A fourth-inning double and a solo home run when they were down to their last out were all that prevented the Giants on Thursday from becoming this season’s third no-hit victims.
Luis Matos’ line-drive double, skirting inches over the glove of Reds left fielder Will Benson, amounted to their only hit before Wilmer Flores went deep in the ninth, hardly saving face in a 5-1 loss to the Reds. After exploding for 19 runs to win the first two games of this series, San Francisco managed only three over the final two games and had to settle for a split in Cincinnati.
The Giants (54-43) had hoped to make Wednesday’s loss that snapped their seven-game winning streak a blip with Alex Cobb on the mound in the series finale, but they lost for only the second time in the last 12 games the 35-year-old All-Star has started. The 12th-year veteran was opposed by a left-hander making his ninth career start, Andrew Abbott, who held San Francisco scoreless for eight innings.
