Disastrous inning highlights Giants’ blowout loss
SAN FRANCISCO — However you choose to describe the second inning for the Giants on Wednesday, there was no way for the club to overcome a serious of brutal miscues against the Atlanta Braves in a 9-2 loss.
Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija was charged with an error, a wild pitch and two home runs allowed, but Samardzija was not solely responsible for the damage in a six-run frame for the Braves. He contributed to the mess, but the veteran starter had some assistance.
The Giants’ second-inning demise took a team effort.
With one on and one out, Samardzija induced a ground ball that should have resulted in an inning-ending double play. Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies smoked a one-hopper right back to the pitcher, who spun to second base in search of an infielder covering the bag. No one arrived.
The Giants were shifted toward the right side of the infield for the left-handed hitting Albies, so third baseman Evan Longoria assumed shortstop Brandon Crawford’s natural position while Crawford was aligned behind the second base bag and slightly to the right of the mound.
Both players initially broke for the base upon contact, but the duo hesitated as Samardzija slung the ball up the middle of the diamond. Longoria gloved the ball on a fly, but was unable to record a force out at second base.
With the bases loaded and one-out, Samardzija got Braves starter Max Fried to hit a tapper between first and second that again had the potential to bring the frame to a close. The exchange between second baseman Donovan Solano and Crawford was too slow to complete a 4-63 double play against a hustling Fried, who beat Crawford’s throw to first baseman Tyler Austin.
Trailing 1-0, Samardzija had a chance to keep the game within reach, but needed to retire Braves phenom Ronald Acuña, Jr. to escape the jam. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Samardzija threw a hard slider in the dirt that Acuña chased for strike three, but catcher Buster Posey couldn’t corral the ball behind the plate.
Acuña, Jr. reached first on a dropped third strike while the Braves tacked on their second run of an inning that was trending in a terrible direction for the Giants.
Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson sent Samardzija’s next pitch into the left center field bleachers for a three-run blast. Two pitches later, first baseman Freddie Freeman sent a Samardzija offering into the right center field bleachers to extend Atlanta’s lead to 6-0.
Aside from the early mistakes, Samardzija handled the Braves well as he logged six innings for the second time this year and set a season-high with 107 pitches. Samardzija allowed three hits in the second, but just one hit in the other five innings in which he took the mound.
Samardzija’s final line highlights the absurdity of the Giants’ second inning, as he finished with six innings, four hits, six runs, no earned runs, two walks and seven strikeouts.
A night after overcoming a two-run ninth-inning deficit, the six-run hole the Giants found themselves in was too deep to dig out from. First baseman Tyler Austin launched his third homer of the year in the bottom of the sixth, becoming the first right-handed hitter on the Giants to homer into the right field arcade seats at Oracle Park since June 2, 2018 when Andrew McCutchen homered off Phillies righty Jake Arrieta.