It got ugly in San Francisco on Monday night, it got ugly fast. Thousands of folks left early, even manager Bruce Bochy said the secret word to an umpire and was ejected after only a third of the game had been played.
To say that the Washington Nationals ran away with the game is an understatement. Their 21 hits at AT&T are the most recorded by any visiting club. The Nats have taken all four of the games they have played against the Giants this season, putting up a combined total of 38 runs against the Giants pitching staff.
Let’s face it, Washington has the best record in baseball and deservedly so; they are formidable in every way. I was in the ballpark last night and I can tell you that the Giants seemed deflated. They were sloppy and slow in the infield. (Bryce Harper practically sauntered from second to third base when the Giants were too shell shocked to even attempt the throw out; Harper would make it home to score yet another run for the Nats.)
The Nationals were also able to expose the weaknesses and vulnerability that the Giants have in their roster. The bullpen in San Francisco is not what it once was. Brad Penny looked like he wanted to run screaming from the mound. The Giants would utilize six pitchers in their 14-2 loss to the Nationals, and they have to endure two more games.
All this, and the Nationals didn’t even put Jayson Werth in the lineup. (He was a late scratch due to ankle soreness, and apparently mercifulness.) Ryan Vogelsong, who for the first time all season could not complete six innings of play, admitted (via CSN Bay Area): “I’ll probably lose some sleep over it.”
I have a feeling Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean might do a little tossing and turning as well.
So is this a wake-up call for the Giants? A reality check? Honestly, it probably is. The franchise needs to just focus on winning the NL West. As Bochy said last night, “What could go wrong, did go wrong.” Indeed.
Can the Giants still take this series at home against the Nationals?
Absolutely not. The truth is that the Giants will be lucky to win one of the next two games, and the only way to do that is to keep it close. Tuesday’s game sees lefty Madison Bumgarner going for his 13th win of the season against the red hot Jordan Zimmermann.
Giants fans need to hope that Bumgarner will get some early run support from Buster Posey, Melky Cabrera, Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence. But the Giants’ sluggers are not going to have it easy against Zimmermann.
Hey, at least Brandon Crawford got his first home run at AT&T this season.
See you guys at the ballpark.
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