Lowell Cohn: Giants' mistakes on basepaths helped doom their Game 1 chances

CHICAGO

When Cubs second baseman Javier Baez hit a big fly in bottom of the eighth, Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto stared at the ball from the mound. Cueto had thrown a 93-mile-an-hour fastball to Baez on a 3-2 count, and there was no reason to think this long fly ball would make a difference in the scoreless game.

Cueto watched left fielder Angel Pagan run after the ball and camp under it. Everything seemed normal and under contro. Pagan was about to catch the high fly ball. Except he didn’t catch the ball. It was a home run. Cueto threw his arms over his head and screamed at the heavens. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The ball fell into a basket that runs along the top of the wall. Any ball that nestles in the basket is a home run. Check out the Wrigley Field ground rules. Old timers who cover the Cubs say the Cubs installed the basket in the 1960s because Cubs fans would throw stuff at the Cardinals and Phillies players - batteries, balls, gum, whatever came to hand. Other old timers say the basket was actually installed as a people catcher, to keep outfield drunks from falling onto the field of play.

On Friday night, it didn’t function that way. It functioned as a home-run holder, the ball remaining in the basket a long time, a visual reminder the Giants gave up one run, the only run of the game, and lost 1-0 in the first game of this five-game Division Series.

Until the basket pitch, Cueto had been beautiful, “Beautiful” is the perfect word for him.

He began the game throwing three and a third no-hit innings. That was just to get things started, or as Mike Krukow likes to say - to get himself greased up. When he threw a pitch, his hair bobbed behind him. He would pick up the rosin bag and bounce it on the back of his right hand. When he ran to the mound from the dugout, he jumped over the foul line and danced toward the hill.

Everything about him was joyful and smart and savvy. With him, it is mind over batter. He was pitching the Cueto way, baseball according to him. And it was wonderful.

Until the home run that lodged in the basket. At that moment, it felt like something in the universe broke. Something vital and irreparable.

Because the Giants, who could not get over on starter Jon Lester, also couldn’t get over on closer Aroldis Chapman.

In a sense, they ran themselves out of the game. This is not a blame sentence.

It is a descriptive. Lester does not throw to first base to hold on runners. Almost never does.

This is known. This is fact. He is the complete pitcher who has this one wrinkle - call it a flaw.

Any smart manager - and Bruce Bochy is the smartest - would take advantage of the no-throw-to-first-base lefty. So when Giants center fielder Gorkys Hernandez led off the game with a perfect bunt in the neutral zone that no one could handle, and when he stood on first, an idea crossed Bochy’s mind. Let the speedy Hernandez steal second on Lester.

But Cubs catcher David Ross threw out Hernandez easily.

One runner wasted. Squandered gold.

Conor Gillaspie led off the third with a single. Another Giants chance - remember every base runner was gold in this game. But Gillaspie got frisky, thought about stealing second, and Ross picked him off. Another Giants runner bites the dust. Squandered gold.

And then there was the top of the fourth. Buster Posey was on first with two outs. Angel Pagan hit a ball that went past Ben Zobrist in left for a double - should have been a single and an error. Posey should have scored - remember the Giants lost by one run.

But Posey didn’t score. Dawdled at second. He was concerned Zobrist would short-hop the ball and throw him out. That’s what he said. He ended up at third. Bochy said he thought Posey hesitated, wasn’t sure he could have scored, anyway. It’s possible - who knows? - Posey lost track of the outs. Just a theory.

Or maybe he doesn’t have enough speed and power anymore in those tired legs. Maybe needs to play first base. Brandon Crawford grounded out to shortstop and the inning ended with Posey on third.

So, Posey was another useless runner, a runner who didn’t score in a 1-0 game.

More squandered gold.

Nothing says the Giants are in trouble right now. They fight to the death and their pitching is peerless - well, the Cubs qualify as peers. Which makes this series exquisite.

One thing about Giants pitching. Bochy is starting Jeff Samardzija in Game 2. That means he’s not starting Matt Moore. This may be the right decision, but it’s a controversial decision.

Why? Because Samardzija used to pitch in Chicago. He has history here.

When he was introduced before Game 1, fans booed him. He heard. He is a fighter. He may try to get even.

On Sept. 1, the Cubs beat his brains out here. He threw 47 pitches in the first inning and lasted only four innings. He threw 23 pitches before getting his first out. He may try to get even.

He may try too hard, throw too hard, go full fastball. Try to annihilate the Cubs. Mistake if he does. What made him a good pitcher this season was his curveball. His slow stuff. Hitters can hit his heat. A pitcher throws too hard, he loses his curve. This is the risk of Samardzija in Game 2, and Moore would have been a safer choice.

But that’s a look ahead to Game 2. Here’s a look back at Game 1.

When it was all over, Bochy sat in the interview room. Tired. He took his hat off his head and wiped a big hand over his sweaty brow. “It was a great game,” he said. “One pitch.”

And then he looked down.

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at cohn.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.