Giants Fall on Walk-Off in Milwaukee

Apr 17, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Gregor Blanco (7) steals second base as Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Jean Segura (9) applies the tag during the ninth inning at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Once again, the Giants failed to capitalize on golden opportunities.

San Francisco lost 4-3 to the Brewers on a walk-off single by backup catcher Blake Lalli, who hit a Santiago Casilla pitch deep into the outfield. Gregor Blanco could have ran the ball down for the out, but there was one out and the bases were loaded, so Jonathan Lucroy would have tagged up for the winning run anyways.

Both starters, Kyle Lohse and Ryan Vogelsong, went deep into the game and threw the ball well. Lohse carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but he surrendered three runs in that inning. Angel Pagan brought in Brandon Crawford, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games, with a single, and Hunter Pence knocked in Pagan and Marco Scutaro with a game-tying single.

Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead on Yuniesky Betancourt’s third inning home run to center field, and they extended their lead when Carlos Gomez drove a triple to right field. Gomez showed bunt but brought the bat back, and the result was an RBI single. Betancourt drove in Gomez with a sacrifice fly, and the Brewers had a 3-0 lead entering the sixth inning.

Then, they gave it up, and it became a battle of the bullpens.

In the ninth inning, after Gregor Blanco flied out to left field to end the top half of the inning, Lucroy forced a lot of pitches out of Casilla. He lined a single past Crawford (at shortstop) to finish the long at-bat, and advanced to third on a throwing error by Crawford. Gomez hit a ball into the hole, and while Crawford got off a strong throw, it was wild, and the ball bounced into the stands. This set the stage for Lalli, who ended the game with his deep single.

Vogelsong pitched well, lowering his ERA from 7.15 to 5.89. However, he wasn’t flawless, and a bullpen that was overworked due to Barry Zito’s short start Tuesday wasn’t able to get the job done. Casilla was the only pitcher to throw out of the bullpen, and Milwaukee made him throw 34 pitches (to record four outs). Now, the Giants will be fighting to win one game, as Milwaukee locked up the series with their tight win.

Despite hitting the ball well, the Giants have endured some bad breaks. The Giants have scored 5.5 runs in two games, and they’ve hit lots of balls deep into the outfield. However, the 9-6 Giants have nothing to show for it, as they haven’t won a game at Miller Park (a place where the Giants typically find success).

The Giants can win a game on Thursday with their ace on the hill. However, it could be hard to get over this loss.