photo from mercurynews.com: San Francisco Giants pitcher Drew Pomeranz delivers a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Friday May 31st’s contest to open a three-game series.
By Jeremy Kahn
BALTIMORE — Things got off to a great start for the San Francisco Giants, but they all disappeared before a blink of an eye.
After scoring five runs in the top of the frame, Drew Pomeranz gave it all away in the bottom half and the Baltimore Orioles ended up defeating the Giants 9-6 before a crowd of 17,545 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Thats baseball, it humbles you pretty quick, said Mike Yastrzemski.
Dwight Smith, Jr., hit a grand slam to complete the first inning comeback and Trey Mancini added a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to add on to the damage that was suffered in the first inning.
Things got rough for Orioles starter Andrew Cashner in the top of the first inning, as he walked leadoff batter Joe Panik, then Yastrzemski began the hit parade, as he tripled down the right field line to score Panik.
Buster Posey then singled in Yastrzemski, and moved to third on a Pablo Sandoval single and then scored the third run of the inning on a Brandon Crawford sacrifice fly.
After Kevin Pillar, singled that loaded the bases, Steven Duggar got in on the act, as he singled to left field to score Sandoval and Evan Longoria.
All of that disappeared in the bottom of the first inning, as Pomeranz was unable to hold on to the lead.
Jonathan Villar got the rally started for the Orioles, as he walked, then Mancini singled and then the Orioles got on the board, when Renato Nunez singled to score Villar and on the errant Crawford throw, Mancini went to third.
It was a great play by Crawford, who dove into the hole to stop the ball from going into left field; however, his throw to Panik went behind him and Villar scored easily from third.
Mancini then scored on a single by Pedro Severino, and after Keon Broxton walked to load the bases, Smith, Jr., hit his first career grand slam to give the Orioles a 6-5 lead.
In all, that first inning took 40 minutes and saw 90 pitches thrown.
I cant think of one, said Bruce Bochy.
Yastrzemski tied up the game in the top of the second inning, as he powered his first major league home run into the right-center field seats. “Deep down, I always wanted to come here and hit one. Always. Now its a reality, and thats pretty special, said Yastrzemski.
Nice to get one, Yastrzemski added, who hit a Cashner fastball and met the gentleman after the game who caught the ball.
The man identified as Tim Smith received a signed bat from Yastrzemski and took a picture together.
Yastrzemski ended the night going 2-for-3 with a walk, as he continues to make a great impression in his first week in the majors.
Great nice by the kid, said Bochy.
Unfortunately, Pomeranz was unable to hold on to the tie, as Villar singled with one out and then Mancini smashed his 11th home run of the season and the Orioles reclaimed the lead.
That would be the end of the night for Pomeranz, who went 1.1 innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out two, as he saw his record fall to 1-5 on the season.
This was the shortest outing of Pomeranz’ career and continues a stretch where he was unable to go past five innings, as the streak now stands at five consecutive starts. It was the first career loss for Pomeranz when he received five-or-more runs, as he is now 19-1 when he receives that many runs.
I do not want to make excuses, said Pomeranz.
As for Cashner, who got roughed up in that first inning, he ended up with the victory, as he went the necessary five innings, allowing six runs on eight hits, walking five and did not require a strikeout and saw his record improve to 6-2 on the season.
Dereck Rodriguez went 4.2 innings, allowing just two hits, walking two, striking out two and hitting a batter.
He used all four pitches, said Bochy.
Since returning to the majors, Rodriguez has pitched twice out of the bullpen and it was the fourth of his career.
I came out of the bullpen in winter ball, said Rodriguez, who was a starter for most of last season.
Sam Dyson came on to replace Rodriguez, and was greeted ratherly rudely, as Nunez slammed a 444 foot home run into the left field seats.
NOTES: Brandon Belt extended his hitting streak up to six games, and has a six-game hitting streak versus the Orioles and is (9-for-29) with two doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs during the streak.
On the flipside of the Belt streak, Posey snapped a 0-for-17 streak against the Orioles and was 1-for-21 prior to getting two hits in four at-bats. Overall, he is now 3-for-25 lifetime against the Orioles, the lowest versus any opponent.
As a starting rotation, this will be a month that the Giants will want to forget and definitely put behind them. They ended the month with a 7.32 earned run average (96 earned runs in 118 innings pitched). That is the highest earned run average by a Giants starting staff since they moved to San Francisco in 1958. The previous high was a 6.56 earned run average in September of 2006.
Smith Jr.s grand slam was the second of the season by an Orioles player, with the first coming on May 6 off the bat of Villar and the Orioles defeated the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox 4-1.
This weekend marks the Giants first appearance since the 2004 season, when they won two out of three.
The starting rotation consisted of Dustin Hermanson, Noah Lowry and Jerome Williams. Barry Bonds went 5-for-11 with two home runs, five runs batted in and was walked six times. In the second game of a doubleheader on June 12, 2004, Bonds was walked five times (four of those intentionally).
UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson looks to get the Giants back into the win column on Saturday afternoon, as he will make his first ever start on the road. David Hess will take the mound on Saturday, as he looks to improve on his 1-6 record.
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