SAN FRANCISCO - The Giants talked a lot about how difficult their stretch on the road was. Their first night back was difficult to watch.
Hunter Strickland melted down in the ninth, coughing up a two-run lead. He walked the leadoff batter, hung a slider that went for a double, walked the next batter, got an out, and then gave up back-to-back singles before departing with a few words for Lewis Brinson, who tied the game. The Giants lost 5-4 in an embarrassing fashion, dropping to 1-4 against the lowly Marlins this season. Here are some things that happened before the inning that ended in boos...
-- Strickland's performance blew a win for Andrew Suarez, who allowed two runs over seven innings. Suarez entered the night fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio among lefties with at least 40 innings this season, right behind Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw. He struck out seven and walked just one.
-- Kelby Tomlinson is here for three days because Brandon Crawford is on paternity leave, and he made an impact his first night back. Tomlinson's diving stop ended the third, and he made another sliding stop to start an inning-ending double play in the seventh.
-- Pablo Sandoval's homer was his first this season as a right-handed batter. He got a hanging slider from Caleb Smith and drove it into the first row of seats in left. Sandoval entered the day hitting just .148 against lefties, but he'll see plenty of them now that Evan Longoria is out six-to-eight weeks.
-- Bruce Bochy gave Sam Dyson some extended time off in Los Angeles so he could freshen up. Dyson needed one pitch to get a double play in the seventh and then breezed through the eighth, ending it with a 94 mph that flummoxed Starlin Castro.
