SAN FRANCISCO _ Umpires did not issue pre-emptive warnings Tuesday night. There was no need. One day after benches cleared over a two-man spat, tensions showed no signs of escalation between the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals.
But make no mistake. The Giants are in the fight of their lives.
They lost 6-3 to the Nationals at AT&T Park, and not only are they back to 10 games under .500, but the NL West standings are beginning to resemble an avalanche.
The Los Angeles Dodgers moved into first place by winning their sixth consecutive game. The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks are a game back. What that means for the Giants: not only are they a season-high 12 games out of first place, but their deficit is a daunting 11 games for both NL wild card spots.
They have one game remaining in May and at 13-15, they are guaranteed a losing month _ their fifth consecutive, counting their massive regression after the All-Star break last year. Their starting outfield of Justin Ruggiano, Gorkys Hernandez and call-up Orlando Calixte is not one that you would confuse with a contender.
Calixte had a night to remember, at least. The 25-year-old utilityman, whose major league experience consisted of three games for the Kansas City Royals in 2015, batted leadoff and singled in the first inning for his first major league hit. He then roped a two-run double in the second inning off Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez as the Giants battled back to make it a 3-2 game.
But the Giants had to go to their bullpen early because Jeff Samardzija labored while throwing 100 pitches in just four innings. It was the first time a Giants starter had thrown 100 pitches in four innings or less since Chad Gaudin in 2013; it was just the fourth time in history that a major league starter threw at least 100 pitches in four innings or less without issuing a walk.
Bryan Morris somehow managed to slow the game's already glacial pace. He threw 32 pitches in a three-run fifth inning that included a bases-loaded walk to Jayson Werth and an error when the pitcher mishandled a sacrifice bunt.
The crowd was at its most gleeful when Samardzija twice struck out Harper on called pitches in the second and fourth innings. Josh Osich got Harper to chase a pitch in the dirt while striking him out in the eighth.
