DENVER - Bruce Bochy was so angry after a walk-off loss that he could barely get through his first couple answers to reporters. When Bochy next addresses the media, Friday in Phoenix, he will have had a full off day to think things over. His first order of business will surely have to be explaining a new plan for the ninth.
Santiago Casilla faltered once again with a game on the line, but he wasn't alone. Josh Osich and Joe Nathan couldn't get Casilla out of a jam, with Nathan giving up a two-run walk-off hit in a 6-5 loss to the Rockies. The blown save was the 25th for the Giants, ten more than they had all of last season.
"You've got to win the games you're supposed to win," Bochy said. "That's two that have gotten away from us here."
Casilla has been smack dab in the middle of both brutal walk-off losses on this trip. He blew his seventh save Sunday but came back to clinch Tuesday's win. Casilla entered with a two-run lead Wednesday and hung a cutter that Nolan Arenado blasted to left-center, cutting the deficit in half. When a curveball was smacked up the middle two batters later, Bochy went out to get his closer.
No matter how this season plays out, Casilla will go down as one of the more effective relievers in Giants history. He has played a key role in three championship clubs and at times been a dominant closer, but even he seemed to know Wednesday that he has run out of rope. Casilla, who reacted angrily to Bochy pulling him from a game earlier this season, said he understood the move.
"He's the manager," Casilla said. "He's doing what's best for the team."
San Francisco Giants
[INSTANT REPLAY: Giants cough up lead, Rockies walk off with win]
Bochy and the staff will have two days to figure out what's best for the Giants in the ninth inning. Derek Law is eligible to come off the DL on Monday, but the Giants will have to make sure he's fully healthy. Hunter Strickland was dominant in the seventh inning Wednesday. Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez have formed an effective duo for years and they helped get through the eighth. Nathan was lights-out in his debut over the weekend, but he couldn't stop the bleeding Wednesday.
In truth, there were multiple problems in this loss. The Giants had 13 hits, but a five-run night at Coors Field isn't exactly a firecracker. "It would have been nice to tack on in this place," Bochy said. The Giants could not, and so Casilla inherited a two-run lead in a park where that often doesn't hold up.
The trouble started right away with the Arenado homer. With a runner on, Osich entered and hit Charlie Blackmon on a 2-0 count. After Sunday's loss, Bochy said he wanted to ease Nathan into the later innings. That changed in a hurry. Nathan entered with the tying run on second and just one out.
"He's got so much experience," Bochy said. "He came in and made a great pitch. The ball just fell in. Now he's in a situation where he's got to throw strikes. I don't worry about it when I put him in. He's a seasoned vet."
Nathan got a flare to left-center. Angel Pagan appeared to get a late jump, and his diving attempt came up short.
"We were playing no-doubles (defense). The ball was hit softly and I put my best effort in," Pagan said. "I just couldn't get it … I'm playing almost on the warning track. I thought I could make the play, but it didn't happen."
The bloop loaded the bases. Pinch-hitter Christhian Adames roped a double off the right-field wall and the tying and winning runs scored easily.
"I yanked a two-seamer trying to get a ground ball," Nathan said. "I left it in a bad spot. He put a swing on it and the rest is history."
The loss kept the Giants from picking up a game on the Cardinals. They are now just a half-game ahead of St. Louis and New York in the Wild Card standings. They are a season-high five back of the Dodgers in the NL West. All this on a night when the Giants looked headed for just their third series win of the second half.
"It couldn't have gone better," Bochy said of the early innings. "Everyone did such a good job. It was such a well-played game, up until the ninth."
It was the inning that once again got away from the Giants. They have two days to figure out what comes next.
