Offense still absent in 2nd straight shutout
An attractive ballpark with a stone facade, designed as a paean to Ebbets Field, stands nearly complete beyond the outfield fence of Shea Stadium. Maybe next year when Citi Field opens, the Giants can locate some runs there because they are finding Shea barren in their final visit.
The Mets whitewashed San Francisco for the second straight night Wednesday, this time 5-0. The Giants' third consecutive loss dropped them to 13 games below .500 (39-52) for the first time in 2008. They had not been shut out in successive games since June 9-10 last season, by Oakland.
"We didn't work counts. We didn't do much of anything tonight," said Rich Aurilia, whose fourth-inning double off the left-field wall was the closest the Giants have come to scoring in the series.
"We've just hit a two-game stretch where we're in a lull. We've faced two guys (Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana) who are throwing the ball pretty well. Anytime you combine those two things you're not going to put a lot of runs on the board."
Santana and Jonathan Sanchez lasted until a 42-minute rain delay after the top of the fifth inning. Sanchez (8-5) lost for the second time since May 16. Santana (8-7) won for the first time in more than a month to end a deceptive winless streak. His ERA over the six starts between wins was 2.48.
Before the season, people predicted lots of series like this for the Giants. One ESPN commentator, whenever discussing the Giants, repeatedly noted that the major-league record for fewest runs in a season was 372 by the 1908 St. Louis Browns.
The Giants have found ways to score runs, 367 to be exact, and avoid looking completely feeble at the plate for too long. This, however, the Mets' pitching staff has accomplished. Santana and three relievers held the Giants to three hits, same as they got in Tuesday's 7-0 loss.
"We've hit a little skid here the last three games," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We haven't played well. We haven't pitched as well as we did and we haven't swung the bats well. We've got four big games ahead of us before the break. It's not going to get easier. We're facing a good pitcher (today in John Maine) and we're facing good pitching in Chicago. We've got to find ways to get some runs on the board."
For the second night in a row, the Giants were undone by a three-run homer, this time against Sanchez by catcher Ramon Castro, the eighth-place hitter, with two outs in the fourth and Santana on deck.
Pitching coach Dave Righetti visited the mound just before Castro batted, no doubt reminding Sanchez he did not have to give into Castro with Santana on deck.
Sanchez made Castro look foolish on a 1-1 slider to the hitter's back foot and tried to throw another. This one was down but not quite as inside, and Castro launched it into the left-field seats for his third homer of the season.
"He just guessed and got it," said Sanchez, who revealed that Castro has hit him well over the years in winter league. "I didn't think he was going to do that. I looked at (a replay) on the computer and I don't know how he got it."
The Giants have not done a stellar job pitching to No. 8 hitters, allowing more homers (nine) to that spot in the order than any other National League team.
The Mets took a 3-0 lead just in time for a rainstorm that arrived in the top of the fifth. Home-plate umpire Phil Cuzzi allowed the game to proceed long enough for Santana to get three outs and make the game official.
If the Giants thought they would catch a break with Santana out of the game, relievers Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez and Joe Smith disabused them of the notion with four perfect innings that left the visitors wondering where the runs are stored in this park.
"We're struggling. No question about it," said Bochy, adding that several regulars will rest today. "They've got good pitching here. You expect that. They've been throwing the ball well, the Mets' staff. We can't get (behind). The bats right now are quiet. You're going to go through spells like that."
Not a hit show on Broadway
The Giants have been shut out in consecutive games at Shea Stadium. It's their first back-to-back blankings since June 9-10, 2007, against the A's. A few indicators of S.F.'s futility in New York the last two nights:
Runs 0
At-bats 60
Hits 6
Extra-base hits 1
Walks 3
Strikeouts 14
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