Instant Replay: Rough Day for Giants Pitching in Loss to Padres

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SAN DIEGO - The Giants are winless in the six starts Albert Suarez has made since August 27, and most of that is not really his fault. But Suarez was heavily involved Friday against the Padres, digging a big hole that this sputtering offense had no hope of crawling out of. 

Suarez gave up three early runs, Matt Reynolds got knocked around in the fifth, and the lineup made Edwin Jackson look like an All-Star rather than a pitcher who entered with a 6.00 ERA. The 7-2 loss cost the Giants a full game to the Mets, who beat the Phillies earlier in the evening. They remain a half-game ahead of the Cardinals for the second wild card spot.

It is never a good sign when the bullpen heats up before an out is recorded, but that was the case in the first. Suarez gave up a three-run homer to Wil Myers on his eighth pitch. He settled in and got through four without giving up another run, and for a brief moment it looked like the lineup would get Suarez off the hook.

Jackson was wild all night, and he walked Denard Span and Angel Pagan with one out in the fifth. Buster Posey smacked a high fastball off the wall in left-center, just missing a three-run homer but scoring two runs. The Giants wouldn't get him in, and their little rally got doubled up in the bottom of the inning. 

Matt Reynolds replaced Suarez and gave up a bunt single and double. He was told to intentionally walk Myers, but he followed that with a four-pitch walk of Ryan Schimpf, pushing a free run across. Reynolds was allowed to continue and Alex Dickerson roped a two-run single. George Kontos got out of the jam, but not before a sacrifice fly made it 7-2.  

That put a seal on it. The Giants have scored more than four runs just twice in their last 12 games. 

Starting pitching report: Suarez snapped a streak of four consecutive starts of exactly five innings. 

Bullpen report: The line on Reynolds: zero outs recorded, three hits, two walks, four earned runs. 

At the plate: Did we mention it was Edwin Jackson on the other side? And did we mention that he had a 6.00 ERA when he took the mound?

In the field: Eduardo Nuñez played some shortstop after a double-switch. It was uneventful.

Attendance: The Padres announced a crowd of 28,404 human beings for the last 7:40 p.m. game. The organization is thankfully putting an end to the failed experiment. 

Up next: Madison Bumgarner takes on Jarret Cosart. He has a 5.63 ERA but that might not matter. 

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