SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Phillies manager Pete Mackanin saw no reason to be upset with his team following a walk-off loss to the Giants.
The way this season has gone, Mackanin left AT&T Park feeling pretty good about his ballclub after playing the NL West leaders to three consecutive one-run games and coming from behind three times to tie San Francisco before losing 8-7 on Sunday.
On a day when righty Aaron Nola failed to make it out of the fourth inning for a fourth consecutive rough start, Philadelphia overcame deficits of 5-1, 6-5 and 7-6 to push San Francisco to the limit.
However, the Phillies came up short when Conor Gillaspie hit a game-ending RBI double with one out in the ninth to give manager Bruce Bochy his 800th win with the Giants.
"San Francisco is a good team," Mackanin said. "We were a little bit of thorn in their side in this three-game series."
Ramiro Pena doubled down the right-field line off Severino Gonzalez (0-1) then scored standing up when Gillaspie lined a 1-1 pitch in the same direction. It was Gillaspie's second career game-ending hit and the seventh by the Giants this season, most in the majors.
Angel Pagan had a season-high four hits and two RBIs while five others had two hits apiece for San Francisco, which has won 13 of 15.
"That's one of the best things we have, that we are dangerous in every aspect," Pagan said. "We know that it doesn't matter what happens, we have somebody there that can get the job done and we can just keep moving the boat."
The teams combined for 28 hits, with the Phillies rallying to tie the score twice in the final three innings before Gillaspie's game-winner.
Odubel Herrera homered and Peter Bourjos added three hits for Philadelphia.
Nola struggled with his command all day. He allowed five runs and 10 hits in just 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts. Nola also hit three batters.
"Today I wasn't finishing my pitches," Nola said. "I was pulling a lot of balls. I'm still leaving the ball over the plate. In my eyes, I feel like I'm cutting myself off, not getting on top of the ball which leads to finishing the pitch."
Bochy became the fourth manager in franchise history to reach the 800-win mark, joining John McGraw (2,583), Dusty Baker (840) and Bill Terry (823). Bochy, who had 951 wins with San Diego, leads active managers with 1,751 — 16th all-time.
WARNING SIGNS
The Phillies couldn't get much going until Cueto hit Phillies cleanup hitter Maikel Franco with a pitch with two outs in the fourth. After home plate umpire Doug Eddings issued a warning to both teams, Philadelphia responded with back-to-back RBI singles from Carlos Ruiz and Freddy Galvis to cut San Francisco's lead to 5-3. Cueto insisted he wasn't intentionally trying to hit Franco but the Phillies used it as motivation nonetheless. "Everybody got (mad)," Franco said, adding he anticipated getting hit because of his spot in the Phillies lineup. "I'm not going to say anything about it. I just let it happen."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: After the game RHP Vince Velasquez was activated from the disabled list. LHP Elvis Araujo was optioned to Triple-A to Lehigh Valley to make room.
Giants: Matt Cain will have one more throwing session this week and could be sent out on a rehab assignment as early as Friday. Cain has spent two stints on the disabled list due to a right hamstring strain. ... Buster Posey was hit on the outside of his left foot by a bunted foul ball in the fifth inning and had to be checked by head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner but remained in the game.
UP NEXT
Phillies: Velasquez (5-2) is scheduled to pitch the opener of a three-game series in Arizona on Monday. Velasquez had been out since June 9 with strained right biceps.
Giants: RHP Jeff Samardzija (8-4) pitches against Oakland on Monday after lasting just three innings in his most recent outing against Pittsburgh, which matched the shortest start of his career.
