SAN FRANCISCO -- For the first time in exactly a month, an unusual post game silence hung over the home clubhouse at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.
The songs on the team's standard post-win playlist didn't blare from the speakers, and there was no talk of the dramatic walk-off hits and clutch plays that came to define the Giants' nine-game home winning streak, with their last loss in China Basin coming vs. the Braves on April 24. Instead, a few players spoke quietly of how Florida right-hander Ricky Nolasco kept them off balance for nearly nine innings and how the offense couldn't overcome an early deficit as the Marlins (27-19) beat the Giants (27-20), 5-1.
"It's definitely a different feeling when you come in here," outfielder Cody Ross said. "It's kind of a weird feeling walking around with no energy. That's different when you're used to playing at home and after the games kind of celebrating. But hey, it's a long season. We knew we weren't going to win every single game the rest of the way at home. Not to say we're not going to go out there and try again tomorrow."
Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Nolasco was simply on his game. The right-hander left after 8 1/3 innings, scattering seven hits and walking two while allowing only one run and striking out five with all four of his pitches working to perfection.
"With the way their guy was throwing, we knew we had to keep it close," Bochy said. "He pitched great. He's been throwing the ball well. ... He was hitting his spots, and it's going to be a tough night when he's on. He knows what he's doing out there."
"They know I like to pitch ahead, and they didn't want to get behind. They were swinging, and I tried to take advantage of it and make better pitches early," Nolasco said. "I was able to make some pitches. That's a really underrated lineup over there. They battled and put some good at-bats together. They made me work almost the whole game. There was no stretch where I was just cruising."
Right-hander Matt Cain said he thought he pitched well Tuesday night, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks in six innings of work, but the Marlins capitalized on his early mistakes to build a lead the Giants lineup never came close to cracking.
After a single and two fielder's choices that left Chris Coghlan on first with two outs, Cain issued consecutive walks to Hanley Ramirez and Logan Morrison to load the bases. The righty was up 0-2 on Ramirez and ended up walking him, and Cain thought he had Morrison out on a few two-strike pitches, saying after the game, "They were where I wanted them." Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez then bounced a double to the wall in right-center to put Florida ahead, 3-0.
"I felt good. I really did. I got myself a great opportunity to get out of the inning in the third, two outs to Ramirez, and I ended up walking him and the next guy," Cain said. "That's my fault. That can't happen. That can't happen at all, and that's the reason we lost tonight. I didn't make the pitches to get him out and finish the inning."
Cain gave up another run in the fourth as Marlins right fielder Mike Stanton slammed a home run to center field, increasing the deficit to four runs. He calmed down after that, but that was plenty of support for Nolasco, who carved up the Giants' lineup all night. After winning five straight games against top-notch starters, mostly due to timely late-game hits, San Francisco's lineup often looked helpless against Nolasco, until the Giants loaded the bases with one out in the ninth to knock Nolasco out of the game. Miguel Tejada's sacrifice fly was all they mustered from the threat.
"He had all of his stuff working. He was pounding the strike zone, which is the most important thing for a starter, getting first-pitch strikes over to get ahead and getting guys to chase his slider and put bad swings on balls," Ross said. "He was just really good. He's kind of going off his last few starts. I know that he's been pitching well. You've just got to tip your cap sometimes. He did a good job tonight."
The Marlins, meanwhile, kept on hitting, though Nate Schierholtz managed to help stop the bleeding. Left-hander Dan Runzler threw a scoreless seventh but ran into trouble in the eighth, giving up a leadoff single to Sanchez and another base hit by Greg Dobbs. Runzler walked Stanton, loading the bases before getting replaced by Guillermo Mota.
John Buck, Mota's first batter, flied out to Schierholtz, and the right fielder threw the ball on a line to Buster Posey at the plate that held Sanchez at third. It did not hold Dobbs at second, however, as he was caught in a rundown and tagged out by shortstop Emmanuel Burriss to complete the double play. Perhaps fittingly, Schierholtz caught Nolasco's flyout to end the inning with the score still 4-0.
While the Giants weren't able to extend their winning streak or their dominance on their home field, Posey managed to keep one streak alive Tuesday night. With a seventh-inning single and another base hit in the ninth that started the Giants' rally, the second-year catcher has now hit safely in 12 straight games.
"We tried there at the end," Bochy said. "The boys were fighting, but we just ran into a well-pitched game."
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