Trio of Cincinnati Two-Run Shots Spoil Giants' Return to the Bay

There's a lot to be said about how the San Francisco Giants have performed in their last nine games, but the prevailing theme, yet again, has been the starting rotation allowing too many home runs and the offense's inability to drive in runners in scoring position.

Even in the friendly confines of AT&T Park, Jake Peavy could not avoid getting plagued by the home run ball, allowing three home runs, all of the two-run variety, which propelled the lowly Cincinnati Reds to a 7-5 win over the orange and black.

Peavy started the game off in cruise control, only facing one batter over the minimum through his first three innings on the mound, the one Red reaching base due to another uncharacteristic Brandon Crawford throwing error, his ninth of the season.

The wheels fell off for the veteran in the fourth inning, as following a walk to Joey Votto, Jay Bruce knocked the ball over Archway Number Seven, with the help of a Giants fan who reached over and grabbed what arguably could have been an extra-base hit off the top of the wall.

A fellow fan, with a look of sheer disappointment on his face, immediately informed the man who snagged the home run that he interfered with a ball possibly still in play.

Jarrett Parker echoed these frustrations, as immediately following the play, the right-fielder signaled that there was interference, prompting Bruce Bochy to challenge the ruling on the field.

The different camera angles told different stories as to whether or not the ball may have been a home run, which resulted in a lack of evidence to overturn the call and confirmed that Bruce, did indeed, hit a home run.

The replay review was a metaphor for the way games have been going for the Giants, so as to say that almost nothing has been going their way since the All-Star Game.

Peavy's woes didn't end there, as after walking former Giant and All-Star Adam Duvall, Eugenio Suarez cleared the left-center field fence and then some, hitting the Reds' second two-run blast of the inning and extending their lead to 4-0.

The Giants responded immediately to the crooked number Cincinnati put up in the fourth, as Brandon Belt broke a hitting slump by hitting a two-run home run in the fourth, and Ángel Pagán followed his lead with a two-run shot of his own in the fifth to take the lead.

The starter calmed the waters by pitching a scoreless fifth, but Bruce's second two-run blast of the day knocked Peavy right out of the ballgame and all but knocked the Giants out of the game even though they were still in striking distance.