San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Series Loss Against Twins

1 – Another Series Loss

Just when it seemed like maybe, just maybe, the Giants were heading upwards, they’ve gone straight back down. They won four out of five series in the middle of May, but since, have dropped three of their last four series, with the lone exception being a four-game split with the Milwaukee Brewers. They dropped the first two games to the Twins, falling a season-high 14 games under .500 before coming back with a series finale victory.

2 – Missed Opportunities

The Giants didn’t have a ton of opportunities to score runs in this series, but when they did, they couldn’t cash in. As mentioned earlier, Hill was stranded after a leadoff triple on Friday. On Saturday, the Giants had the bases loaded with only one out in the third inning, and scored no runs. Even on Sunday, the day they scored a season-high 13 runs, they missed chances early in the game.

In the third inning, a leadoff single by Kelby Tomlinson went to waste. In the fourth inning, they had runners on second and third with no one out, and against couldn’t cash in. They would do plenty of damage later in the game, scoring four runs in the seventh and five in the eighth, but those missed chances hurt because those kinds of outbursts are so few and far between for the Giants.

3 – The Longball

Giants’ pitchers giving up home runs continues to be a problem for them. On Saturday, Jeff Samardzija allowed a pair of home runs, which proved to be the difference in a 3-2 loss. On Sunday, Matt Cain immediately let a two-run first inning go to waste by giving up a couple of solo home runs in the second inning.

Next: Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Milwaukee Split

Giants’ starting pitchers have given up 53 home runs on the season, the fourth-most in the National League. Interestingly enough, their relievers have allowed just 13 home runs, which is by far the fewest in the NL.