Mercury News
MILWAUKEE -- The Giants couldn't really celebrate the anniversary of Buster Posey's smashing 2010 debut. Not when Posey was being wheeled out of the operating room Sunday after surgery on his left ankle.
Not when a lineup punctured by his absence, along with that of Pablo Sandoval, went down limply in a 6-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday at Miller Park.
Not when the Giants' fifth loss in six games dropped them out of first place in the National League West -- behind the surging Arizona Diamondbacks, who occupy the top spot in the division for the first time since 2008.
"We're all still thinking about Buster," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said a day earlier. "We still have him in our thoughts, and we're going to miss him. I'm sure that is still weighing on the boys."
And after another loss Sunday?
"You keep moving forward," Bochy said. "That's all you can do."
Their lineup got younger, but no better, and offered no traction against Brewers right-hander Yovani Gallardo. The Giants were shut out for the fifth time this season while losing two of three to Milwaukee.
"You know, we're seeing some good pitching," Bochy said. "And it's tough sledding with the injuries. "... We're banged up. We know it. We're not making excuses. But we need to play our best ball to beat these teams, and we're not doing it.
"We played a hot team. They've been sweeping everybody. Thank God we got a game."
earlier when the Giants summoned Posey to the big leagues, and he responded by stirring the faithful, hitting three run-scoring singles in his first game. It began a campaign that ended with a World Series title and the Giants' first Rookie of the Year award in 35 years.Last July, when the Giants turned around their season at Milwaukee, Posey was 9 for 15 with four home runs and nine RBIs as the club outscored the Brewers 36-7 while sweeping four games.
This season's visit to Dairyland wasn't nearly as vitamin-fortified.
Sunday's game marked a different first. Never before had both Brandons, Belt and Crawford, started alongside each other in a big league game. With Manny Burriss making his first appearance at third base and catcher Chris Stewart starting his first big league game since 2008, the lineup had a Fresno Grizzlies feel to it.
But Gallardo was no Triple-A filler on the mound. It was the Giants' misfortune to meet the tough right-hander, who took advantage of an ample strike zone by staying on the outer half and letting the Giants hit one fly out after another. Gallardo (7-2) held the Giants to four hits in eight innings.
"Some of the hitters were frustrated," Bochy said. "They thought (the umpire) was a little too liberal out there. But you battle."
Matt Cain couldn't seem to seize a similar advantage. Although he praised Stewart's work behind the plate, he tied his career high by allowing 11 hits in six innings.
The Brewers had four of them, none hit especially hard, in a two-run first inning. But there was no excuse for Cain's letdown in the sixth, when he had two outs and two strikes on No. 8 hitter Yuniesky Betancourt. The light-hitting shortstop singled, Gallardo hit another single, and Rickie Weeks scored them both with a ringing double.
"That's hard to swallow," Cain (3-4) said of the two-out runs. "That's something I've got to get better at. I feel I've let that happen too many times recently."
For the Giants, the only souvenir worth keeping was Freddy Sanchez's first-inning single up the middle for his 1,000th career hit. Sanchez singled again in the ninth to push his average to .302. For the league's lowest-scoring lineup, it was one of the few averages that didn't look wretched on the lineup card.
The youth-driven lineup didn't work, but Bochy doesn't plan to abandon it as the team stops next in St. Louis for a four-game series with the N.L. Central-leading Cardinals. Bochy said Crawford will continue to get regular time, with Burriss and Belt mixed in often.
"They're our club," Bochy said.
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