After seven suffocating innings from Washington starter and victor Max Scherzer (11-6), San Francisco got into the Nationals shaky bullpen in the eighth trailing and quickly put the tying runs on base when Span beat out a bunt single against lefthander Oliver Perez and Angel Pagan followed with a single to left.
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Nunez’s debut with the Giants was inauspicious.
The Washington Nationals provided further evidence of that Friday night, pulling off a play of extreme rarity in their contest against the San Francisco Giants.
So when the Giants created another scoring chance in the fourth, Bruce Bochy pulled his pitcher instead of punches.
He received a roaring ovation when introduced before the game and again when he took his spot in right field before first pitch, and the outfielder acknowledged the greeting by nodding his head and saying thanks.
“There was one other one but I went to the bathroom and missed it”, Baker said. He broke his bat on the swing, but still got plenty of wood on it. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the eighth inning, Giants batter Brandon Crawford hit a line drive right at Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Crawford entered for defense in the ninth Saturday. He ranks second in the NL in ERA, but the Giants have lost his last three starts and are 2-6 in his last eight.
The Nationals gave him no support early on. After Joe Panik singled and pinch hitter Mac Williamson walked to load the bases, Nunez lined a double that got the Giants to within 3-2. Is it just a bad slump, or is there something chemically wrong with the Giants that will doom them to one of the most disappointing, despairing second halves in recent times? Nuez’s double was one of just two hits in 13 at-bats with runners in scoring position. But Casilla recovered and struck out MVP candidate Daniel Murphy to record his 24th save.
Panik’s sacrifice fly gave the Giants the lead in the seventh. Thanks to some awful baserunning by the Giants, the Nats now have a six-game lead in the National League East over the Miami Marlins and a 7.5 game lead over the New York Mets. He allowed four runs over six innings with two walks and two strikeouts. “It was definitely a win that we all needed very much”. Baker said doctors have identified Stephen Drew’s dizziness issue. “But for it to take three years, it feels good”. Span suffered a quadriceps injury beating out an infield hit on Friday. Bochy wasn’t sure whether he would be ready to start by Sunday’s series finale. He allowed just a Gillaspie single in the fourth and a Blanco two-out walk in the seventh over the next four innings before exiting the game.
The Giants designated for assignment infielder Ramiro Pena to clear roster room for Pence’s return.
That lack of production, coupled with fellow veteran Matt Cain’s two-win season, has the Giants reportedly active in trade discussions for a starting pitcher at the deadline.
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Cain lasted just long enough to qualify for his 100th career victory, the bullpen lost the no-hitter but protected the lead, left fielder Mac Williamson injured himself after a weird sequence in the sixth inning and the Giants scored a pair of runs courtesy of throwing errors.
