Break-even road trip ends as a disappointement

The last two days are how to make a normally-acceptable 5-5 road trip feel like your got your ass handed to you.

It had the makings of a trip to be remembered. After Friday’s win at St Louis the Giants were 5-3 on a Bataan Death March of a road trip. At that point, an otherwise-respectable 5-5 becomes a disappointment. When you blow leads in each of the last two games, and three of the final four, it’s a freaking disaster.

Peavy didn't suck, until he did. (AP Photo)

This was a disaster. The Giants coughed up a 3-1 lead Sunday with a nightmare sixth inning and dropped a  6-3 decision to the Cardinals; losing the last two parts of the three-game set to record  their first losing series in nearly month.

Santiago Casilla blew a save Wednesday. Jeff Samardzija lost a 4-0 lead when he couldn’t keep the ball in the park on Saturday. Sunday, Jake Peavy reverted to his 2015 form the infield’s potential gold glovers found out those things are worthless if you try to wear them onto the field.

The Giants lost more than games on the trip. Hunter Pence will miss two months with a hamstring tear, Angel Pagan and Sergio Romo are MIA, a date for Matt Cain’s return is uncertain, the bullpen has proven to be (put kindly) mortal, and the Red Sox, Dodgers and Brewers are coming into AT&T Park for what looks to be a critical stretch for an undermanned team.

Having dropped two in succession, the Giants are still a robust 35-24 but have seen their lead in the NL West trimmed to 3 ½ games over Los Angeles, which has won its last three.

The solution doesn’t lie in a bottle of Jose Cuervo or even a pint of Ameri-cone Dream, but at times seemed viable alternatives to watching the weekend’s action.

Worst of all, as much as we've tired of Jake Peavy, he was pitching well right up until the point the rust on the undercarriage gave way. The tranny dropped, and the mechanic hired to put it back kicked it around the garage a few times before sending it out for scrap.

The key to Peavy is pretty simple. He can’t put hitters away on his own but sometimes forgets that fact. He has to stay on the corners because the middle of the plate, where he often ends up when he over throws, is pure death. He’s also one of those guys who, at this stage of his career, even on good days should have relief on stand-by when making a third trip through the order. Both factors came into play on Sunday.

Spotted a 3-1 lead on Jarrett Parker’s two-run opposite field homer, Peavy was relatively in control until the sixth, when the Cards order made its third trip around. He allowed a run on doubles by Matt Carpenter and Aledmys Diaz to start the frame before walking Matt Holliday. Bruce Bochy’s hook came, but a bit too late. Still, Peavy left holding a 3-2 lead but was responsible for the two men on base.

He needed help from the bullpen. He’d have had better luck asking Donald Trump to sponsor a visa. Consistent only for its inconsistency, the relief corps screwed the pooch -- with a big assist from the defense.

Jarrett Parker takes the tour after taking Martinez deep. (AP Photo)

Hunter Strickland was first. He threw one pitch, hitting hit Stephen Piscotty with it to load the bases. With Javier Lopez pitching, Matt Adams’s hard grounder went off Brandon Belt’s glove for an infield hit that tied the game. Cory Gearrin came on to face Yadier Molina, whose grounder up the middle looked like a double play until Brandon Crawford dribbled it like he was trying out for the Warriors back court.  

First Joe Panik and then Crawford made great stops on the next two plays but the damage was done. St. Louis had scored four times and the Giants were pretty much dead. San Francisco had one good chance to strike back, loading the bases with two out in the seventh, but Holiday ran down Belt’s line drive to left and the band started playing up on deck.

Peavy wound up going five-plus allowing four runs on five hits, with two of the runs allowed scoring after he left the game. He struck out five and walked a pair in falling to 2-8. Strickland was charged with a run when Piscotty scored after being plunked. Josh Osich got spanked for a run on three hits to account for the Cards final run.

Offensively the Giants managed just four hits other than Parker’s long ball. Span got two of those, with Belt and Matt Duffy getting the others.

The Giants are off Monday and a trip to Lourdes is probably in order. Action takes up again on Tuesday when Boston comes calling Albert Suarez (1-1, 3.18 ERA) gets his second career start against the BoSox’ Rick Porcello (7-2, 4.00)

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