Angel Pagan got a couple hits in his return, but that didn’t stop Mike Krukow from telling the viewing audience that (let’s all say it together) “you’ve got to tip your hat to Wily Peralta” as the Brewers shook hands at the Giants’ expense for the second time in three days.
The Giants left nine guys on base in a 3-1 defeat that clinched yet another losing series against an above-.500 team. If you call their home-and-home set with the A’s a single series (which makes sense since they played four games in the same region over a four-day span), the Giants have lost their last seven series against teams with winning records.
Whether the games take place in San Francisco or elsewhere, the Giants struggle against playoff contenders. And they continue to have trouble scoring runs, which cost them once again.
Jake Peavy, who pitched well for five innings before running into trouble in the sixth (he stranded three runners who made it to second base), scored the Giants’ lone run. The offensive wastefulness was a team effort.
- Joe Panik struck out with the bases loaded to end the first inning.
- Pablo Sandoval struck out with a runner on first to end the third inning.
- Andrew Susac struck out with a runner on first to end the fourth inning.
- Buster Posey struck out and Pablo Sandoval grounded into a double play to squander a no-out, runners-on-first-and-second opportunity in the fifth inning.
- Travis Ishikawa and Pagan (pictured above) both struck out looking on full counts after a leadoff single, then Hunter Pence flied out to end the seventh inning.
- Brandon Crawford struck out with runners on first and second to end the eighth inning.
- The Giants struck out 12 times and grounded into two double plays.
They have an awfully difficult time scoring four or more runs in games where they don’t hit homers. And when they don’t score four runs … blech. The Giants fell to 11-43 in games where they score three runs or fewer. They’re 51-10 when they score four runs or more, which includes a 10-6 mark in games where they score four runs exactly.
Extra BASGs
— Interesting stat from our friendly neighborhood stats guy:
Hitters against Peavy the third time through the order in 2014: .318/ .397/ .571 Maybe not a great idea to keep doing that Bochy.
— Scott Willis (@BAStatsGuy) August 7, 2014
One night before Peavy’s first start for the Giants, I was heading home from Saturday’s loss to the Dodgers and someone on the radio (I can’t remember who — some national baseball writer) talked about Peavy’s struggles in Boston. He mentioned how Red Sox manager John Farrell would often lift Peavy from games earlier than Peavy would’ve liked, because Farrell believed that Peavy had a tough time keeping threats from mushrooming into big innings.
I can see why Bochy, who clearly has a strong bond with the pitcher he saw make his debut against the Yankees as a 21-year-old, wants to give him a little more rope. That probably shouldn’t continue too long, however.
— If the Giants are thinking about re-signing Peavy next season, they better plan on making him a long reliever if this trend continues.
— Brandon Belt struck out four times last night and didn’t play today. Apparently he started feeling ill last night, but he and the Giants don’t think the concussion has anything to do with his symptoms. Alex Pavlovic said he feels better now, and he’ll see the team doctor in Kansas City. We’ll see in the coming days whether Belt is suffering post-concussion symptoms or simply caught a bug in Milwaukee.
— Brandon Crawford went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. He’s been walking quite a bit lately, but hits have been hard to come by. He’s hitting .183/.314/.268 (13 hits, 14 walks and 21 strikeouts in 86 plate appearances) since July 10.
— Welp, this has been a total bummer of a recap. Madison Bumgarner pitches tomorrow. It’s a road game. I’m flying to Portland tomorrow evening, so I might not be able to post a story (depending on the wi-fi situation). But if I do, I’m guessing it’ll be a little more cheerful than this one … provided the Giants score four runs.
