Giants blanked by Morton, Pirates

Bumgarner continued to retire the next 12 batters, too, into the seventh inning. Bumgarner wasn’t quite as dominant this time around, getting touched for runs in the first two innings alone. Michael Taylor’s two-run homer in the top of the 7th had tied it for the Nationals. They banged out 14 hits, and the one starter who did not have successful was Buster Posey, who drove within the Giants’ first run with a sacrifice fly.

The “Family Matters” family includes Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, and stars Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Francisco Liriano, A.J. Burnett, Gerrit Cole, Mark Melancon, Gregory Polanco, Starling Marte, Francisco Cervelli, Jung Ho Kang, and Reginald VelJohnson as Pedro Alvarez. Santiago Castilla worked the ninth for his 30th save. Hitters were looking for the fastball, and the low-80s curveball provided separation in speed. He hit a home run in a rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday. It’s always nice to have a pitcher that can go to the plate and help himself out every once in a while, but this is just absurd.

Second baseman Joe Panik has not played since August. 1 because of inflammation in his lower back. Both Byrd and Crawford went down swinging on breaking balls that flirted with the strike zone before snapping out of range.

Locke’s innings were even longer. In the third inning he hit a single and in the fifth he hit a double. In three starts he’s allowed seven earned runs but is just 1-0 in that time. Tomlinson lined out and Nori Aoki hit a grounder to end the threat.

“I felt I was doing a good job of delivering my pitches, hitting my spots”, Kontos said. Beginning to settle in and regain his dominant stature, Bumgarner struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth by sending the last three hitters in the lineup promptly back to the dugout.

The 37-year-old Byrd hit.

The Orioles hadn’t allowed this many runs since July 16, 2012, when they gave up 19 to the Twins. Perez has made six starts since returning from Tommy John surgery.

“His entire body of work was better, there were improvements across the board”, Hurdle said.

As though Bumgarner’s pitching didn’t pose enough of an issue, the man can hit. Duffy struck out and Belt grounded out to strand the the Giants left fielder at second. “I probably could have gone another inning without the circumstance”. The Baltimore Orioles released him last week after he hit. Cole is 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA in four starts this month, including a 4-1 loss to Arizona on Monday. “He could hit seventh”. The third pitch was a ball. As defending champions, the Giants have much at stake over the next few days: so far, the Giants have played collectively at an exceptional level, and they’ve already obtained one win against the Pirates. “I’m still working on it”.

Before the game, a praying mantis chose to get up close and personal with Giants outfielder Juan Perez. The Rangers have been a big surprise, hanging in there despite the season-ending injury to Yu Darvish, yet they’ve suffered the second-biggest attendance drop in the majors (only the Phillies have lost more fans per game this year).