One that got away
Bumgarner hard-luck loser as win streak snapped at 8; Duffy on D.L.
PITTSBURGH — Angel Pagan did everything right. He took the proper angle. He timed his jump perfectly. He reached over the left field wall and secured the ball in his glove.
He did not secure it for long enough. The momentum of his collision dislodged Erik Kratz’s home run ball into the stands. That was more momentum than the Giants offense could generate behind Madison Bumgarner, who took a tough decision in a 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Pagan threw his glove in disgust, and the Giants saw their eight-game winning streak snapped by pedestrian lefthander Jeff Locke. They lost on a day when Bumgarner started for the first time since April 20.
And a lineup already listing dangerously to port discovered it would be without another key right-handed hitter. The Giants placed third baseman Matt
Duffy on the 15-day disabled list after an MRI exam showed a strained left Achilles tendon.
Despite just completing the winningest 35-game stretch since the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958, the Giants are conditioned to fearing the worst. A day after Duffy inherited the longest consecutive games played streak in the majors, he passed the title along to someone else.
Although top infield prospect Christian Arroyo is playing nearby in the Double-A Eastern League, the Giants weren’t discussing such a bold move. They are more likely preparing to weather Duffy’s absence by playing Conor Gillaspie and Ramiro Peña at third base; they likely will recall outfielder Mac Williamson to give themselves a badly needed right-handed bat.
Duffy, who felt pain when he stepped on third base in the seventh inning Sunday at Tampa Bay, said he was surprised that the MRI showed an injury significant enough to put him on the disabled list.
“It’s worse than I’ve had it in the past,” said Duffy, who has dealt with Achilles soreness since high school.
He said he wasn’t sure of the strain’s severity, but it’s concerning enough that doctors advised that Duffy give it time to calm down before he would risk a major injury. A disrupted tendon requires surgery that requires a 12month rehab protocol.
“That’s the concern,” Duffy said. “Make sure it gets plenty healed and plenty strong again. That’s the trick with it. If you come back too soon, it’s weaker. But it’s also weaker when you come back because you’ve been off it. So there’s a healing period and a strengthening period.”
Duffy had played in 188 consecutive games, which ranked as the longest active streak in the majors after Baltimore’s Manny Machado began serving a suspension on Sunday.
Although the Giants’ .663 OPS at third base is the lowest in the major leagues, replacing Duffy for any amount of time will be difficult because of his difference-making defensive contributions and the mentality he brings to the lineup.
The Giants already are without Hunter Pence (hamstring surgery) until August. At least the Giants didn’t lose Posey in the ninth inning, when he grabbed his right hamstring while running down the line. It was a cramp, Posey said. On a day when a backup catcher beat them with his first home run in two years, the Giants lineup featured five left-handed bats. They failed to score against a lefthander, Locke, who entered with a 5.92 ERA.
Bumgarner held the Pirates to just four other hits and didn’t allow a runner into scoring position other than Kratz’s homer in the fifth. He went the distance for the 12th time in his career; it was the fourth time he threw an eight-inning complete game in a loss.
“He threw the ball great,” Posey said. “It’s tough to lose a game like that. It’s going to happen from time to time.”
It hasn’t happened since April 20.
Bumgarner was 7-0 with a 1.27 ERA in his 10 previous starts, with the Giants winning all of them. He managed to extend one other streak, though: he’s the first Giant since Jesse Barnes in 1920 to hold an opponent to two runs or less in 12 consecutive starts.
Bumgarner neutralized the Pirates while striking out eight and picking off the only batter he walked. He credited Kratz for making an adjustment on a cutter that he thought he threw to the spot he wanted, and for getting just enough of it.
“Angel had a pretty good bead on it, and it just didn’t work out,” Bumgarner said. “That’s as tough a play as you’ll have in the outfield.”
The Giants created hope in the ninth when Brandon Belt greeted Pirates closer Mark Melancon with a single, but he got doubled off when Posey’s lineout down the right field line hung up long enough for Gregory Polanco to make a catch.
Right-hander Sergio n Romo’s rehab assignment is scheduled to continue Wednesday with an inning for Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants want Romo (strained flexor elbow tendon) to make back-to-back appearances before they would activate him.
Closer Santiago Casilla n rejoined the club from the paternity list four days after he and his wife welcomed a girl, Keren Nacob. First base coach Billy Hayes and his partner also welcomed a baby girl on Monday, Savannah Georgia Hayes. For more on the Giants, see the Giants Extra blog at blogs.mercurynews. com/Giants. Follow Andrew Baggarly at twitter.com/ extrabaggs.