Giants Blow Early Lead To Padres, Lose Fourth Straight Game
The Giants coughed up an 5-0 early lead with a couple defensive hiccups, as the Padres soared back to win the game 8-7 on a walk-off single in the 12th inning.
Andres Torres whiffed at a soft line drive in the fourth inning, which opened the flood gates. After Carlos Quentin reached on Torres’ error, Kyle Blanks singled and Yonder Alonso smacked a two-run double into left center field.
Apr 27, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres players celebrate after a winning hit by catcher Nick Hundley during the twelfth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. The Padres won 8-7 in twelve innings. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jesus Guzman followed Alonso’s double with an RBI single, and Chris Denorfia followed Guzman with a two-run double, which chased Barry Zito from the game. Denorfia scored on Everth Cabrera’s single off Chad Gaudin, who relieved Zito.
Zito allowed only one earned run, and was on cruise control through his first three innings–one hit and four strikeouts. But Torres’ error quickly turned the momentum in San Diego’s favor, and Zito would allow six unearned runs.
Marco Scutaro was unable to handle Nick Hundley’s sharply hit ground ball in the 12th inning. Alonso easily scored from third, and the Padres’ celebration commenced. Scutaro was charged with an error. Had he fielded it cleanly, the Giants had a shot to turn two to escape the 12th inning unscathed.
There are losses that are easy to shake off. For the Giants, Saturday’s loss doesn’t fall into that category considering the lead they blew.
Brandon Crawford hit a three-run homer in the second inning after Brandon Belt was hit by a pitch. Crawford’s fifth blast of the season provided the Giants with a 3-0 lead. Then, a pair of RBI doubles from Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval expanded that lead to 5-0 after three innings.
San Diego’s six-run fourth inning wasn’t an insurmountable deficit for the Giants, though. Hunter Pence hit a two-run triple off the wall in the fifth inning to notch the score to 7-6. But the Giants’ offense would go silent after they scored their seven run.
Gaudin, who pitched 2.1 innings, yielded the game-tying run in the seventh inning on a Blanks’ RBI single to make the score 7-7.
Sergio Romo picked up the loss when Hundley’s line drive squirted past Scutaro at second base. Aside from Romo, the Giants’ bullpen allowed only one run in seven innings. Zito logged 3.2 innings.