Sanchez nicked, Molina ticked

John Shea - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)

Before Jonathan Sanchez really got close to becoming the first Giant in 32 years to throw a no-hitter, the Astros' No. 8 hitter blooped a broken-bat single.

John Montefusco can rest another day.

Sanchez threw five hitless innings Monday night in his best start since June 29, but in the end, the Giants had fewer hits than the Astros and lost 3-1. The last Giants no-no is still Montefusco's in September 1976 at Atlanta.

"Just a shame we have to lose this way," said catcher Bengie Molina, who commended Sanchez for his effort and called for the offense - which has scored two more runs than the Nationals, the lowest-scoring team in the National League - to wake up.

"I don't want to start anything, but it's frustrating when we don't score runs. I tell you, this is a team sport. I'm not blaming anybody or pointing fingers. As a group, we're not scoring runs. That's it. These (pitchers) are giving up three runs or less and still getting a loss."

Sanchez, who didn't address the media after the game, might have been confident the hitless string would resume with the Nos. 8 and 9 batters leading off the sixth. But Humberto Quintero hit a soft liner to short left field that missed shortstop Ivan Ochoa's glove by inches, Houston's first hit.

Pitcher Brandon Backe followed with a bunt single, which was misplayed by Sanchez. After the runners were sacrificed, both scored on Ty Wigginton's single to center. It was all the Astros needed - it gave them a 2-1 edge - but Wigginton (playing left field for Carlos Lee, who's shelved with a broken finger) provided a bonus with an eighth-inning homer off Billy Sadler.

The Giants' only run came when Ochoa doubled with two outs in the third inning and scored on Fred Lewis' single. The only other hits were Rich Aurilia's two doubles, which gave him 227 as a Giant (one more than Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda), putting him eighth on the San Francisco franchise list.

Also this year, Aurilia moved ahead of J.T. Snow in games played (sixth on the San Francisco list) and Jim Davenport in hits (seventh on the list).

Aurilia isn't going away. He turns 37 next month, and general manager Brian Sabean tried to trade him before the July 31 deadline. But he remains valuable as a corner infielder, providing depth at first and third, positions usually reserved for power hitters - though first baseman John Bowker and third baseman Jose Castillo have combined for 15 homers.

Bowker hasn't hit one since July 2, Castillo since June 25.

The Giants were coming off consecutive wins over the Dodgers. They won both in their final at-bats, culminating two-run rallies. Each time, all it took was a ground ball.

"Errors, bloops, whatever it takes," Molina said. "At the end of the game, all that matters is who has more runs."

Molina didn't seem interested in hearing about how the Giants lack pop and rely on manufacturing runs. "It's up to us," he said. "You can get anyone from the stands and let them try it. In the big leagues, it's not about trying. It's about doing it. Myself included."

Sanchez slumped after beating the A's in his final June start, going 0-4 with an 7.96 ERA in six starts. His winless streak is now seven games. He once was 8-4 with a 3.79 ERA. Now he's 8-9 with a 4.53 ERA, but Monday's performance (seven innings, two runs, five hits, one walk, two strikeouts) is a step forward.

It was the second time this season Sanchez opened a game with five hitless innings. His June 17 string against Detroit was snapped by Curtis Granderson, who singled leading off the sixth.

"He threw a beautiful game," said manager Bruce Bochy, calling the Astros' first hit by Quintero a "bad break."

Ochoa, after his 18th big-league game, said, "I got pretty close. I did the best I can. I'll come back tomorrow and keep working."