Home cooking still tasted pretty rank

It was more of the same Friday night at AT&T Park. A taste of home cooking didn't matter in the slightest as poor pitching and a feckless offense doomed the Giants to a 5-1 loss against Baltimore.

Now 65-50, these Giants bear little resemblance to the team that dominated through 90 games. They've lost six of 10 and  have won just eighth times in 27 tries since the All-Star Break. The saving grace to the evening was LA's matching 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh, keeping the Giants one game up in the rapidly-crumbling NL West. 

We're not exactly sure where the offfense went (we're guessing Wakanda) but the Giants can't keep depending on the kindness of strangers to keep their lead intact.

It was hoped a change of venue might jump start the squad after suffering through two extended road trips. The Giants opened a stretch where 15 of 18 are played at home, but the opening act was more of the same old song and dance.

That was especially true for Matt Cain, who got absolutely bombed.

Cain (4-7) pitched out of a first-inning jam created by Brandon Crawford's fielding error but made his own mess in the second. The Orioles jumped him for four hits, including a pair of doubles and a two-out RBI single to grab the early 2-0 lead.

Your teammates approve when you hit a ball that hard, not that the Giants would know.  (Getty Images)

It got worse an inning later. The O's smashed three more hits, highlighted by Mark Trumbo's two-run no-doubter into the left field seats. Through three innings Cain had allowed eight hits and thrown 60 pitches, and Baltimore had a 4-0 lead. There was no secret as to the cause of Cain's troubles. His fastball command was nonexistent, and pitches up in the zone weren't just hit, they were punished.

San Francisco broke through in the bottom of the frame against Dylan Bundy. Joe Panik got the team's first hit, a single to open the frame, and he came all the way around when Denard Span split the right-center gap with a one-out double. Good omen, right? Panik seemingly hadn't had a hit in a month so good things were on the way.

Angel Pagan gave the faithful a fleeting charge with a drive into the cove that curled just foul. He ended up walking to put two men aboard with the heart of the order coming up, but the RISP failures continued as Brandon Belt grounded into a double play. Baltimore 4, Giants 1 after three.

The circus music hit full volume an inning later. Two more hits put runners in scoring position with one out. A Manny Machado hopper to the box was deflected by Cain but no one covered first base. No big, since the Orioles forgot what bases are for and ran themselves into an 3-6-4-5 put-out with no advance from Adam Jones at third. Cain completed the Houdini act with a strikeout of Trumbo.

That had to the sign from heaven, right? Like Ian Kinsler's ball off the top of the fence, this was the talisman that showed the baseball gods had finally been appeased and fortunes would turn.  

Nope, that just delayed the inevitable. Chris Davis went opposite field, leading off the fifth with a drive into the first row of left field bleachers. Cain's 11th surrendered hit made it 5-1 and ended his night. 

Cain exits after another disappointing performance. (AP Photo)

Once the Giants' horse, Cain now appears to be in the rotation more due to contract status than performance. Despite not lasting six full he equaled his career high in hits allowed, and it was the third time in 2016 he'd surrendered double digits.

George Kontos restored order (we were shocked as well) but only time could slay Bundy, who had made 22 of his 28 appearances out of the bullpen. Manager Buck Showalter pulled the ripcord after 5 2/3 innings and 93 pitches of three-hit ball. It didn't matter.

Kontos and Jake Peavy were marvelous, holding Baltimore hitless the rest of the way (Kontos did walk two). Unfortunately Cain and a punch less offense buried the Giants. After Bundy's departure the Giants didn't grace the basepaths again until Angel Pagan singled to open the ninth (13 straight hitters made out).

There was some protest in the ninth.  Pagan's hard single up the middle was followed by a wild pitch and Belt's parachute job into short center to make it 5-2. At least that forced Showalter to burn closer Zach Britton, the Orioles' fifth hurler of the night, which hopefully pays of this weekend. Hey' gotta look for a silver lining somewhere (we prefer vibranium).

The tying run stood in the on deck circle. Buster Posey struck out. Crawford grounded out. Hunter Pence whiffed. So much for the rally.

It's not customary to list all the hits in a recap but the Giants ha so few we'll eat up a few lines of type. Span, Pagan, Panik, Belt, Pence; each recorded one hit. Pence had the only extra-base safety, a two-out double in the fourth. That combined with two walks didn't provide many opportunities for offense. The Giants were 1-for-4 with RISP and left four men on base.

The Orange and Black will get their latest in a long line of shots at redemption on Saturday with ace Madison Bumgarner (10-7, 2.20 ERA) on the hill, but the offense has been especially brutal in his starts, leaving him winless for a solid month. 

His last start was a perfect example: eight innings of one-run ball in a 1-0 loss to Washington. Baltimore counters with Kevin Gausman (3-9. 4.02 ERA), and he knows Bumgarner's pain. He gave up two runs over six innings but took the loss his last time out at Oakland.

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