Font ResizeThe Giants tried for the tie. Down 4-2 against the Seattle Mariners in the ninth, they got a single from Nick Noonan and a two-out run-scoring double by Cole Gillespie to put the tying run in scoring position. But Gary Brown flied out, ending the three-game run of ties.
"That's got to be a record, right?" Brandon Belt asked reporters, and yeah, it probably is of some sort.
Belt hit a homer and also scored after a single. But the rest of the Giants couldn't catch up against a hard-throwing group of Mariners relievers.
Matt Cain made the start, allowing three earned runs on four hits in three innings.
Cain said everything felt fine in his first start after a liner hit his knee, and he was relieved that -- after getting drilled during his first two mound sessions this spring -- he came away unscathed.
"Now we're only two out of three, which is pretty good if you're a hitter," he said. "We were starting to wonder if we were going to be able to put an L screen out there."
Also on the injury front, Joe Panik has been held out with some mild hamstring tightness.
"Belt looked better today," Bochy said. "He was swinging with more authority."
Bochy hasn't said when Belt will get a look in left field, but he did say that Buster Posey will play first base on Saturday. The coaching staff also will start to stretch out some of the backup starters, including Mike Kickham, Chris Heston, Justin Fitzgerald and Yusmeiro Petit. Bullpen candidate Chad Gaudin falls in that group, too.
Jeremy Affeldt pitched the fourth and got three groundouts to short. As reporters waited for Belt, Brandon Crawford walked out the clubhouse door and then stuck his head back in.
"I set a record today," he said.
For more on the Giants, see Alex Pavlovic's Giants Extra blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/Giants. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/AlexPavlovic.
