You think the Giants had a bad homestand? The Marlins started theirs with seven consecutive losses. Things only got sunnier in south Florida when the World Series champs came to town.
Four nights after the Pirates ended a 10-game losing streak in San Francisco, the Marlins stopped their slide by beating Matt Cain and the Giants 2-1 on Friday night.
That should sound familiar. Philadelphia beat him by the same score in his last start, in which the Giants scored their run the same way, on a Pablo Sandoval homer.
Ah, but this one was historic. With their 20th consecutive solo home run, the Giants broke a tie with the 1914 Phillies - from the dead-ball era.
The Giants' current run of 11 losses in 14 games is a new dead-ball era. They have scored 31 runs in the stretch, just 14 over the 11 losses.
"Same old song and dance," Cody Ross said. "We've got to do something, and we've got to do it fast. It's getting out of control."
Right now, the Giants are not putting a competitive roster on the field. They need injured outfielders Nate Schierholtz and Carlos Beltran. The news on that front was mixed.
Schierholtz's hip flexor, though not 100 percent, improved considerably. He struck out as a pinch-hitter Friday and is expected to start tonight. On the flip side, Beltran missed his fourth consecutive game with a hand strain and offered little hope of returning soon.
Beltran reported only a slight improvement after Wednesday's cortisone shot. He swung a bat lightly for the first time and said it still hurts when he swings.
Manager Bruce Bochy said today will be a "big day" in deciding whether to place Beltran on the disabled list. Absent a marked improvement, the staff must assume the lingering pain is not from the shot, but the inflammation.
Though even 75 percent of Beltran could boost this lineup, Bochy said this is not a pain-tolerance issue.
"It's so vital to swinging the bat to have your hand healthy enough to take a normal swing," Bochy said. "Once he feels strong enough to handle the bat and take a normal swing, he'll do it. We can't risk losing him for a long period of time. We've got to be smart about it. The hand is a sensitive area."
Sandoval's first-inning homer against Ricky Nolasco was his 14th, one more than his 2010 total. The Marlins immediately struck for two runs in the bottom half against Cain, who deserved better after six gritty innings in the heat.
Cain said his teammates deserved better from him.
"It ends up being my fault that we lose," Cain said. "Pablo got us the lead in the first. It seems like I've been turning those over lately. I've got to make better pitches early to keep the momentum on our side."
The Giants had a shot against closer Leo Nuñez in the ninth, which began with a Sandoval single. With one out, Ross hit a rocket over center fielder Dewayne Wise, just inserted into the game.
In 2009, Wise's leaping catch at the wall saved Mark Buehrle's perfect game. On Friday, Wise took a bad route on Ross' drive, which was about to fall for what might have been a tying triple. Wise went horizontal - more of a fall than a dive - and caught it just off the ground.
"He falls, and you like your chances. That's a tough catch," Bochy said. "At the same time, we've got to be more consistent from the first inning on. We had some good at-bats in the ninth, but it was too late."
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