Jeff Samardzija, of all people, did it Tuesday night.
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Straily tried to get through the Top of the 7th, but he simply ran out of gas around 110 pitches. Samardzija is just 1-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 24 career games – 10 starts – against the Reds despite holding Joey Votto to 6-for-31 with no home runs.Moscot is looking for his first win and has yet to complete six innings after three starts this season. Kennett-10 Holcomb-0 Southland-7 Senath-Hornersville-4 Dist. 3 Malden-15 Charleston-0 Bernie-9 Dexter-1 Dist. 4 Scott City-15 Woodland-0 Oran-7 Leopold-3 Dist. 5 West. Co.
The Reds bullpen came into Tuesday’s game with a 6.54 ERA and had allowed 69 runs in 95 innings with 54 walks, all the most in the majors. They’re getting a lot of opportunities.
Cincinnati’s bullpen has given up at least one run in 20 consecutive games, matching the major league record since 1900, according to information provided by the Reds from the Elias Sports Bureau. As formidable as the Giants offense has been for most of this season, their two top RBI men from a year ago, Crawford and Buster Posey, were a combined 5 for 40 with runners in scoring position with just 14 RBIs between them. Reds trailed, 1-0.
And lately, that means a flood of milk and honey.
Tony Cingrani kept the Giants off the board in the seventh. But Belt, whose risks on the bases have proven unproductive this season, was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double.
Lincecum has built up to 90 pitches at the Giants’ minor league complex, throwing to a private catcher, and reiterated his goals in an interview Wednesday with Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
It was a damaging second out, but the Giants managed to overcome it with a bit of luck.
Posey went 3-for-4 with three doubles, a walk and a run for San Francisco.
Mazara, whose home run in the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie, also threw out a runner at the plate from right field in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the lead. He appeared to swear frustration while snapping his bat across his left knee. The Indians’ record accounts for a team not needing to use its bullpen in consecutive games. The Giants right-hander has reduced the workload on his own bullpen all season while maintaining his power stuff into the late innings.
In Oakland, Robinson Cano had three hits and scored twice and Kyle Seager hit a tiebreaking double in the sixth. Then after splintering his bat, he threw 16 more pitches in the eighth to end his night.
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If you’re the Giants, you probably don’t want one of your best starting pitchers using his leg as a tool for breaking apart solid wood, but we’d be lying if we said we weren’t impressed with Samardzija’s feat of strength.
