SAN FRANCISCO — This time, there would be no ninth-inning comeback.
The Giants fell behind in the top of the ninth and lost 3-2 to the Padres and Brad Hand, the closer who came back from a meltdown to breeze through the ninth. Hunter Strickland came on in a non-save situation in the top of the inning and gave up four rockets. The thick night air kept three of them in the park, but Eric Hosmer’s opposite-field blast put the Padres back on top.
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The Giants trailed by a pair at the midway point, but got a run back in the fifth and then tied it up in the seventh when Buster Posey poked a two-out single to right. Here's what else happened...
—- Andrew Suarez is going to make a lot of starts for this team, regardless of what’s going on with injured veterans. He was sharp and efficient in his second career start, giving up two runs over seven innings. Suarez needed just 84 pitches to get through seven, and he struck out five while walking just one.
—- Andrew McCutchen led the team in exit velocity in April but had little to show for it. In his first two at-bats, Tuesday, he hit balls 102 and 100 mph and got robbed twice. He scorched another one in his third at-bat and got an RBI single off Christian Villanueva’s glove.
—- Two years ago, the Giants had the second-lowest strikeout rate in the majors. In April, it was the sixth-highest. The first night of May was no different. Tyson Ross struck out nine in his six innings. He got Gregor Blanco three times and Austin Slater twice.
San Francisco Giants
—- Tony Watson struck out one in a perfect eighth. Through 13 outings, Watson has allowed just one run. He has 15 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. It remains amazing that Watson was on the free agent market into February.