S.F. bewildered by lost homer
In the grand scheme for a team now 30 games under .500, the ninth-inning home run that Brandon Crawford lost to a video review Thursday night was a mere speck on a very ugly portrait.
That said, while the Giants have done so much to self-destruct, they did not need help from a video crew in New York that either did not know a 17-year-old AT&T Park ground rule or needs a refresher on the art of watching video.
Crawford’s two-run homer, as it was ruled on the field, was turned into an RBI double. He was stranded and the Giants lost 5-2, the sixth time in their past 11 games they failed to muster three runs.
“I would love to see the camera angle they have, because every single person who was physically in the park knew that was a home run,” Crawford said, “our guys, Cardinals players and the ump who made the original call.
“It’s crazy that someone 3,000 miles away could make that call.”
Buster Posey, back in the lineup after nursing a bone bruise in his left thumb, hit a leadoff double in the ninth against John Brebbia.
Crawford then hit a high drive down the right field line. A fan stuck his glove above the green tin roof and caught the ball, which clearly would have hit the yellow line painted on the roof if not the foul pole behind it had he not grabbed it.
First-base umpire Tom Woodring instantly signaled “home run.” There was no reason to believe Cardinals manager Mike Matheny would get the reversal he sought. When the New York crew took a long time to make its decision, Crawford thought they were assessing fair or foul.
When the umps on the field removed their headsets, they ordered Crawford back to second base. His 13th homer was no more.
“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined that the fan interfered with the ball over the field of play,” the official report said. “Additionally, the Replay Official definitively determined that the ball would not have left the playing field.”
“They were wrong,” manager Bruce Bochy replied. “That was a terrible overturn that shocked all of us. That’s a home run taken away from Crawford. Would it have made a difference? You don’t know. … You know the ground rules. If it hits the green it’s a home run. It wasn’t even close.”
Crawford said for the fan to reach over the field of play he would have had to “lie flat with someone holding his legs.”
Crawford asked the umps on the field if those in the New York replay center knew the ground rule and was told they did.
Worse yet, the Giants ejected the fan for catching a ball that was not in the field of play. Fortunately for the fan, the game was soon over.
Matt Cain took the loss despite allowing just two runs in five innings as a replacement for Madison Bumgarner, who was scratched with a flu he has had for several days. The runs scored on a Randal Grichuk homer in the second inning.
Michael Wacha held the Giants to one run in six innings. The run, in the fifth, was their first in 15 innings and came on a pinch sacrifice fly by Carlos Moncrief.
The game got away when Mark Melancon, who had not allowed a run or a walk in his first six starts off the DL, gave up two runs in the eighth by walking Greg Garcia and hitting Tommy Pham with the bases loaded.
After the game, the Giant announced a first wave of four September call-ups: utilityman Orlando Calixte, relievers Derek Law and Steven Okert, and catcher Tim Federowicz. The Giants outrighted JaeGyun Hwang off the 40-man roster to clear a spot for Federowicz, meaning Hwang will not return to the majors in September.