San Jose Mercury News
The Giants knew they couldn't stay unbeaten forever. But that didn't make their 7-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night any easier to digest.
As the last remaining unbeaten team in the major leagues, the Giants managed just four hits before the ninth inning and left nine runners on base before a sellout crowd of 42,985 at AT&T Park.
San Francisco (4-1) came away empty after loading the bases in the second and sixth innings and saw another rally end with a missed hit and run in the fourth. Braves starter Derek Lowe had seven walks, but only one of those runners turned into a run.
"We had (Lowe) tonight, we did. And he made pitches when he had to," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "But we created some pretty good opportunities. We were just missing the big hit."
In the second inning, catcher Eli Whiteside and starting pitcher Todd Wellemeyer both struck out with the bases loaded. That began a forgettable night at the plate for Whiteside, who failed to get the ball in play during a hit-and-run attempt in the fourth that resulted in Juan Uribe being tagged out at second base. Whiteside, starting in place of Bengie Molina, also grounded out with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
The Giants offense accounted for 46 hits during their first four games, which included a sweep of Houston at Minute Maid Park and a 13-inning matinee victory Friday over the Braves. But San Francisco didn't register a hit in the seventh and eighth innings before a short rally in the ninth brought home one run. "Came up a couple times during the game with guys on to help the ball team out and didn't come through," said Whiteside, who was 0-for-3. Wellemeyer, in his Giants regular-season debut, allowed seven hits and four earned runs in 61/3 innings. Bochy would have loved to see Wellemeyer go a bit longer after every member of the bullpen was used Friday. But the Braves loaded the bases in the seventh, and Wellemeyer was removed after his inside fastball grazed Troy Glaus' jersey to bring home a run, which gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead. Wellemeyer allowed five hits in the first five innings and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first when Lowe grounded into a fielder's choice with two outs. Wellemeyer's first big blemish came in the sixth inning when Braves rookie outfielder Jason Heyward took a high fastball the opposite way over the left-field fence for his second home run of the season. Heyward reached base in all five plate appearances. He had an RBI single in the seventh. The 31-year-old Wellemeyer, who was making his 65th big league start, has felt a certain amount of pressure since pitchers and catchers reported for spring training in mid-February. He won the fifth starter's job over prospect Madison Bumgarner after a solid exhibition season in which he was 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA in eight games, which included a seven-inning outing against the Chicago Cubs on March 30. Bochy said before Saturday's game that he thought Wellemeyer threw as well as anyone on the Giants pitching staff during Cactus League play. But Wellemeyer did give up six walks last Sunday against Seattle at AT&T Park in the final exhibition game and had four walks Saturday. The Giants opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth as Uribe singled to right center off Lowe to score Aubrey Huff from third base. San Francisco outfielder John Bowker was on the move from first base on the play. That caused Braves second baseman Omar Infante to move to his right, which allowed the ball to bounce into the outfield.
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