CHICAGO -- Santiago Casilla walked out of the cramped visiting clubhouse at Wrigley soon after it opened to reporters, a pained look on his face. Casilla had blown his seventh save in the ninth inning of an eventual 13-inning loss, and his hold on the closer role is as tenuous as it's been all year.
But in the room he walked out of, long faces told the story of a group that knew this was far from a one-man loss. The Giants had four hits in a 3-2 loss on Sunday and just 14 in the four-game series. With that kind of production, coming away without a sweep was probably a win in and of itself. As it was, the Giants found themselves in four straight one-run games.
"Their pitching did a great job, but you know what, our pitching did, too," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I'm proud of our staff and the way they competed. Even today, they did a good job. We got beaten by a couple of bloop hits.”
The winning one came from Jason Heyward, who had also knocked in the tying run in the ninth. Heyward had as many hits after the sixth inning as the entire Giants team.
The Giants have four consecutive games of four-or-fewer hits for the first time since 1963. They had fewer than 15 hits in a four-game series for the first time since 1992. Was it the pitching or the at-bats?
"I think both," Bochy said. "I think it's fair to say we need to get some guys going with the bats."
That's having a keen sense of the obvious, I guess.
[RECAP: Instant Replay: Giants cough up series vs Cubs in extras]
The biggest problems are in the heart of the lineup. Buster Posey had an 0-for-16 going before a single in the 11th. Brandon Belt entered the day with a .208 average since the break and went hitless in three at-bats Sunday. He at least got some good news after a pitch drilled his helmet. Belt, who has a history with concussions, cleared all tests before and after the game and said he felt good.
As for that lineup …
"It's one of those things where you keep grinding it out," Belt said. "You're going to have tough series and games but one thing I like about our group of hitters is we're pretty consistent with how we work. We come out every day trying to get better.”
It continues to be one step forward, two steps back. The Giants followed a rousing win Saturday with a bit of a dud Sunday, wasting seven strong innings from Johnny Cueto. A suicide squeeze by Ehire Adrianza helped get a 2-1 lead to the ninth, but Casilla ran into trouble right away when Addison Russell -- a terror the entire series -- roped a double into left. Heyward tied it up with a single up the middle.
Casilla had closed out 18 of his previous 20 chances, but the blown save went down as his NL-leading seventh of the year. Bochy, as he does with all his players, stood behind his right-hander.
"It's always tough when you have a lead in the ninth," he said. "Russell killed us twice (this series). Heyward just hit the ball where we weren't. You're three outs away from coming away with a split, so that's disappointing. You've got to move on.
"(Casilla) has been throwing the ball well. This is a tough one, no getting around it. It's tough to get down on somebody who has been doing a good job.”
Bochy has been hesitant to make a move in the ninth, but he could have an intriguing new option. Joe Nathan, who has 377 career saves, was dominant in an inning of work, flashing a good breaking ball and 92 mph fastball. He had likely MVP Kris Bryant completely off balance while striking him out.
It is not this staff’s style to put a young pitcher in the ninth during a postseason run, and there have been concerns about Sergio Romo's durability. But Nathan could be different. He is experienced and unflappable, and if he has a couple more outings like this one, a change seems likely.
Regardless, the Giants will have to find a way to be better at the plate. Fourteen hits in four games won't get it done no matter who is waiting for the ninth.
"We've got to dig deep now," Bochy said, noting that going to Coors Field after this is no picnic.
If the Giants find a way out of this, they could return to Wrigley soon. The Cubs will clinch a playoff spot in the coming days, and Cueto, the longtime Reds ace, said he would love to come back tp this Midwest city.
“I hope that we do," Cueto said, smiling wide. "That's how you find out if you have coconuts."
