Missed chances doom Giants
The Giants would like do-overs for Wednesday night's seventh, eighth and probably ninth innings.
Aaron Rowand wouldn't mind if he could have a second chance at the entire game.
The Giants' bullpen erased comeback attempts in the seventh and eighth innings, and Fred Lewis left the tying run 90 feet away in the ninth.
Rowand, batting in the cleanup spot, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, including one with the bases loaded, as the Giants lost to the Cubs 6-5 at China Basin.
"We battled back and it was a good ballgame," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We just made some mistakes."
The Giants had a sellout crowd of 41,345 for the fifth time this season, but the fans didn't help change the Giants' fate at home. They've lost 16 of their last 20 in San Francisco and are a major-league-worst 15-26 at their home ballpark.
Mike Fontenot drilled a 3-1 fastball from Tyler Walker into the right-field porch to give the Cubs a 6-5 lead in the eighth inning. Walker had been unscored upon in eight straight outings and in 13 of his last 14 appearances.
"It was a hitter's count and poor execution on the pitch, which is a recipe for disaster," Walker said. "Sure, it's frustrating."
With two outs in the ninth inning, pinch-hitter Jose Castillo tripled to right-center field off closer Kerry Wood. Lewis, who was right in the middle of a seventh-inning rally, struck out looking to end the game.
The Giants created drama all night, playing from behind and doing most of their hitting in the clutch. John Bowker cut the deficit to 3-2 with a two-run splash hit - the Giants' 47th since the ballpark opened in 2000 - in the sixth, and Ray Durham tied it 5-5 with a three-run liner into the right-field porch in the seventh.
Both homers came with two outs. In fact, six of the Giants' eight hits were with two outs. They didn't advance a runner into scoring position with less than two outs.
Durham was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, and Bowker was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Rowand, whose average has dropped 52 points to .290 in the last 26 games, stranded five runners.
The Giants' timely hitting couldn't overcome the Cubs' late-game consistency. After taking a 1-0 lead on a double-play grounder in the second inning, Chicago scored in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
Jim Edmonds hit a two-run homer that barely cleared the cartoon Chevron cars along the left-field wall in the sixth inning, and catcher Geovany Soto added a two-out, two-run jam shot up the middle off reliever Sergio Romo in the seventh before Fontenot's homer.
The Giants filled the top of the seventh inning with follies, mistakes and plain bad luck. Starter Kevin Correia was pulled after getting one out and then giving up a single to Kosuke Fukudome. Ryan Theriot could have been called for interference when he nearly ran into Romo on a popped-up bunt attempt that fell foul. Instead, Theriot reached by getting hit in the ribs a couple of pitches later.
Then, catcher Eliezer Alfonzo was shielded by Derrek Lee striking out for the second out and didn't throw to third base for a seemingly easy out on Fukudome, who got a late jump on a steal attempt. Finally, Soto got jammed but muscled a two-out, two-run single just past second base.
Correia, who came back from a shaky start, was left seeking his first win since April 10. He threw 43 pitches in the first two innings but allowed only one run, and he needed only 28 pitches to get through the next three innings of scoreless work. In all, he went 61/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and striking out four.
"I feel awesome," Correia said. "I'm going out there and pitching a lot better, but there seems to be one bad hitter or one bad pitch. There could be a world of difference."
Cubs starter Ryan Dempster, a converted reliever, was even better. He went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out seven, but he didn't factor into the decision because Carlos Marmol gave up Durham's homer in the seventh.
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