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What is more maddening? Jonathan Sanchez issuing more free passes than a comedy club or a Giants lineup as quiet as crickets?
For all the late-inning showmanship at 24 Willie Mays Plaza this season, you couldn't blame another sellout crowd from crackling with anticipation. But there was nothing to cheer or celebrate at the conclusion of affairs Tuesday night. The Giants didn't get a runner into scoring position after the second inning and had no heroes to spare in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals at AT&T Park.
Sanchez, who issued five walks in five innings, fell to 4-4 this season. He did strand the bases loaded twice to keep the Giants in the game, and a stalwart bullpen held up the bargain with four scoreless innings.
But the Giants had few answers for Jordan Zimmermann, a right-hander with a deceptive changeup who might be emerging as one of the game's better young pitchers. Relievers Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen also proved to be too tough.
"You're not going to do it every night," said Freddy Sanchez, who stroked Monday night's walk-off single. "Of course we have the confidence. But they were able to close the door on us."
After blowing through six of their seven relievers in Monday's 13-inning victory, the Giants needed length out of Jonathan Sanchez. But asking the mercurial left-hander to pound the strike zone requires a large measure of hope.left-handed pitchers, Sanchez is stuck in a rut, and the walks continue to come in troubling bunches.
In his past three outings, Sanchez has walked 15 over 171/3 innings.
"It's just getting my fastball over the plate," the pitcher said. "That's it."
A year after leading the National League in walks, Sanchez is topping the charts again -- and it's only getting worse. He has walked 45 in 13 starts; a year ago, he walked 34 in his first 13 outings.
The walks have come back to roost, too. He issued a pass to Laynce Nix leading off the third inning and hit Roger Bernadina with a pitch, and Ian Desmond followed with a single to center that caromed off Andres Torres' shins to score the tying run.
The Nationals pushed ahead in the fourth after Rick Ankiel started a rally with a leadoff double. He tagged up and took third base on a deep fly out, then scored on Zimmermann's safety squeeze toward first base.
Sanchez loaded the bases again in the fifth but struck out Nix to keep the Nationals off the board. His pitch count was at 97, though, and so it turned out to be another five-and-dive start -- the seventh time Sanchez has failed to complete at least six innings.
"I worked my (butt) off out there," Sanchez said. "I gave up two runs in five innings. I got out of innings twice. I fought out there. I battle every night."
The Giants had every opportunity to work more late-inning magic. Ramon Ramirez, the only reliever not used a night earlier, tossed two scoreless innings to preserve the one-run deficit. Javier Lopez and Santiago Casilla each contributed a scoreless inning, too.
But the Giants had a hard time getting anything started against Zimmermann. Their best chance came in the second inning, when Aubrey Huff split the gap in left-center and heaved his lungs as he legged out a leadoff triple. Nate Schierholtz followed with a line double, signaling a big inning.
Aaron Rowand's fly out to right field advanced Schierholtz to third, but Brandon Crawford grounded out with the infield in, and Chris Stewart hit a loud out to left field.
The Giants looked to have something cooking in the eighth when Cody Ross drew a pinch walk from Clippard. Giants manager Bruce Bochy didn't try to manufacture a run, though. He had Torres swing away, which resulted in a strikeout. Conor Gillaspie and Freddy Sanchez hit lazy fly balls to end the inning.
Bochy said he never considered having Torres bunt, saying he was more comfortable taking a shot with Torres than with Gillaspie, who was making his first start of the season.
Another sellout crowd -- the 26th consecutive this season -- stayed to the end, perhaps anticipating another comeback and walk-off victory. But Nationals closer Drew Storen retired Huff, Schierholtz and Rowand on three ground balls to end it.
The Nats managed to win without Jayson Werth, who was limited to a pinch-hitting appearance after turning his ankle while tripping on the bullpen mound a night earlier.
Instead of continuing to emerge as one of the game's better
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