Marlins give Giants a reality check after series win against Dodgers

It didn’t take long for the Giants to fall back to earth after taking two of three from the Dodgers.

The Marlins pounced on Adrian Houser and handed San Francisco a 9-4 loss.

Houser surrendered eight runs, all earned, on a career-high 11 hits, two of which left the yard, and took his third loss of the season Friday night to open a three-game series against Miami at Oracle Park.

The Marlins (13-13) led 8-0 by the end of the second inning, which was more than enough behind Sandy Alcantara, who only allowed the Giants (11-15) to turn nine hits into three runs across six frames.

Rafael Devers and Willy Adames were the only Giants kept off the bases as the team banged out 11 hits, matching their seventh-best total of the season. They are 6-0 when totaling 12 or more hits.

Jung Hoo Lee sent a solo shot on a hop into McCovey Cove in the eighth inning. His second home run of the season gave Lee his third hit of the night and the Giants their fourth run for the first time in five games.

What it means

The Giants rode their arms to a series win over the Dodgers. But since their season reached an early apex with Wednesday’s shutout win that clinched the series, they’ve dropped their past two games. They fell to 1-4 behind Houser, who remains their only starter yet to earn a win.

Who’s hot

Luis Arraez hit safely in the 19th game of the 25 he has played this season, raising his batting average to .320 with a 3-for-5 night. Arraez provided the only hit in Thursday’s shutout loss, and his second opposite-field single Friday night drove in Eric Haase with two outs for the Giants’ third run of the fifth inning.

The pitching staff had been on a roll, with the lowest ERA in MLB over the past week entering the game (2.22), but that was quickly put to a halt when the Marlins jumped all over Houser.

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Who’s not

Houser’s ERA swelled to 7.36 as he allowed at least four earned runs for the fourth consecutive start. The Marlins scored on him in all four innings he touched the rubber in his worst outing of the season, culminating in a three-run home run from Connor Norby that extended Miami’s lead to 8-0.

Adames’ 0-for-5 performance dropped him to 2-for-28 with 13 strikeouts over his past six games.

Devers’ OPS stands at .565 after striking out twice and grounding into a double play. He had a chance to stunt Miami’s momentum when he stepped into the box already down 3-0 in the bottom of the first.

With runners on first and third and one out, Devers rolled over on an 0-1 sinker and allowed the Marlins to turn two and escape the jam. It was the sixth double play Devers has hit into in 26 games, tied for the second-most in MLB. The Giants, meanwhile, are tied for the league lead with 24 as a team.

Up next

The Giants host the Marlins for two more to wrap up their home stand, and they will have to win both to take a third consecutive series after stringing together two in a row for the first time this season.

LHP Robbie Ray (2-3, 2.86) gets the ball against RHP Eury Pérez (2-1, 4.15) in a Saturday matinee.