Chris Haft
MLB.com
Nothing changed for the Giants on Friday, except their level of despair.
They absorbed their fourth consecutive low-scoring, one-run defeat, falling 2-1 to the Seattle Mariners as Jose Lopez broke a tie with a bases-loaded single in the 12th inning.
The Giants' continued inability to hit denied Randy Johnson a chance to gain his 299th career victory. Johnson surrendered one run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings -- a dramatic improvement upon his previous three starts, which produced a 1-2 record, an 11.05 ERA and a .403 opponents' batting average.
Almost as if he sensed what would unfold in this Interleague series opener at Safeco Field, Giants manager Bruce Bochy called a pregame meeting to put his hitters in a positive frame of mind. The result was the opposite of what Bochy intended. San Francisco didn't score after Aaron Rowand homered to begin the game, mustered no hits from the fifth through 11th innings and totaled three hits. The Giants are hitting .180 (25-for-139) and have scored five runs during their losing streak.
"It's going to take probably a win or a big hit to get us going again," said Bochy, whose club has dropped eight of its last nine games. "I think they're trying a little too hard now."
The Giants' offensive shortfall has undermined consistently solid pitching. They've recorded a 2.27 ERA during the losing streak, including 2.05 by the starters.
"When you get the quality starts we're getting, what the bullpen's doing -- that makes it more frustrating," Bochy said.
The Giants' frustration crested after Wladimir Balentien's walk opened Seattle's winning rally against Justin Miller (1-1) leading off the 12th. Left-hander Pat Misch relieved Miller and allowed Russell Branyan's single to right field. Balentien went to third base on the play and Branyan reached second as Randy Winn's throw missed the cutoff man. Rob Johnson walked to load the bases before Lopez delivered his sixth career walk-off hit and third this year, all in May.
That ended a prolonged exhibition of the pitching and defense San Francisco cherishes. It began with Johnson, who made his second attempt to gain win No. 299.
Johnson blanked Seattle for five innings on three singles, including two infield hits, before tiring in the sixth inning. The 6-foot-10 left-hander struck out seven, flashing the form that established him as one of baseball's most dominant pitchers during his 1989-98 tenure with Seattle.
Mariners fans remembered. They showered Johnson with a standing ovation as he left the bullpen after his pregame warmup, then delivered more thunderous applause when he left the game. His last act before retreating into the Giants' dugout -- holding his cap aloft in a gesture of gratitude to the cheering throng -- revealed that this was a memorable outing for him.
"I wanted to express my thank-you towards them," said the 45-year-old Johnson, acknowledging that this might have been his final pitching appearance here. "It's been a lot of fun over the years."
If developing talent is going to be a central theme of this season for the Giants, then the evening wasn't a total waste. Pablo Sandoval continued his growth as a third baseman with a remarkable sixth-inning play that probably saved at least two runs and might have spared Johnson from absorbing a defeat.
With the bases loaded, one out and a run in, Brandon Medders relieved Johnson and struck out Franklin Gutierrez. Medders' reward was a confrontation with the peerless Ichiro Suzuki, who whacked a chopper that appeared destined to clear Sandoval's reach. But Sandoval backed up, jumped slightly to snare the ball and, with no chance of retiring anybody elsewhere, flung an off-balance throw home. Improbably, the ball traveled directly to catcher Bengie Molina, forcing out Kenji Johjima to end the inning.
Molina advised Sandoval that throwing home might be his best option if he fielded a grounder, due to Ichiro's speed. But the brilliance with which Sandoval handled the play was all his own.
Said Johnson, "If that's not a 'Web Gem' or whatever they call them ... That essentially prolonged the game and gave us a chance to win."
But they didn't.
From: MLB.com
 San Francisco (19-22) Lost 4 | Seattle 2, San Francisco 1 |  Seattle (20-23) Won 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 5/22/09 | Gameday |
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