SF Giants unable to capitalize with runners on in loss

Tuesday night, the SF Giants bounced back from a rough weekend series to take an early lead on and beat the Detroit Tigers despite being out-hit.

Wednesday, the Giants again claimed a first-inning advantage and saw the visitors finish with a higher total in the hits column, but this time it was Detroit coming out on top.

The Tigers, in the finale of a brief, two-game series, tied the game in the fourth inning and took the lead in the sixth, handing the Giants a 3-2 loss.

San Francisco started left-hander Alex Wood, who got things going in the first by allowing a leadoff double. The veteran bounced back to retire the next three - including Javy Baez and Miguel Cabrera - to end the inning with the runner frozen at second base.

It took longer for the Giants to put their first runner on than it did the Tigers, but just by a few batters and in a bigger fashion: with two out in the bottom of the first, Evan Longoria hammered his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot the opposite way, to make it 1-0.

The offense threatened in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with one out, but Detroit starting pitcher Rony Garcia picked up a strikeout and fly out to leave the bases full.

Wood was perfect in the second and third innings, but Baez led off the fourth with a triple and scored on the next pitch as Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly.

In the fateful sixth, Wood got ahead of Baez and Cabrera but gave up singles to both. He then induced a double play and appeared on the verge of getting out of the jam, but Eric Haase homered to put Detroit ahead and end Wood's day.

SF Giants leave bases loaded

The Giants' recent trend of failing to fully capitalize on promising situations reared its ugly head in the seventh. They loaded the bases with one out and Mike Yastrzemski barely beat out a potential double play ball to knock in a run, though the second out was recorded. A walk filled the bags again, but Austin Slater struck out to end the inning with the hosts still trailing by one.

Only one Giants hitter reached in the final two innings - Tommy La Stella on a double with two out in the eighth - as the loss and a Los Angeles win dropped San Francisco to six games back in the NL West.

A second off day of the week awaits the Giants on Thursday, as they'll try to fix their offensive woes going into an important three-game series with the Chicago White Sox.