Hunter Strickland sauntered off the mound back to the dugout with a brow more furrowed than it’s been in a while.
The Giants closer took a long detour over to the third base side, where Miami’s Lewis Brinson stood triumphant following his game-tying single. The pair exchanged hostile words — Strickland’s first-pitch fastball to Brinson whizzed past his head, and Brinson celebrated his hit with a little extra flair as he left the batter’s box.
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“I dunno,” Strickland said of the exchange. “(It was) in the moment and I just wasn’t happy with myself.”
Blown saves have been relatively few and far between these days with this strengthened bullpen, but fever dreams of blown saves’ past made this poke feel like a gut punch. The Giants entered the game having lost 18 of their last 25 against the Marlins at AT&T Park and eight of their last 10 overall.
Strickland was handed a two-run lead in the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff walk to Brian Anderson and a first-pitch, RBI double to J.T. Realmuto. The only out Strickland could get was a forceout at second, and his night ended with a Miguel Rojas go-ahead single to give the Marlins their 5-4 win on Monday night’s long-awaited return home. It was the first time this season the Giants have lost a game when leading after the eighth inning.
“It’s unacceptable,” Strickland said. “(Andrew) Suárez went out and did a heck of a job. Sammy (Dyson) picked him up and obviously I let them down.
“It sucked.”
Suárez did do a heck of a job, striking out seven with a strong fastball/slider combination that had the Marlins fishing in all but one two-run, four-hit inning. He walked one batter on the night.
Dyson did a heck of a job, too, inducing a threat-ending double play in relief of Suárez and followed it up with a perfect eighth inning. It was his second-longest outing of the season.
The offense also did a heck of a job. Pablo Sandoval hit a home run from the right side off a left-hander, Caleb Smith, for just the 20th time in his career, a two-run jack in the second inning. Buster Posey led off the inning with a fly ball that Brinson let land, a ball that Statcast gave a zero percent chance of being a hit. That two-bagger led to Joe Panik’s RBI single to set up Sandoval’s heroics.
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“We couldn’t hold the lead,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s been the biggest issue, (the Marlins) keep themselves in the ballgame.”
The Giants blew eight leads, managing to hold only one total in last week’s four-game South Beach jaunt. Back at home, they added a ninth to the mantle Monday, with the added bonus of a round of boos for Strickland as he left his mess behind for Tony Watson to clean up.
That was Strickland’s fourth blown save of the year — he’s now tied with 10 others for most in baseball. This one felt especially damaging because it was the first time this season he took over with a lead and left with a deficit. Before Monday he’d converted 11 of his last 12 save opportunities; it’s why Bochy smirks when asked if the outing shortens Strickland’s leash any.
“There’s no leash on him,” Bochy said. “He probably would take a couple pitches back, but you got to stand behind these guys.
“He’s done a heck of a job in this role.”
In case you forgot: Giants’ second overall pick Joey Bart witnessed it all — every moment of euphoria met with a new kind of devastation — from president and CEO Larry Baer’s seats just a few feet from his future home dugout.
He was also just a few feet from the catcher he may one day replace. A few hours earlier he got to meet him.
It was then that Bart learned that Posey’s old roommate from Florida State would be on staff with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, where Bart is headed next.
Obvious similarities exist between Posey and his heir apparent.
Born in small Georgia towns? Check. (Bart in Buford, Posey in Leesburg.)
Considered the best catchers available in their respective drafts? Check. (Posey was drafted fifth 10 years ago, Bart second.)
ACC players of the year? Check.
In choosing Bart — and signing him to a $7.025 million bonus, the largest upfront bonus for a position player in draft history — the Giants all but hinged a lifetime of Posey comparisons to their new prospect. But one thing was clear after Bart addressed the media before Monday’s game: the two Georgia natives relish the opportunity to lead their teams. Posey’s taken it on quietly, but with force over this decade.
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Bart may be more upfront about his desire to lead. He took the reins as a catcher at Georgia Tech; one day he just stopped looking to the dugout for pitching signs. He and his coach decided it would be like that moving forward.
“I like being in the game, I like calling pitches,” Bart said. “I feel like, if I’m in the game, my ability, I can help the team a lot. You’re very involved as a catcher, obviously, I like to say I’m a leader. Moving people around, vocally, that’s what I like about catching and what I want to do for a long time.”
Bart has taken control of his future as a catcher, but it was a position that was forced on him in a moment of panic. He first threw on the pads at age 10 or 11. His Mill Creek Hawks teammate, Max Ford, was behind the dish when his diabetes prevented him from squatting too much longer in the hot sun.
“The coach called on him and said, ‘All right, put the gear on’ and he did. And never took it off,” Tom Bart, Joey’s father, said.
Instead of reverting back to his normal position in center field, Joey was pushed by Tom to stay behind the dish. Dad knew Joey’s work ethic and passion for the game made him a born leader.
“I know Joey wants to be part of the game and the outfield wasn’t part of that,” Tom said. “He knew catcher was the leader of the team and Joey really loves to lead.”
Extra innings
Johnny Cueto threw a 40-pitch simulated game Monday afternoon. He threw all four of his pitches, in and out of the stretch.
Bochy said the team will know Tuesday if Cueto can begin a rehab assignment, putting him at a possible early-July return at the earliest.
Jeff Samardzija made a rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento on Friday and threw three scoreless innings. He’ll make one more rehab start Thursday before returning to the rotation.
Brandon Crawford will miss this Marlins series for good reason. His wife, Jalynne, gave birth to their fourth child, a baby boy named Bryson.
Bryson is in the house! We love you so much already little man. Him and @JalynneC35 are doing well pic.twitter.com/IE2A2iK2dD
— Brandon Crawford (@bcraw35) June 19, 2018
— Reported from San Francisco
(Top photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)