PM on KNBR 680.
