SAN FRANCISCO — Before the top of the seventh inning on Friday night, it was announced at Oracle Park that a postgame drone show had been canceled because of technical difficulties. It didn’t get any better from there.
The Giants gave up three runs in the seventh and this time there was no comeback. They fell 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs, who entered with a four-game losing streak.
The Giants took an early lead off Marcus Stroman — who has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season — when Thairo Estrada dumped a two-out single into left in the third inning. It stayed that way until the seventh, when the Cubs sent nine runners to the plate against Anthony DeSclafani and Ryan Walker and plated three runs before leaving the bases loaded.
Nico Hoerner’s two-run single to center was the big blow and Tucker Barnhart added an RBI single off Walker, who had his toughest night as a big leaguer.
Singles Night
Pederson’s first hit of the night was a 112.8 mph rocket against Stroman, the second-fastest hit of the season by a Giant. His fourth hit left the bat at 63 mph and had a launch angle of negative 60, but it was just as effective.
Pederson pounded a 3-0 fastball into the dirt in front of the plate with a runner on third and two outs in the seventh. Pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. bobbled it as he tried to field it and Pederson made it a bang-bang play at first. After a review, he was ruled safe and the Giants had their second run.
The four-hit night was the seventh of Pederson’s career and just his second as a Giant. He also had four hits last May 24 when he hit three homers in a wild 13-12 win over the Mets.
Dealing DeSclafani
DeSclafani walked a pair in the first inning but got some help from his bench and his catcher. The Giants smartly challenged when Nick Madrigal took off for second on a pitch that resulted in a walk, and it was ruled that Madrigal slid past the bag and was tagged by Estrada. A few pitches later, Patrick Bailey threw Seiya Suzuki out at second as he tried to steal second.
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DeSclafani settled in from there, allowing just a single and a walk until the seventh inning, when a walk and single ended his night. Both runs went on DeSclafani’s line. He was charged with two earned in six-plus innings, with two strikeouts and four walks. After walking just nine batters in his first 11 starts, DeSclafani has issued seven free passes in his last two.
Groans for Drones
The loudest boos of the season came when it was announced that the Bay Area Hip Hop Drone Show was canceled because of “unexpected technical issues which occurred during setup.” The Giants announced that they were rescheduling the show for later in the season and that all fans who attended Friday would get a complimentary ticket for any home game in the next three months.
“We know that many of our fans were eagerly anticipating this event and we share in their disappointment,” the team said in a statement. “We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.”
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