SAN FRANCISCO — The ninth-inning mistakes and ensuing discussion about Tony Vitello’s decisions overshadowed a key factor in Monday night’s loss: The Giants left a dozen runners on base in the first game of the series. 

A night later, they were even worse. 

The Giants left 13 runners on base in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals. After a solid road trip, they’ve dropped both games since returning to Oracle Park.

The Nationals took a 2-0 lead two batters into the game and added on in the fifth, but Jung Hoo Lee made it a one-run game with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth, part of another big night that extended his hitting streak to 17 games. 

Among the many issues for the bullpen recently has been a flood of walks, and that cost them Tuesday. Erik Miller was so wild that Vitello turned to righty Dylan Smith when CJ Abrams walked up with the bases loaded. Smith did a nice job of limiting the damage, but the Nationals still tacked on a pair in an inning that included three walks and a wild pitch. 

Bryce Eldridge fought back from 0-2 with two outs in the seventh, and the Giants eventually loaded the bases. But pinch-hitter Buddy Kennedy flew out to center to strand the final three runners of the night. Eldridge homered with two outs in the ninth, but it was far too late for the Giants offense. 

The Hottest Hitter Alive

Lee was batting .265 at the start of this hitting streak. He’s now up to .335, second in the Majors behind #ForeverGiant Otto Lopez. For the eighth time in the last 12, he recorded multiple hits, and the second one was one of the most impressive swings of the streak. 

Lee pivoted on a down-and-in fastball from Brad Lord and drove a hard double just inside the line, somehow getting it past Garcia, who was holding the runner and playing the line. 

The 17-game hitting streak is the longest by a Giant since Donovan Solano also reached 17 in 2020. It’s the longest active one in the big leagues, and Luis Arraez ranks fourth with a 10-game streak. He tripled in the first inning to extend his own run. 

Short Hous

Lefties entered Tuesday’s game with a 1.051 OPS against Adrian Houser, and the Nationals went with a lineup that had six left-handed hitters at the top and then two switch-hitters. A couple of them gave him trouble early on. 

James Wood led off the game with a single and Luis Garcia Jr. followed with a homer to right, but Houser settled in from there and didn’t allow another run until the fifth. Jacob Young — the lone righty — ended his day with a one-out triple and scored after Houser was pulled.

Houser struck out six in his 4 1/3 innings but was also charged with three earned. This was the fourth consecutive start in which he failed to get through five full innings. 

Walk This Way

The Giants had just five games of five-plus walks coming into this one, but Nationals lefty Andrew Alvarez gave free passes to five of the 21 batters he faced in four-plus innings. They ended up with a season-high seven walks.

The Giants are still a distant last in the big leagues in walks, but they’ve at least shown a bit of improvement. They were averaging 2.1 walks per game through the end of May, a historically low rate, but they’re up over 3.0 per game in June. 

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