Giants fall apart after replay review goes in Padres’ favor
SAN DIEGO >> They say baseball is a game of inches, but on Saturday night at Petco Park, the Giants were left thinking it’s all about angles. Replay angles, of course. In the top half of the seventh inning of the Giants’ 5-4 loss to the Padres, a 2-minute, 41-second replay to determine whether Joe Panik slid safely past the tag of catcher A.J. Ellis went in San Diego’s favor.
The rest of the night did, too.
Despite receiving home runs from Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen and a key two-out RBI hit from Austin Jackson, the Giants dropped their second straight matchup with the Padres.
With the Giants ahead 4-3 in the top of the seventh, Panik took a gamble trying to score from third on an Andrew McCutchen lineout. The relay from right fielder Hunter Renfroe to first baseman Christian Villanueva to Ellis was on the money, but Panik appeared to hook around the outstretched glove of Ellis.
“If he did touch me, it would have been a graze,” Panik said. “I didn’t feel anything.”
Home plate umpire Rob Drake called Panik out, and after a Giants challenge, the final decision came down to Major League Baseball officials tucked away in an office more than 3,000 miles away.
The sets of eyes in New York couldn’t find a conclusive angle that determined Panik’s foot touched home plate.
“It’s not something you can cry about,” Panik said.
The call stood, and the Giants collapsed.
In the bottom of the seventh, reliever Cory Gearrin surrendered a goahead two-run home run to Renfroe, who smashed a line drive into the third row of the left field seats to put the Padres in the lead for good.
“The ball was up more than it normally is,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “They took advantage of it.”
The late rally from San Diego spoiled the contributions of the players San Francisco added to fortify its lineup, as Longoria, McCutchen and Jackson combined for all four RBIs.
After the Giants fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first, Longoria stepped to the plate in the top of the fourth inning riding a miserable cold streak. The third baseman had struck out in four of his previous five at-bats, and entered Saturday night’s contest with a .149 batting average.
When he drilled an 89mile per hour fastball deep to left center field, Longoria didn’t need to look up. Everyone in the 619 area code knew the ball was out, but Longoria gazed at it anyway.
Longoria’s blast traveled 433 feet into the second
deck of the left field bleachers. He was thrilled with the at-bat but crushed it came in a loss.
“I’m here to win,” Longoria said. “I still have trouble sleeping at night when I go home, even when I get hits and we don’t win.”
Later in the inning, a Brandon Crawford triple set the Giants up for two opportunities to drive their shortstop in and take their first lead. After pitcher Derek Holland struck out, Jackson stepped to the plate and smoked an RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Jackson’s base hit marked the Giants’ fifth hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position this season. Coming into Saturday’s game, the club was just 4 for 48 in those situations.
In the top of the fifth, the Giants added a run on McCutchen’s solo home run.
Until Renfroe’s seventh inning home run, McCutchen’s shot appeared to be a critical hit for the Giants on a night when starter Derek Holland didn’t last five innings. For the third straight outing, Holland allowed a pair of runs in the first inning as a Renfroe sacrifice fly and a Christian Villanueva solo home run pushed the Padres out in front early.
Holland faced his third different National League West opponent Saturday, and for the first time this year, he did not make it through five innings.
“I’ve got to keep the momentum on our side,” Holland said. “I screwed that up so it’s definitely my fault for that.”
The left-hander loaded the bases with back-toback walks in the bottom of the fifth before Bochy tabbed relief pitcher Reyes Moronta to escape the jam.
• Jeff Samardzija made a rehab start with Class A San Jose on Saturday night as he recovers from a strained right pectoral muscle. The right-hander allowed six runs on 35 pitches in the first inning as second baseman Nate Mondou smacked a grand slam. Samardzija finished with 2 2/3 innings pitched, and it’s possible he could need another start before he rejoins the rotation.