SAN FRANCISCO — With all the chatter about Madison Bumgarner’s Home Run Derby eligibility, the Giants actually have to keep playing games until the All-Star Break in mid-July. The Giants (36-24) hosted the Red Sox (33-25), and wasted 6.1 solid frames from Albert Suarez (1-1, 3.09 ERA) en route to an extra-innings loss. Here’s how Tuesday night unfolded.
The big moment
Pitching into a second inning is a rare occasion for Santiago Casilla, and it didn’t work so well Tuesday night. After pitching a clean ninth, he yielded a bases-loaded, no-out situation behind two hits and a walk. Dustin Pedroia grounded into an unproductive fielder’s choice, and Bruce Bochy stuck with Casilla for another hitter.
Xander Bogaerts took a two-strike slider painted on the outside corner, and dunked the next pitch into shallow center field for a two-run single.
Video courtesy of MLB.com
MORE COVERAGE:
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At the plate
Bruce Bochy is going to lean on the hot hand to replace Hunter Pence in the outfield, meaning left field is Jarrett Parker’s, Mac Williamson’s, Kelby Tomlinson’s or even Brandon Belt’s to have. Parker gave his best pitch to Bochy early Tuesday night, blasting a knee-high changeup into the arcade to draw the Giants within a run, 2-1.
Video courtesy of MLB.com
The Giants came alive in the third inning, starting the frame with three singles to put Joe Panik, Matt Duffy and Brandon Belt on base. Brandon Crawford knotted the score by working a bases-loaded walk, and Duffy scored the go-ahead run when Gregor Blanco hit into a double play. The Giants will take it, but entered the game hitting .202 in their last seven games and 10-for-50 with runners in scoring position.
The bats were quieted into the 10th inning, with Boston’s bullpen yielding only one hit before Parker leadoff the extra frame with a single.
On the mound
If Albert Suarez ever deserved a mulligan before taking the mound, it might’ve been Tuesday night. He filled in for Matt Cain to make only his second major league start, facing a Red Sox team leading the majors in almost every offensive category. The topper: Suarez lost his navigator through Boston’s minefield, catcher Buster Posey, to an irritated nerve.
But the rookie starter didn’t need any help. Suarez carved through baseball’s best lineup on 88 pitches in 6.1 innings, turning in a better outing than his first start against the Braves. He ran into trouble early, allowing a run on a pair of doubles in the second inning, and another run in the third. But the bleeding stopped, and he retired 10 of the next 11 hitters.
The 26-year-old righty finished six innings on 75 pitches, but left in the seventh inning after Jackie Bradley Jr. worked a one-out, six-pitch walk to reach base as the tying run. He received a standing ovation walking into the dugout, from a crowd sprinkled with more than a handful of Boston fans.
In the ‘pen
Kontos entered the game with his biggest threat already on base. The speedy Bradley Jr. was on first, and he immediately tested Brown’s arm. The rookie catcher airmailed the ball into center field, allowing Bradley to advance to third and draw the infield in with one out. Chris Young worked a walk against Kontos, who was then plucked from the game when David Ortiz emerged to a thunderous ovation as a pinch-hitter.
Javier Lopez came on to face his former teammate, and induced a groundout headed toward a shifted Crawford. The shortstop fielded the ball in front of Young between first and second, but couldn’t tag Young as he ducked out of Crawford’s reach before he threw Ortiz out at first. Bradley Jr. scored there to tie the game, and Hunter Strickland ended the frame with a strikeout.
The hard-throwing Strickland traversed the eighth too, and got a taste of his own high-octane pitches when Mookie Betts lined a curveball right at his face. Strickland speared the liner with his glove, and blankly stared for a moment after it happened.
Video courtesy of MLB.com
With the game still tied in the ninth inning, Bochy tabbed Casilla as his next arm. The Giants closer pitched a clean frame, punctuated by a check-swing strikeout by Chris Young to send the game into the bottom of the ninth. The 10th inning, however, is where Casilla unraveled and lost the Giants the game. Josh Osich relieved Casilla, and escaped the inning unscathed after Pedroia and Bogaerts pulled off a double steal.
On deck
Wednesday night is a draw of two aces. David Price (7-2, 4.88 ERA) peaked his ERA at 6.75 a month ago, but has allowed three runs or less in his last six starts. He faces the Giants for the third time in his career, opposed by Madison Bumgarner 7-2, 1.91 ERA) at 7:15 p.m on KNBR 680.