Game Wrap 7/3/2015: Nationals 2 Giants 1

The Giants once again fell victim to the longball as their Trail of Tears road trip continues in the Nation's Capital.  Key Lines:

Buster Posey- 1 for 4, HR(14).  BA= .304.  Buster just missed tying this one up with 2 outs in the top of the 9'th inning when he just didn't quite get the ball on the sweet spot on a hanging breaking first pitch from Drew Storen.  This was Buster's 3'rd HR in the last 4 games, all on the road.  He has 57 RBI's at the exact halfway mark of the season.

Jake Peavy- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.43.  Although his peripherals were not outstanding, Peavy looked really sharp today with his FB topping out at 92 MPH and excellent movement on all of his pitches.  Giving up the 2-run dinger to Washington's version of Justin Bour was too bad, but I really can't fault Bochy for letting him go into the 7'th inning.  His pitch count was still low and the bullpen has been way overtaxed for awhile now.

Hunter Strickland- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.45.  Strickland still has the high 90's heater, but also has much better command of his breaking ball and a second FB with 2-seam movement.  I'm going to say I think he will be the closer by the end of the season.  I still wouldn't let him face Bryce Harper in a critical situation, though.

Josh Osich-  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Another silver lining from a tough loss.  Osich looked really good!  FB that topped out at 96 MPH, a cutter at 90-91 MPH and a nice changeup.  At least one of the 2 BB's was a direct result of him getting squeezed by the home plate ump who, according to Kruk, is well known for giving out the Rookie Treatment.  After the second walk, he just challenged Harper and Robinson and got both to pop up to the shallow OF.

The Loss drops the Giants 3.5 games behind the Dodgers pending the outcome of their game.

Madison Bumgarner tries to put a stop to the Giants losing streak facing Stephen Strasburg in a game that starts at 8:05 AM PDT tomorrow, July 4.