On Friday night, San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Adrian Houser hoped to change his fortunes on the mound this season against the Miami Marlins.
That did not go according to plan. Houser worked four innings, giving up 11 hits and eight runs, as the Marlins defeated the Giants 9-4 at Oracle Park.
Houser hasn't recorded a win all season long and saw his overall record fall to 0-3. What about Houser's ERA? It's now at 7.36. One has to wonder if Giants manager Tony Vitello might consider moving Houser out of the rotation due to his rough start.
Game highlights indicated that Houser left a number of pitches over the plate. The Marlins weren't missing them, either.
Marlins starter Sandy Alcantra kept Giants hitters off-stride all night long. Alcantra picked up the victory, raising his season mark to 3-2. Alcantra gave up nine hits, three runs (all earned), walked one, and struck out four.
After Houser was pulled by Vitello, relievers JT Brubaker, Caleb Kilian, and Ryan Borucki came in and managed to shut down the Marlins pretty well.
Let's take a look at how the Marlins attacked Houser.
Miami's Xavier Edwards hit a two-out double and put the Marlins up 1-0. Liam Hicks then followed with a two-run home run, bringing home Edwards and giving Miami a 3-0 edge.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Giants had a threat with runners at first and third base. But Rafael Devers grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Marlins scored single runs in the second and third innings, upping their margin to 5-0.
Then, Miami took charge of the game in a big way with a three-run fourth. All of those runs scored on the strength of a Connor Norby three-run homer.
San Francisco scored three runs in the fifth to edge closer at 8-3. Miami notched a run in the top of the sixth for a 9-3 advantage.
Jung Hoo Lee hit a solo home run that landed in San Francisco Bay beyond the right-field fence at Oracle Park. But the Giants couldn't muster anymore offense and the Marlins took the opener.
The Marlins and Giants will play two afternoon games at Oracle Park on Saturday and Sunday. With the loss, San Francisco drops to 11-15 overall and sits in fourth places in the National League West Division. The Marlins, on the other hand, are at .500 with a 13-13 record.
In the next two games, the Giants need to find a way to kickstart their offense. At times, it has seemed like they were getting on the right path there. Yet games like Friday night's indicate that the team has to change its fortunes at the plate.
After Friday night's victory, Miami is in second place in the National League East Division.
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