San Francisco Giants Morning Minute: Offensive Outburst Wasted by Porous Bullpen

In this edition of the San Francisco Giants Morning Minute, we discuss an offensive outburst being wasted by a shameful bullpen showing.

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Good morning, San Francisco Giants’ fans, and welcome to another edition of the Giants Morning Minute. On Tuesday, the Giants fell in game two of the San Francisco portion of the Bay Bridge Series, dropping a slobberknocker of a game to the Oakland Athletics, 13-11. Zach Neal got his first career win, Javier Lopez took the loss, and Ryan Madson finished it off for his 15th save.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second straight game on Tuesday, making another gain in the National League West standings. The deficit is now at six games.

Here’s what went on Tuesday.

1 – Big Day on Offense Wasted

The numbers for this aren’t sitting here in front of me, but I’d hazard a guess that a team that collects 11 runs on 18 hits in a nine-inning game wins said game about 96 percent of the time. The Giants fell into that four percent category on Tuesday, dropping a game that they really should have won.

There were big days all around in the lineup. Brandon Crawford had three hits, including a double and a triple, and drove in five runs. Conor Gillaspie notched his third career four-hit game, and the second such game in his last eight. He had one four-hit game in his first 401 games as a major leaguer.

Denard Span had two extra-base hits for the first time since May 5th, slashing an RBI double to left field in the sixth inning, and hitting the back end of back-to-back home runs in the ninth to make things a bit more interesting. Jarrett Parker got the ninth inning started with the front end of those successive home runs. Parker also had a single and walk after coming off the bench.

Angel Pagan had two hits and two RBI. Ramiro Pena had two hits and an RBI. Up and down the lineup, the hits kept coming. Even with Joe Panik, Matt Duffy, and Hunter Pence sidelined, the team still managed to post big numbers.

The problem was…

2 – Where’s the Bullpen Help?

Albert Suarez had a nice bounce back start Tuesday, going 5.2 strong innings and leaving the game with just one run allowed. And it went downhill from there, and quickly.

George Kontos allowed two inherited runners to score, plus two additional unearned runs. Hunter Strickland cleaned up that mess, stranding two runners and retiring the only batter he faced. Josh Osich worked a perfect seventh inning. And the positives pretty much stop there.

Cory Gearrin came in, faced three batters, and didn’t retire any, giving up two walks and a hit. Javier Lopez was up next, and he allowed three hits, including a game-changing home run to Jake Smolinski. Between Gearrin and Lopez, they retired two batters, and gave up five runs.

But then there was Derek Law, who struck out the one batter he faced. Again, downhill from there. In the ninth, Santiago Casilla allowed three runs on three hits and two walks.

All told, the bullpen threw 3.1 innings and gave up 10 runs on nine hits and five walks. In a very winnable game, the bullpen couldn’t keep runs off the board, and ultimately kept a tick out of the win column.