Lost in the blown saves and problems with left field has been San Francisco’s strong offensive displays through the season’s first couple of games. Entering their sixth game of the season, the Giants averaged 5.6 runs per game, scoring less than five runs only once in that span, yet on a night where only a handful of runs would have sufficed, the Giant bats fell silent.
Madison Bumgarner churned out eight strong innings while striking out five, finding his form after giving up a run apiece in the bottom of the first and second, but San Francisco only produced one run of support, leaving its ace with the tough luck loss as the Giants dropped the second game of the series 2-1. The complete game was the 15th of Bumgarner’s career, yet the sixth which ended in a loss.
If not for Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford’s back-to-back singles in the top of the ninth inning, San Diego would have handed the Giants their first shutout of the season. Crawford capitalized with a runner in scoring position, but the Giants did not have too many opportunities to put runs on the scoreboard against Jhoulys Chacin, who has an extensive track record of excellence against San Francisco. After allowing nine earned runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Opening Day, Chacin bounced back, blanking the Giants over 6.2 innings while only allowing four runners on base.
Manuel Margot, the newest Giant killer, had a hand in both of San Diego’s two runs, scoring easily in the bottom of the first by way of a Hunter Renfroe double, then chipping in a double of his own to drive in Allen Cordoba, who recorded his first major-league hit just before scoring his first major-league run.
Margot and Cordoba, as well as the rest of the Padres contributed to a labor intensive first couple of frames up on the hill for Bumgarner. Through four frames San Diego’s offense squeezed 73 pitches out of Bumgarner and the bullpen appeared destined for a long night at the office, but the lefty found his groove and needed only 41 pitches to get through the latter four frames, retiring 17 of the last 18 batters he faced as well.
Bumgarner’s Opening Day power was not present this time around as he went 0-3 with a strikeout, but any offensive contribution from the ace should normally be the cherry on top of the sundae rather than the scoops themselves. On Saturday night, Bumgarner’s stellar performance couldn’t produce the sweet taste of victory because the other eight batters in the lineup failed to conjure up any offense.
Posey and Crawford, San Francisco’s representatives in the World Baseball Classic ensured their team got at least one run on the board. With two outs in the ninth, Posey singled, took second on defensive indifference, then crossed home plate on a Crawford opposite field single, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with a man on base.
Eduardo Núñez swung at a very hittable first pitch in his matchup against Ryan Buchter, a belt-high fastball clocking in at 92 MPH, but the third baseman got under the ball on an aggressive swing making for an easy fly ball to left to end the ballgame.
Giant left fielders once again failed to register a hit. Jarrett Parker went 0-2 with a strikeout and Aaron Hill struck out as well in a pinch-hit appearance.
San Francisco did not blow a lead for the first time this season, but that was because they never had a lead to begin. For the first time this season, the Giants did not strike first, but their attempt to play catch up fell flat as their bats were quiet for almost the entire night.