The San Francisco Giants were riding high after a shutout performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, looking to win a home series for the first time in their last three sets. Unfortunately Jonathan Sanchez was shaky, as was the bullpen, leading to a 9-2 Pittsburgh win at AT&T Park.
Sanchez (L 4-7) lasted for only four and 1/3 innings this afternoon after giving up five runs on four hits, yet managed to fan six Bucs including the side in the fourth. Sanchez's stamina seemed the be the issue, running out of steam much earlier in the game than the Giants would have liked. And aside from Santiago Casilla's 2/3 of an inning in the fifth, the rest of the Giants relievers allowed earned runs, with Guillermo Mota allowing two.
Pablo Sandoval launched a solo homer in the second, his 13th on the year, tying the 1914 Philadelphia Phillies with 19 straight solo jacks for the Black and Orange. Orlando Cabrera added an RBI single in the fourth, but aside from that the Giants offense was stagnent. Eli Whiteside was the only Giant with multiple hits, going 2-3 with two singles, while Jeff Keppinger went 0-3 with three K's, his first hat trick at the plate as a Giant.
Jeff Karstens (W 9-6) was solid in his six innings of work, keeping the Giants to just the two runs on eight hits, along with no walks and 9 strikeouts. All-Star Joel Hanrahan closed the game in the ninth in a non-save opportunity, while Andrew McCutchen had one heck of a a day, going 1-1 with three walks, a 2 RBI homer, and four runs scored.
With the loss the Giants move to 64-54 on the year. Full box score can be found here.
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