The San Francisco Giants follow their three-game sweep against the Athletics by dropping a second straight game to the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 19.
The loss might have been the season’s worst.
Ketel Marte blasted a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the deal, giving the D’backs a 5-3 victory. The Giants fell to 20-29, the second-worst record in the National League.
Giants skipper Tony Vitello was emotional after the loss, blaming himself saying “it’s on me,” according to USA TODAY Sports baseball columnist Bob Nightengale.
“Obviously, get a guy on base, lefty hits a line drive to center, and then we’ve got, you know, a runner at first, they decide to take a chance and go for a stolen base at second base, and there’s a catcher’s interference called, and then you’re dealing with the situation we dealt with, with Marte, a switch hitter,” Vitello told reporters after the game, detailing what led to the loss.
He added: “At that point, (Caleb) Kilian had 25 pitches, went with a fresh arm, different look, and made the wrong decision, cost us the game. Not that (Matt) Gage, I mean, he’s got as good numbers as anybody on our team, and he’s gotten it done for us more times than not, but obviously it’s on me.”
It was the sixth blown save of the Giants’ season.
San Francisco’s 20-29 record is tied for the fifth-worst through 49 games since the franchise relocated to San Francisco in 1958. It ties the team’s 49-game start in 2017, when the Giants last started 20-29. They finished 64-98 that season.
The Giants wrap their three-game series with Arizona on Wednesday, May 20. First pitch is at 12:40 p.m. PT (3:40 p.m. ET).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants’ woes continue after dropping game to Diamondbacks on walk-off
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