What we learned as Giants run out of late-game heroics in loss

What we learned as Giants run out of late-game heroics in loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO -- When new Giant A.J. Pollock arrives on Tuesday, he might be able to share a car with former Seattle Mariners teammate Paul Sewald, a right-handed reliever who will give the Arizona Diamondbacks a much more reliable plan in the ninth inning.

Sewald was traded a few minutes before Pollock on Monday afternoon. As the two made their way down the coast, the outfielder's new team wasted a golden opportunity to gain a game on the closer's new team.

The Giants went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, an appropriate way to end the month of July, when the offense far too often disappeared. They lost 4-3 to the Diamondbacks, who trailed early but scored twice in extra innings.

San Francisco went to extras for a second straight day, but this time they allowed the inherited runner to score in the 10th. Brandon Crawford was placed on second in the bottom of the inning. After taking third on a grounder, he raced home on Kevin Ginkel's wild pitch to tie the game, but the Giants couldn't take advantage after they got another runner in scoring position.

The Diamondbacks again scored in the 11th and put runners on the corners with one out, but reliever Taylor Rogers got out of the jam with a double play. In the bottom of the inning, Joc Pederson and Blake Sabol struck out, and, after Casey Schmitt took third on a wild pitch, Patrick Bailey grounded out to second.

Hours earlier, Wilmer Flores -- who else -- had put the Giants on top with a solo blast in the third. The Giants tacked on another run in the fourth, but the Diamondbacks rallied in the sixth, tying it up on two walks, a single and a double.

The Giants drop to 58-49, and now are 2.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West.

Here are three takeaways from the Giants' loss:

Flo Show

There's a non-zero chance the Giants would have been partial sellers before Tuesday's deadline if not for Flores' incredible July.

Flores entered the night batting .395 this month, and he smoked a ball to the track in center in his first at-bat, getting robbed of extra bases by Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas. In the third, Flores made sure nobody could get a glove on the ball, hitting a fastball into the seats in left.

The homer was Flores' sixth of July and moved him into a tie for the team lead (14) with J.D. Davis. Flores played 23 games in July and reached base in 21 of them, raising his OPS from .778 to 891.

The Featured Guys

Jakob Junis threw three shutout innings in his first start of the year before handing the baton off to Alex Wood, who retired six of his first seven before running into trouble. A leadoff walk got the Diamondbacks going in the sixth, and Wood was removed with the tying run on second. When Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled off Luke Jackson, a second run went on Wood's line.

Wood was charged with two earned runs in 2 2/3 innings, but allowed just one hit. He walked two and struck out two.

The Giants leaned heavily on their bulk guys the last three days, with Junis, Wood, Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling combining to allow three runs in 14 2/3 innings. It'll be more traditional the next two days, as Alex Cobb and Logan Webb are scheduled to start.

Patty Barrels

After a red-hot start, Patrick Bailey has slowed down at the plate. He was 6-for-44 with 15 strikeouts over his last 13 games, but he looked like the May/early June version on Monday night.

Bailey ripped a single to right in his first at-bat and then pulled a double down the line in the fourth, which set up Crawford's sacrifice fly. Bailey's multi-hit game was his first since June 29.

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