SAN FRANCISCO -- Before the top of the eighth inning Friday night at Oracle Park, a man in a Mike Yastrzemski City Connect jersey waited until he was shown on the scoreboard, dropped down to one knee in the aisle, and proposed. His timing was terrible, but to be fair to him, there were very few opportunities on Friday to have good timing.
The proposal came seconds after the Giants had left the bases loaded and that was the theme on this night, as the Giants lost for the eighth time in nine games since the All-Star break. They left 13 runners on base in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs that dropped them to 49-51.
"We weren't able to get the big hit. We weren't able to deliver that one blow that would have changed the game for us," manager Gabe Kapler said.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"That's really the story of the game."
Yep.
I mean, that's it.
That's basically all you need to know.
San Francisco Giants
If you would like specifics ... the Giants had three hits in the first inning but the rally ended when Wilmer Flores was thrown out at the plate on a two-out single by Yastrzemski. They left two on in the second and another in the third.
In the fourth, Jason Vosler hit his second double, but the Giants very rarely score a runner from first on a double and they ended up leaving both runners right where they were. Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman had a clean fifth and then stranded one last runner in the sixth.
The Giants left them loaded in the seventh, and after a double in the eighth -- of what was still a one-run game -- Vosler struck out and Austin Wynns did as well.
RELATED: Giants lose big bat as Joc lands on 7-day concussion IL
Flores hit a two-run shot in the ninth, his 15th of what has been an excellent year. But the Giants had given up three runs in the top of the inning. They stranded one last runner after the Flores bomb.
It all added up to another bitter night at Oracle Park, where the brain trust has gathered to try and figure out what to do before Tuesday's trade deadline. If Thursday's clean win brought any hope, Friday was a step back in the other direction.