Walker allows three runs in decisive eighth inning
Chris Haft - MLB.com
The Giants' 7-4 loss Friday night to the Philadelphia Phillies followed a pattern that could prove to be typical this season.
They scored four runs in four innings against Phillies ace Cole Hamels, rookie Emmanuel Burriss played an outstanding all-around game and Fred Lewis and Jack Taschner made excellent defensive plays.
In short, the Giants played well enough to win.
But they didn't, as an eighth-inning lapse was enough to undo their previous efforts. Philadelphia broke a 4-4 tie with three runs, dooming the Giants to their season-high fifth consecutive defeat.
Tyler Walker (1-1) opened the fateful eighth by walking Pat Burrell on a 3-2 pitch -- a mistake the right-hander lamented.
"You can't commit the cardinal sin in a tie game of walking the leadoff batter," Walker said. "If he hits a solo home run, so be it. There's nobody on base and it doesn't give them any momentum."
Jayson Werth followed by reaching down for a two-strike pitch and poking it into center field for a single. Walker struck out Pedro Feliz, the ex-Giant who singled in the second inning to help generate the Phillies' first run before adding an RBI double in the sixth. But Walker's third strike was a wild pitch that advanced the runners.
With the infield playing in, Carlos Ruiz grounded to the left of second baseman Eugenio Velez, who had to gather himself before throwing home. That gave pinch-runner So Taguchi enough time to slide home safely.
Television cameras caught Giants manager Bruce Bochy looking incensed in the dugout, but after the game he declined to criticize Velez, explaining that his emotional display was one of frustration.
"We've lost some tough games and here we are in another tight ballgame," Bochy said. "We got the ground ball we wanted but just couldn't get them there."
Bochy praised Taguchi for executing the "contact" play nicely by breaking from third immediately once Ruiz connected.
"It would have taken a perfect play to get him," Bochy said. "You're hoping it's hit right at [Velez], because if it's hit one way or the other, it's a tough play for the infielder."
Pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs singled home Werth before Jimmy Rollins drove in his third run of the game by doubling in Ruiz.
Rollins, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player who started his first game since April 8 after being sidelined with a sprained left ankle, led the Phillies' rally from a 4-1 deficit by launching a two-run homer in the fifth inning off Giants starter Pat Misch, who allowed four runs in six innings.
Otherwise, the Giants kept the lively AT&T Park crowd entertained. Burriss, who'll be San Francisco's backup shortstop with the activation of Omar Vizquel from the disabled list, singled and scored in the third inning and lined a two-run triple in the fourth while notching his first three-hit game as a Major Leaguer.
"He certainly had his best game offensively and defensively," Bochy said of Burriss, who recorded five fielding assists.
Lewis made a running, leaping catch at the left-field warning track on Shane Victorino's third-inning drive. And Taschner temporarily preserved the tie with a scoreless seventh inning that included a diving grab of Victorino's bunt attempt. Taschner shook himself up on the play by inadvertently bashing himself on the head as he fell on his left arm.
"I knocked myself stupid, literally," Taschner said. "I couldn't see when I got back up. My eyes were blurry, so I called time. I don't remember the first two pitches to [Chase] Utley [the next batter] real well."
The rest of the game unfolded all too clearly for the Giants, who are a season-low eight games under .500 (14-22) despite their constant effort.
"You can only scratch and fight for so long. There has to be some results," Taschner said. "At some point we have to step up and finish these games out."
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