SAN FRANCISCO — Mitch Haniger doubled in the eighth inning, averting a no-hitter, but held hitless for more than half the game for the second time in the past week, the Giants on Saturday were not able to awaken their bats in time to pull off the come-from-behind win.
Haniger's double and a walk to Michael Conforto in the second inning were the only base runners the Giants managed against Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks, who flirted with what would have been the first no-hitter by an opponent in Oracle Park's 23-year history, in their second straight loss to the Cubs, 4-0.
Hendricks needed only 94 pitches to mow down the Giants for eight innings, only giving way to a reliever after San Francisco mustered its first hit in the eighth, and was reminiscent of Greg Maddux for more reasons than his pitch count. The 33-year-old right-hander from Newport Beach masterfully mixed and matched his four-pitch arsenal, not registering one reading on the radar gun of even 90 mph.
Often strikeout-happy, contact was not a problem for the Giants on Saturday. They finished all but three of their at-bats with balls in play. But even their most promising pieces of contact seemed to find leather.
Held hitless through five innings against the Rockies on Tuesday, the Giants clawed back to win 5-4 with scoring rallies in the seventh and eight innings. It was a different story Saturday, though, as Haniger's two-out double off the wall in the eighth merely averted disaster rather than ignite a comeback.
After sweeping their series in Colorado, the Giants (32-32) have dropped their first two at home to the Cubs (28-36), falling back to .500.
Joc Pederson, Brandon Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski all put charges into balls, generating hopeful shrieks from the 35,452 in attendance, but none found grass. Pederson's 388-foot fly ball in the first inning would have been a home run at 18 ballparks, according to Statcast, but merely made for the final out of the first inning. Yastrzemski launched another 388-footer in the second — a homer at two parks — that landed in the glove of former Giant Mike Tauchman.
Tauchman likely elicited memories with his hit-saving catch on Crawford's drive, the most spectacular play of the day. Playing his 1,600th game with the Giants, Crawford lined a 2-1 fastball to the track in right-center field in the third inning that seemed destined for extra bases. Tauchman, who memorably robbed the Dodgers' Albert Pujols of a walk-off homer as a Giants left fielder in 2021, dove to the track, tumbled and came up with the ball, hoisted from the seat of his pants on the warning track by an excited and astonished Cristopher Morel, who was hustling over from right field.
Morel drove in three of the Cubs' four runs, all plated against Jakob Junis, who was called upon after two scoreless innings from John Brebbia in his sixth time opening this season. With runners at second and third in the fifth, Junis struck out Nico Hoener for the second out of the inning. But Morel ensured he wouldn't escape unscathed, lacing a single up the middle that drove home both runners and made it 4-0.
Junis allowed a solo shot to the first batter he faced, Matt Mervis, and another to Morel the following inning. While Junis struck out five over 2⅔ innings, he also allowed five hits, walked a batter, hit another and was credited with four earned runs, raising his ERA to 4.58.
Following Junis, Sean Manaea compiled a little no-no of his own over the final 4⅓. Manaea retired all 13 batters he faced.
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