WASHINGTON _ A day after hitting a season-high three home runs en route to a series-opening win, the Giants allowed a new 2019 high of four in a loss to the Washington Nationals.
Giants starter Jeff Samardzija surrendered a pair of homers in the first inning before reliever Travis Bergen let a close game get out of hand late by giving up two in the seventh in a 9-6 loss. Despite forcing the Nationals to use each of their top relievers in a four-run ninth-inning, the Giants dug too deep of a hole to pull off a miracle comeback against an anemic Washington bullpen.
The Giants flipped the script they've followed early in the season with an offensive explosion on Tuesday, but the Nationals restored order in game two of the series with a solid effort at the plate and in the field.
San Francisco entered the ninth inning trailing 9-2 but outfielders Gerardo Parra and Steven Duggar each hit two-run home runs to turn a blowout into a respectable loss.
The loss moved the Giants to 8-11 on the season and dropped them 3.5 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. As the Giants look to clinch their second straight series win on Thursday, here are three big things we learned in Wednesday's defeat.
