By Hal McCoy
This was the most embarrassing loss of the season, maybe in a decade, maybe all-time.
For the most part, those weren’t the 78-loss San Francisco Giants on the Oracle Park turf Monday night.
Those were the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats that pinned a 5-0 loss on the Cincinnati Reds.
Before the game, the Giants called up a busload of players from Triple-A Sacrament and four were in the starting lineup and one came on to pitch relief.
The Giants lineup, from fourth through ninth, contained players participating in major leagues games this season for their sixth, seventh, 18th, 35th and 38th games.
As broadcaster Jeff Brantley put it, “This is like a spring training B game.” Except the Red had their regular lineup. It was the Giants lineup populated with minor leaguers.
The Giants have 25 players on the injured list, 17 pitchers and eight position players.
And when those players arrived from Sacramento, they were told, “Congratulations. You’re in the lineup and, by the way, you are facing Chase Burns and he is 13-2 with a 2.51 earned run average.
They were not impressed nor intimidated. They handled Burns with the ease of ordering an omelette, no mushrooms, for breakfast.
The first four Giants went double, single, single, double and San Francisco led, 2-0, before Burns recorded an out.
He retired the first two in the second inning, then gave up a single, double and a three-run homer to the only recognizable name in the Giants’ lineup, Rafael Devers.
San Francisco leadoff hitter Drew Gilbert, a teammate with Burns at the Univerity of Tennessee, doubled in the first inning and in the second inning and scored twice.
Burns survived just 3 2/3 innings and gave up all five runs and nine hits and obviously has banged into a wall with the most innings he has ever pitched in a single season.
In addition, the Giants started lefthander Carson Whisenhut, owner of a 7.03 earned run average. He held the Reds scoreless on two hits with three strikeouts for 2 2/3 innings.
On his 47th pitch, with two outs in the third inning and runners on third and first, he grabbed his elbow and was finished.
Jason Foley came in and struck out Dane Myers, then struck out the next two in the fourth.
San Francisco eventually used six pitchers, five out of the statistically worst bullpen in MLB.
The five relief pitchers, including just called-up Randy Walker, held the Reds to no runs and three hits over the last 6 1/3 innings.
It was the first time since 1901 a team used six or more pitchers in a shutout of the Reds, who were shut out for the 14th time this season, tying the Pittsburgh Pirates for the most this season.
While collecting only fiive singles, one an infield hit, the Reds struck out 11 times.
All this came against a team on a four-game losing streak and losers in 16 of their previous 21 games.
The major concern, though, was the non-performance of Burns, attacked aggressively by the Giants.
Gilbert began it all with an 0-and-2 double high off the right field wall. Devers moved him to third with a sharp single.
Jung Ho Lee singled home Gilbert. Turner Hill, one of the call-ups, doubled to deep center and it was 2-0.
Burns retired the first two in the second, then No. 9 hitter Christian Koss singled and Gilbert blooped a double over third base into shallow left.
Burns had Devers 2-and-2, then offered a 98 miles an hour fastball right down Main Street and Devers crushed it 427 feet over the Levi’s Landing center field wall and it was 5-0.
Manager Tito Francona permitted Burns to start the fourth and he gave up a leadoff triple to just called-up Grant McCray, a .164 career hitter for his modest time in the majors.
Burns then fumbled a ball hit back to him and Koss was safe at first. Burns got a well-executed double play started by first baseman Sal Stewart .
Gilbert hit the ball to Matt McLain and he tagged Koss then flipped to Burns covering first. McCray stayed at third.
But Francona had seen enough and removed Burns.
The Reds bullpen of Sam Moll, Julian Garcia and Emilio Pagan held the Giants to no runs and one it over the final 4 1/3 innings.
But the offense matched the dense fog that always blows in off McCovey Cove in Oracle Park.
Stewart extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the sixth, Tyler Stephenson had two hits that included the infield hit and Eugenio Suarez had a ninth-inning single.
“His fastball. . .he wa yanking it,” said Reds manager Tito Francona, describing Burns’ problems. “They were very aggressive and he was pitching into their swings.
“And he wasn’t able to get his normal breaking ball depth,” he continued. “You don’t see that very often against him. There was some heavy contact.”
Asked if his excessive innings this season was the reason he removed Burns in the fourth inning, Francona said, “Yes. Once I thought we could get through the game (with the bullpen) and not have it affect tomorrow, that’s when I went and got him.”
Of course five runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings was reason enough as the Reds were en route to their eighth loss in 11 game.