San Francisco Giants drop series opener to Diamondbacks in one-run shutout

Jun 12, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA;San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner throws to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t know if the guys were tired, having just come from a week-long road trip back east, or from having to play the get-away game the night before; or if flying all night,  not arriving home until 4:00 this morning took a toll. Or maybe they were feeling that adrenaline hangover from all the excitement created by Chris Heston’s no-hitter. All I know is this—they looked like they were dragging. Just a little.

To begin with, the Giants couldn’t get a hit. Arizona’s starter, Chase Anderson, actually had a no-hitter going into the seventh.

Until Buster hit him. No, I mean Buster literally hit him. In the leg—with a comebacker that brought Anderson to his knees. D-Backs catcher Wellington Castillo backed him up, but Buster didn’t hesitate—he did the Buster dash and made it to first before Castillo could field the ball cleanly.

Matt Duffy was the only other Giants base runner. He got on board three times. Twice he was hit by a pitch, and the third time on a base hit in the 8th inning. Other Giants managed to put the bat on the ball, but all of them found a glove.

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Madison Bumgarner was solid through eight innings, giving up just one run on nine hits and three walks, striking out seven. He pitched out if the stretch through the 5th inning, but only one more base runner after that. Bottom line: He kept the Giants in the game, as did the bullpen.

CSN Bay Area’s Amy Gutierrez reported that Bruce Bochy expressed some frustration at the inconsistent pitch calls in the bottom of the 9th. He wasn’t the only one. The prevailing opinion (among the talking heads and analysts who did the post game shows) is that the home plate umpire expanded the strike zone, calling low pitches strikes that were called balls earlier. The final score was:

Giants 0, Diamondbacks 1

All in all, it was a frustrating night, and I was glad to see it end. I get the feeling I’m not alone. I don’t know about you, but tomorrow…well, tomorrow I’ll be back for more. Won’t you?