Giants Lose Fourth Straight On Road, As A’s Prevail
The San Francisco Giants couldn’t muster a comeback on Monday afternoon in Oakland, as Josh Donaldson’s two-run homer and Yoenis Cespedes’ two-run double provided more than enough support for Dan Straily and their American League-best bullpen.
Bumgarner pitched 6.1 innings, allowed four runs, issued five walks and struck out six in San Francisco’s 4-1 loss.
May 27, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (9) reacts after striking out for the final out against the Oakland Athletics during the ninth inning at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Athletics defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Bumgarner was less-than-efficient in a 30-pitch fourth inning. Before Donaldson touched him up for a two-run homer, he walked Cespedes. Then, following the homer, he allowed back-to-back singles to Jed Lowrie and Nate Freiman, putting runners on first and second with no outs.
A pair of strikeouts kept the A’s from padding their lead, but Bumgarner was skating on thin ice when he issued his second walk of the inning to Adam Rosales, but he struck out Coco Crisp looking to end any further damage.
Dan Straily was the opposite. He didn’t allow a hit until the third inning, when Andres Torres led off with a single. Torres singled again in the fifth and Brandon Crawford followed with a single of his own, but Guillermo Quiroz flew out to shallow right field to end the threat.
Straily’s only blemish was an RBI groundout issued to Buster Posey, whose 10-game hitting streak was snapped.
Bumgarner walked five, but his fifth walk of the afternoon in the seventh, which extended the inning and forced manager Bruce Bochy to remove him, came back to haunt him. George Kontos, whose early season struggles were partially offset by two scoreless innings over the weekend, couldn’t pick Bumgarner up, as Cespedes slashed a two-run double off the right center field wall to give the A’s a 4-1 lead.
Straily’s solid outing was safe with Oakland’s bullpen that entered Monday with an American League-best 2.83 ERA. Sean Doolittle pitched two perfect innings and Grant Balfour struck out two in the ninth to secure Oakland’s victory.
In the larger scheme of things, the Giants’ road woes continued. Monday’s loss dropped their road record to 9-14, and they’ve lost four straight away from AT&T Park after dropping three of their final four games to the Colorado Rockies last weekend.
But their schedule only gets tougher. They will only have nine home games in June, and they will face the beasts of the NL on the road–St.Louis, Arizona, Pittsburgh and Atlanta. A brief two-game home series against the Blue Jays breaks up the schedule.