The Giants got a great start from Johnny Cueto and slugged past the A's lefty starter Jesus Lazardo to the tune of a 7-2 lead in the 9th inning. Alas, Trevor Gott finally lost his mojo and blew the save big time. The Oakland lineup scored five runs off him--a solo homer and a grand slam--to crush the Giants hopes of an easy win. The sequence was particularly galling: a walk, a fielder's choice that got no one out (a mental gaffe by Wilmer Flores), and a hit batter before the slam. Tyler Rogers came in to get the final two outs and almost gave it away before getting it done. It was really too bad as they had played a clean, strong game until that point. But the A's have a really good team and have been playing well so giving them extra chances in the 9th was a recipe for disaster.
Besides the fine work by Cueto (7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 SO, 104 pitches, 26 BF) the lineup showed some spunk with 13 hits, at least one by every starter except DH Pablo Sandoval (0-for-5 with 2 K). Mike Yastrzemski was 0-for-his-first-4 before connecting for a solo shot in the 8th off lefty reliever T.J. McFarland.
Jarlin Garcia got the call in the 10th and the A's pushed their magic runner across for an 8-7 lead. The Giants had Austin Slater on in their half but were overpowered by Liam Hendricks who struck out three to end the game. It was a brutal loss. Let's hope they can do better tomorrow.
Kevin Gausman gets the start against Frankie Montas at 4:07 p.m. PDT.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
1 comment:
Giants haven't lost a game with a 5+ run lead in the 9th since 1929. Longest streak in the modern era, 2133 games.
Not much to say. Gott was struggling but the mistake by Flores was the difference. That was a double play ball, but one out for sure. The guy's an experienced veteran and make a mistake. I'm sure they are screaming for Kapler's head on the call-in shows but what can you do when your player doesn't execute?
Momma said there'd be days like this.
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