Giants record three hits in loss to Marlins
MIAMI (TNS) – Fewer than 7,000 patrons took in each of the first two games of San Francisco’s series in Miami, but those that did purchase tickets have witnessed a rather surprising development.
The Giants are unraveling at the hands of the lastplace Marlins.
After falling 3-1 on Tuesday, the 33-34 Giants have a losing record for the first time in more than a week.
“We just got shut down offensively,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “They did a job on us. Three hits, that’s not going to work. We had a hard time getting guys on base and just getting something going. That’s the ballgame.”
For the second straight night, the Giants played like a sub-.500 team trying to tread water. With two straight defeats to open a four-game set, that’s now what they are.
Despite having a starter log seven innings for just the second time in the club’s last 34 games, Chris Stratton’s quality start wasn’t enough to offset a troubling night for the Giants’ offense.
Stratton and third baseman Evan Longoria each lined singles while Hunter Pence reached on an infield
Bay Area News Group/tns The San Francisco Giants Chris Stratton throws a pitch during Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins in Miami. Stratton pitched seven strong innings, but the Giants lost 3-1.
tapper scored as a hit, but that was all the production Bochy’s offense managed.
For a Giants club that opened the month of June by winning seven of their first nine and taking series from three different contending teams – the Phillies, D’backs and Nationals – a significant amount of good will the team drummed up with its fan base has vanished quickly.
The Giants opened Tuesday’s contest by missing a golden opportunity to take control of the game in the first inning. San Francisco did secure a 1-0 lead on a Brandon Crawford RBI groundout, but the Giants
failed to push across multiple runs despite having runners on second and third and no outs with the heart of the order due up.
Marlins starter Trevor Richards walked the first two hitters of the game and moved them along 90 feet with a wild pitch, but he fanned Andrew Mccutchen on a 3-2 changeup below the strike zone to record his first out. After Miami shortstop JT Riddle robbed Crawford of a hit with a diving stab and throw to first, Evan Longoria bounced out to end an inning that began in promising fashion for the Giants.
The first inning turned out to be the only frame in which the Giants scored against Richards, who earned his first career win despite having six career starts under his belt.
Astros 6, A’s 3 OAKLAND – Daniel Mengden was roughed up for six runs on eight hits over 42/3 innings in a loss to Houston.
A quick seven-pitch first inning by Mengden was followed by a nightmarish second that saw him surrender a solo home run to Carlos Correa and a threerun homer to Evan Gattis just a few batters later.
The A’s fell to 1-6 on the season against the Astros this and have now been outscored by Houston 5018 in seven games. Their overall struggles against the AL West have been crucial as the A’s (34-33) are just 10-22 within the division and 24-11 against the rest of baseball.
Matt Chapman tied an A’s single-game record for doubles with three in his first three at-bats against Lance Mccullers Jr.
Mark Canha singled home Jed Lowrie in the eighth to cut the deficit to three runs, but the A’s left the bases loaded twice as they went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.