Blach Struggles as San Francisco Giants Fall to Mets in Series Opener

The San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets have experienced similar struggles during their last road stretch. Now two teams, both desperate for a win, faced off Friday night in San Francisco. And no, the winning team wasn’t in orange.

The New York Mets routed the Giants 11-4 in the first game of a three game series.

The Mets drew first blood in the first inning after Wilmer Flores hit a 2-out single to right, scoring Curtis Granderson from third. Blach managed to escape the first inning allowing only one run despite giving up four hits. The Mets stranded two runners, one of whom was in scoring position.

The Giants quickly responded with a 2 out RBI single from Brandon Belt to tie the game at one apiece. The Giants wouldn’t push another run across the board until the sixth inning, a complete contrast to their offensive showing the night before in Atlanta.

Ty Blach (4-5) suffered a frustrating loss, and was pulled in the third inning after tallying 80 pitches on the pitch count. He finished the night giving up 11 hits and 7 runs, including a 2 run blast off the bat of Yoenis Cespedes.

Finally the offense decided to wake up in the sixth inning. A sac fly off the bat of Brandon Crawford drove in Joe Panik for the second run of the game. Gorkys Hernandez followed with a 2-out RBI single scoring two runs.

Although the score remained heavily weighed in New York’s favor, the late offensive spark forced Met’s manager Terry Collins to make a pitching change for the first time. Paul Sewald entered the game and wasted no time getting adjusted. The right-handed reliever struck out Kelby Tomlinson in three pitches to end the sixth inning surge.

Friday night’s loss moves the Giants to 27-49. They are now 22 games under .500, and sit 22 games behind the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Cheers to 2018.

Game Notes:

• The Giants reportedly arrived at San Francisco International Airport at 5 a.m. Friday morning. I’m not making excuses for Major League Players, but it isn’t a far-fetched theory to allude that jet lag played a factor in this matchup. (The Mets wrapped up a four game series at Dodger Stadium)
• The Mets put on an offensive show out-hitting the Giants 19-to-8. Jose Reyes was the only player from the starting lineup who failed to record a hit. Mets SP Seth Lugo caught some action at the plate and recorded his first RBI of the season.
• Steven Okert allowed three runs out of the bullpen in his first game back from Triple-A.

Next: Giants Vs. Mets: A Battle of Disappointment

The Giants are back in action Saturday at 4:15 p.m. as Johnny Cueto (5-7) faces Jacob DeGrom (6-3) in an all star matchup.