Having Thursday off did not help the Giants, their bats relaxed too much in last night’s 7-0 loss to Pittsburgh. The pitchers did not do that well of a job either, allowing fifteen Pirates hits.
The pitchers let Pittsburgh score little by little. Kevin Correia started the game and went just four and a third innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. Jack Taschner took over for him and also struggled, giving up two more runs on four hits in two and a third innings. Osiris Matos followed him, allowing a run in an inning and a third on one costly triple. Pat Misch made a comeback to the Majors, pitching the final inning, but it was a disappointing one in which he allowed the seventh Pirates run to score on three hits.
Zach Duke made the Giants hitters look really bad. Leadoff man Randy Winn earned the only two walks for San Francisco, and Rich Aurilia picked up two of their six hits. All six Giants hits were singles, spread out during the game. The Giants also left nine runners stranded on base as they were shutout. San Francisco has been shutout way too many times this year, and will need to add some offense for next year during the offseason.
San Francisco has struggled lately, but Matt Cain can get them back on track tonight. The second game of this weekend series is set for 6:05 p.m. Paul Maholm will start for the Pirates and will be looking to bounce back after getting knocked around in his last outing.
