MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- Saturday was one of those rare instances when a one-run margin resembled a rout.
That's because Philadelphia's latest victory over the Giants, a 2-1 decision, sustained two distinct patterns: the Phillies' ascent and San Francisco's descent. The Giants, clinging to their status as reigning World Series champions, have lost eight of their last nine games. The Phillies, who possess the Major Leagues' best record, lengthened their winning streak to nine games.
The outcome seemed certain as early as the first inning, when Philadelphia scored both of its runs. The pro-Giants sellout crowd of 42,183 at AT&T Park barely had a chance to celebrate Pablo Sandoval's two-out home run in the ninth before Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels coaxed Orlando Cabrera's first-pitch groundout. That sealed Hamels' second complete game of the season, as the Giants fell to 1-5 on their 10-game homestand.
"When you get in something like this, whether it's winning or losing, you never think you're going to come out of it," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
The Giants have beautiful rings which prove that they ousted Philadelphia in last year's National League Championship Series. They also won two of three games at Citizens Bank Park last week. Friday night's benches-clearing fracas, which wasn't a factor Saturday, underscored the intensity that these teams bring to the ballpark. "We're trying to get to the World Series, and they are, too," Hamels said.
By winning the first three games of this series, the Phillies have proven that they're closer to achieving this goal than the Giants are. Philadelphia has allowed them three runs, while holding them hitless in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
According to the consensus in the Giants' clubhouse, they're enduring a bout of unskilled hitting while encountering top-flight pitching.
Bochy suggested that the Giants, who have scored two runs or fewer in 12 of their last 16 games, try even harder, though he emphasized that their effort isn't lacking.
"You keep working because you have to. You have no choice," he said. "... You have to change your mindset. I thought these guys came out with a pretty good attitude. We just ran into a well-pitched game."
Right fielder Carlos Beltran repeated that he and his teammates must "do a better job." Asked to elaborate, Beltran said, "I think just being able to have good at-bats -- everyone. Sometimes we feel like we have some good at-bats, and sometimes we don't have good at-bats, including myself."
Beltran, San Francisco's most prominent Trade Deadline acquisition, went 0-for-4 to drop his San Francisco average to .244 (10-for-41). His afternoon included a double-play grounder that ended the first inning, a three-pitch strikeout with runners on first and second and nobody out in the fourth, and a bloop to second base in the ninth that immediately preceded Sandoval's homer.
Beltran insisted that he wasn't pressing. "I feel good," he said.
So did Giants starter Matt Cain (9-8), who permitted three hits in eight innings. But the Phillies nicked him in the first inning for their only runs.
Jimmy Rollins doubled off the right-field wall to open the game, and Chase Utley drew a four-pitch walk with one out. It was one of only two free passes Cain issued, but it influenced the outcome. After Cain struck out the dangerous Ryan Howard, Hunter Pence lined a broken-bat single to right field to score Rollins. Utley went to third on the play, sliding in safely as Sandoval mishandled Beltran's throw for an error. That mistake proved critical, as catcher Eli Whiteside's passed ball enabled Utley to score.
Sandoval blamed himself for his misplay. "I need to make sure I get the ball and tag the guy," he said.
Cain was just as self-critical regarding the first-inning runs. "He outpitched me," he said of Hamels, whose outfielders were required to catch only three fly balls. "Going against a guy like Hamels, the way he threw the ball today, that's all they needed."
Even Sandoval's homer unleashed negative factoids. It lengthened San Francisco's streak of bases-empty home runs to 16, dating back to Nate Schierholtz's two-run drive July 6 against San Diego. This reminded the Giants that the long ball, on the rare occasions when somebody hits one, typically isn't enough.
"I don't see guys trying to hit homers," Beltran said. "I think we're just trying to get on base, and we haven't been able to."
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