With Hunter Pence still on the disabled list and Buster Posey taking a much needed day off, the Giants’ lineup was less than imposing for the finale vs. Arizona at AT&T Park on Sunday.
The G-men were shut out 4-0 by Rubby De La Rosa (5-3, 5.27) and Daniel Hudson, getting swept at home in the process, their eighth consecutive home loss and fourth straight loss overall.
The Giants had plenty of opportunities to score in this one, but went just 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, grounding into FIVE double plays. Yes, that’s FIVE as in CINCO.
Casey McGehee got the start at third base as manager Bruce Bochy gave Matt Duffy a rest. McGehee grounded into two double plays, including the first inning with the bases loaded.
Nori Aoki, Justin Maxwell and Buster Posey also grounded into double plays, including the ninth inning when Buster pinch hit with the bases loaded to end the game.
Chris Heston (6-5, 3.76) followed up his no-hitter by continuing his string of inconsistent outings. He threw 102 pitches over five innings, allowing seven hits, four walks and three runs (two earned), while striking out six.
The G-men made three errors, including two by Brandon Crawford on the same play (fielding and throwing) that allowed a run to score. Overall, two of the four Arizona runs were unearned. “You put your big boy pants on and you come out and be ready to go tomorrow,” Boch said. “This was not pretty, there’s no getting around it.”
With the loss and Dodgers win, the Giants are now 3 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West. The Giants begin the first of four straight games against the Mariners tonight at AT&T, with a home and away series, two in San Francisco and two in Seattle, culminating Thursday night. Then it’s on to Los Angeles for a three game set with the Dodgers starting on Friday.
Tonight’s game matches Tim Hudson (4-5, 4.60) against Taijuan Walker (3-5, 5.40) as the Giants look to get back to their winning ways at AT&T Park.
A San Francisco Fan in New York 
You are completely off the mark on this one, John, for two reasons: 1) You failed to mention the ugly defense behind Heston, which made four errors and several mental ones as we’ll. yes that is FOUR, as in QUATRO. 2) Heston had good stuff all game and had a quality start in my opinion, as I was there to witness it. Six strikeouts and only two earned runs is NOT inconsistent, and way better than what Vogey and Hudson have been dealing lately.
This is what happens when you only have the opportunity to look at highlights to write your daily Giants blog. 😉
There was also a great Armed Forxes ceremony before the game, and the National Anthem and God Bless America were sung to perfection by a member of the Armed Forces.
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Thanks for the feedback Ron. I did mention the ugly defense behind Heston in the title of the article and in the paragraph about the errors. The official box score shows THREE errors as in TRES. How do you characterize Heston’s start as “quality?” He allowed 11 base runners over five innings. Give him credit for keeping the damage under control…I think Heston is having a good rookie season for sure and I’m glad he’s on the Giants, but anyone following this team would agree that he’s been inconsistent all year. And not sure how to respond to your comment about writing games from highlights and game summaries… what do you suggest? I’m a San Francisco Fan living in New York.
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Sorry, you are right. I missed the first sentence of the paragraph about the errors. But while Heston was not perfect, calling it inconsistent when it was a quality start for him is incorrect. If Bumgarner doesn’t come with his best start, strikes out six and only gives up two earned rusn, I believe you would give him mmore rope, and possibly even state that ohter than four walks it was a good outing all around,
Biggest problem all series was no bats, but definitely an ugly game from defensive side of the equation.
And one more thing… you should have mentioned that it is Timmy’s birthday today!! 🙂
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Sorry if it wasn’t clear, but my point regarding inconsistency and Heston was that he’s inconsistent from one start to the next. The comment wasn’t about this one start. Let’s see if Huddy can get them back on the winning trajectory.
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Maybe the June swoon is only happening at home, most of the season so far. This series was just plain old embarrassing. Seems like when Pence goes down, so goes the team. Is not being able to hit the ball for an RBI catching? Can it be passed from one player to the next? It appears so! I don’t think Heston was that bad, our offense sukked big time during this 3 game series. Now onto the Mariners. I will be at the game on Wednesday, 6/17 in Seattle. It is an away game, so let’s hope the Giants play up to their abilities. I just don’t get how we can sweep the Dodgers in our park, yet we can’t beat the D’backs. We need to stay close in the standings if we want to obtain a WC spot! Go Giants!
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PS: John, the “remember me” on here doesn’t work!
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I hear your frustration island girl. It’s a long season though…
Have a great time at the game in Seattle. Be sure to share your thoughts after the game!
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Whew! Glad that furking Streak is over! As a fairweather blog reader, I’m finally back here now. Timmy and Duffy and…McGehee? Hey, whatever it takes! ;-/ Now, back to the comforts (!) of the road…
Since we’re doing a “Look for me” thing, my brother and I will be in the stands (at now *winning* AT&T Park) when the Gmen get back next Tues (vs Pod People). (*) MadBum will be pitching (I think & hope!) after an EXTRA day of rest, so I’m hoping for Big Things! 🙂
(*) Nosebleed seats, of course. ;-p~~~
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