“We needed a couple of wins in a row”, Bochy said after the Giants had lost 4-2 and 4-1 decisions to the Nationals on Thursday and Friday.
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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain delivers against the Washington Nationals during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 31, 2016, in San Francisco.
“I think that hit me after the game was over”, Cain said of battling injuries to reach his 100th win.
But Panik popped out to third base, and Crawford followed with a groundout to first base as the Giants’ best chance to get to Scherzer dissolved.
Iglesias then hit a grounder which was fielded by the first baseman, whose toss to Harris covering the bag was not in time to get Iglesias to end the inning, and Collins scored.
Cain (3-6) was the living embodiment of “effectively wild”. He walked four, hit a batter, and even after he went through the Nationals lineup a second time without allowing a hit, it was obvious that he had no shot of going the distance. Barely half the pitches he threw (48 or 93) were strikes.
In the fifth inning of a 1-0 game against the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants skipper deployed two pitchers in non-pitching situations.
Gonzalez continued his recent upswing with another quality start, allowing two runs (one earned) over six innings. One of the few things that they hadn’t done before Friday night is turn a triple play. But Turner s flip pulled shortstop Danny Espinosa off the base, prolonging the inning as Gillaspie crossed the plate. 3B Matt Duffy (left Achilles strain) was starting a three-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento then set to go to Double-A Richmond while the Giants are on the East Coast so he will be nearby. There was a time when Cain was revered as the Giants’ most imposing pitcher at the plate. Right-hander Jeff Samardzija, who ran for Bumgarner, scored the winning run.
The ovation began to build for Hunter Pence while his cleats skidded along the infield dirt.
Cain (3-6), watching from the dugout, raised both arms in triumph.
The Giants gave their bullpen an insurance run in the seventh when Pagan singled in Denard Span, who had an inning-opening triple as a pinch-hitter.
The dream of a combined no-hitter ended in the sixth, when Bryce Harper sprayed a single off George Kontos and scored on Rendon s double.
The rest of the inning got weird. Ryan Zimmermann singled to left but Rendon did not advance to third, perhaps faked out when Williamson raised his glove as if to make a catch. His dribbled throw arrived ahead of Rendon for a peculiar force out.
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The Giants had three more fruitless at-bats in the second inning after Pence received a standing ovation and signaled his return with a leadoff double off the top of the left field wall. Derek Law pitched the seventh to get the victory, Sergio Romo recorded three outs in the eighth and Santiago Casilla recorded the save. He pinch-hit with two outs and runners at second and third in the ninth and struck out against reliever Shawn Kelley. They’re also 1-5 in his last six starts following a team loss in their previous game but have won 14 of Gonzalez’s last 20 starts versus National League West opponents.
