SAN FRANCISCO -- Sitting in the visiting dugout a few hours before Saturday's game, Bruce Bochy laughed as he recalled his return to Oracle Park. Of course it had been a tense 2-1 game on Friday night. That's the only way things could have gone.
Bochy has gotten much more used to shootouts in Texas, and the second game of the series was more in line with his expectations.
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The Rangers got a first-inning homer from Corey Seager and knocked Alex Cobb out in the fifth with a second straight extended rally. The Giants had nine hits and got Andrew Heaney out of the game in the second inning -- but this wasn't a back-and-forth affair.
The Giants also failed to score after loading the bases with no outs in the second inning and putting two on to open the fifth and sixth. They lost 9-3, finishing 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
It was another lackluster night at the plate, although Heliot Ramos provided a nice moment in the ninth. He blasted a ball 110.1 mph into the seats in left, picking up his first career homer.
Here are the takeaways from the Giants' sixth loss in the last seven games:
San Francisco Giants
Cobb Wobbles
Cobb had a 1.46 ERA in his first nine home starts and a 1.90 ERA in night games. Combine those two stats with the shadows that hung over the field for the 6 p.m. start and he seemed to be primed for a huge night.
For weeks, though, Cobb has been saying the home-road/day-night splits don't add up to him, and he finally had a blowup start at Oracle Park. The Rangers got nine hits off him in 4 1/3 innings, a season-high for Cobb in a home start. He was charged with six earned runs, tying his high in 26 career starts at Third and King.
Look Who's Back?
Michael Conforto entered the night with just one homer since June 8, but he had his most promising offensive night of the second half, reaching base three times. The highlight was a loud solo blast to the arcade in the fourth that was Conforto's 14th of the season but just his second over a span of 180 at-bats.
Conforto has quietly reached base safely in 11 of his last 14 games, and the Giants desperately need him to get going to add a little punch to a lineup that's Wilmer-or-Bust most nights. Conforto also had a single that left the bat at 109.6 mph, which is tied for his highest exit velocity on a base hit this season.
The Other Old Friend
Bochy has plenty of familiar faces around, from his hitting coordinator (Donnie Ecker) to his closer (Will Smith). Before the deadline, he also was reunited with Chris Stratton, who was taken by the Giants in the first round a few months before Bochy's second title.
Stratton made 48 appearances over three seasons for the Giants before a trade to the Los Angeles Angels right before the start of the 2019 season. He then moved on to Pittsburgh, and he has carved out a very nice career since the Pirates moved him to the bullpen.
Stratton came in with two on and the heart of the order coming up in the fifth and got out of the inning without allowing a run. He went two more scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 3.69. The right-hander has allowed just four hits in 9 1/3 scoreless innings since being sent to Texas with lefty starter Jordan Montgomery.
Stratton never lived up to the hype in San Francisco, but he's about to finish his eighth year in the big leagues and looks like he has a few more good ones left. It's been a nice run for a guy who is now 32 and has three young kids.