San Francisco Giants Bullpen Implodes in 9-7 Loss to Arizona Diamondbacks

The San Francisco Giants were just one strike away from victory.

But Jake Lamb launched a two-strike, two-out home run to tie the game in the ninth, and Jean Segura won it for the Arizona Diamondbacks with an infield hit off the plate, as the Giants fell 9-7 at AT&T Park on Monday night.

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OFFENSE:

The night looked promising for the Giants.

After falling behind 1-0, starting pitcher Jake Peavy hit a one-out single to get things started for the Giants in the second inning. Angel Pagan continued his hot hitting by doubling Peavy to third. Pagan went 3-for-5 on the night.

With Denard Span batting, a wild pitch by Archie Bradley tied the game at 1. Span singled later in the at-bat to give the Giants a short-lived 2-1 lead.

The Giants put up a four-spot in the fifth inning. Joe Panik got things started with a solo home run to give the Giants a 3-2 lead.

Bradley struggled with his command later in the inning. Two walks and a hit later, he walked the pitcher Peavy to give the Giants a 4-2 lead.

Pagan then singled to give the Giants a 6-2 lead. Pagan is now hitting .380 on the year.

After the Diamondbacks tied the game, the Giants went ahead in the eighth 7-6 on a Span triple, who then scored on a wild pitch.

Span finished the night 2-f0r-4.

The game ended when Brandon Crawford hit into a double play in the 11th inning with runners at first and second and one out.

Matt Duffy, who was benched for a game, pinch hit in the game but grounded out. He is now hitting .170 on the year. 

PITCHING:

Peavy pitched well enough to win. He went five innings, gave up seven hits, and four earned runs.

Peavy pitched much better on Monday night. His fastball topped at around 90 miles per hour but had great bite on his slider.

But the bullpen melted down.

After two scoreless innings from Cory Gearrin, Hunter Strickland came into the eighth inning with a 6-4 lead. Although his fastball topped out in the mid-to-high 90s, he kept throwing it too many times down the middle. And the Diamondbacks hitters timed it.

• San Francisco Giants: Is a Tim Lincecum Reunion Still Possible?

The Diamondbacks tied the game on a couple of sacrifice flys. Strickland ended the inning by striking out Chris Owings on a nasty slider, but he found it about two batters too late.

The Giants were up 7-6, but Santiago Casilla blew the save in the ninth. He got the first two outs, but he threw a 2-2 fastball right down the middle that Lamb launched out of the park. The game was tied at 7.

Casilla blew his second save of the year. The last one came two Saturdays ago against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that only happened because Tomlinson booted a game-ending double-play ball.

One bright spot was Derek Law, who dominated in the 10th inning. He struck out two batters with a devastating slider and a nasty sinking, upper-90s fastball.

Chris Heston capped the bullpen meltdown, giving up two runs in the 11th. The first run came on a bit of bad luck for the Giants–Segura hit a chopper off the plate with a runner on third and two outs that Joe Panik had no chance on.

Jake Lamb then doubled home another run.

Javier Lopez ended the D-backs rally by inducing a groundout from Chris Herrmann.

Despite the bullpen’s recent struggles, the Giants still have a respectable 3.35 bullpen ERA.

More bad news for the Giants–George Kontos will be placed on the disabled list with a flexor strain. A roster spot will be announced soon.

That is the same injury that shelved Sergio Romo.

DEFENSE:

The Giants and Diamondbacks, with the exception of a few wild pitches for the snakes, played a clean game. Neither team made an error.

UP NEXT:

Matt Cain (0-1) will try to bounce back Tuesday night from a tough start in Colorado. He has a 6.75 ERA in two starts.

Next: Lincecum Reunion?

Cain (0-1) will be opposed by Robbie Ray, who is pitching well for Arizona. He has a 2.92 ERA this season.