Play at plate haunts Giants as they fall by a run to Padres

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SAN DIEGO — Derek Holland currently has a problem with allowing runs in the first inning, and when that was brought up a few minutes after Saturday’s game ended, he smiled.

“I wish I could say what I really want to say,” he said. 

Perhaps that holds true of all the Giants.

They fell 5-4 to the Padres on a night when the visiting dugout was filled with grumbles and sour faces in the late innings. The Giants did not agree with several strike calls as they tried to overcome the one-run deficit — most notably, a strike two call to Hunter Pence that was far outside — but they were also peeved about a play at the plate that was not overturned. 

Joe Panik tripled with one out in the seventh and tagged up when Andrew McCutchen hit a laser to right. Hunter Renfroe’s strong throw was cut off and redirected to the plate, and Panik was ruled out on a bang-bang play. A lengthy review process upheld Rob Drake’s call. Bruce Bochy said Shawon Dunston and Chad Chop, who handle the replay decisions for the Giants, felt Panik was safe. 

“I haven't had a chance to look at it, but they were pretty confident he was safe,” Bochy said. “But it wasn’t overturned. They said he definitely beat the tag. We’ll find out what happened.”

The play was one that always seems to trip up the review system. It was clear pretty early on in the process that whatever was called on the field would stand. Several angles appeared to show A.J. Ellis missing the tag, but there was at least one that showed Panik possibly missing the plate. Panik said that if Ellis tagged him, it was just a grazing swipe. He had not gone back and watched a replay of his slide. 

“It happens,” he said. “It was really quick. You think your foot hits it. The call is the call. It happened quickly. I thought it hit home plate, but I guess it didn’t. I have no idea. I didn't ask for and explanation. With replay, it is what they say.”

Later, Panik added, “It’s not something you can cry about.” The Giants won’t, because they know they gave this game up in other ways, wasting Evan Longoria’s upper deck shot and a similar blast from Andrew McCutchen. 

Holland allowed two runs in the first, settled in, and then got wild in the fifth. The bullpen was mostly strong, but Cory Gearrin got beat in the seventh. Renfroe’s two-run rocket to left gave the Padres a lead that would hold up.

“A couple of pitches in that inning, that was the difference,” Bochy said. “His ball was up more than it normally is. They took advantage.”

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