PHILADELPHIA — The Giants’ bullpen recorded a Major League-worst 6.26 ERA in May. June isn’t off to a much better start.
Left-hander Jarlín García surrendered a pair of home runs in the sixth inning as the Giants blew a three-run lead and fell short of a sweep in their 6-5 loss to the Phillies in Wednesday night’s series finale at Citizens Bank Park.
Wilmer Flores’ three-run shot off Aaron Nola capped a five-run sixth that briefly put the Giants ahead, 5-2, but García couldn’t hold the lead after replacing left-hander Carlos Rodón in the bottom half of the inning.
Rodón allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings and struck out six, including four of the final five batters he faced, but he had to grind through some strenuous innings and ultimately departed after throwing 98 pitches.
Manager Gabe Kapler opted to turn the game over to García, who hadn’t allowed an earned run in 17 appearances to start the year, matching Joe Nathan for the longest such streak in franchise history. García drew a pocket of lefties at the bottom of the Phillies’ lineup, but his scoreless streak came to an end when he allowed a two-run shot to Nick Maton that cut the Giants’ lead to 5-4. Bryson Stott followed with a single to set up another two-run blast from Kyle Schwarber, which put Philadelphia ahead, 6-5.
“I don’t think his slider had as much bite on it,” Kapler said. “When it’s good, it kind of makes a little bit of a right turn. It kind of starts at…