Errors Spoil Quality Start By Loran In Loss To Giants

The Wolfpack have lost consecutive games for the first time in 2018 after falling to the Giants 4-1 Monday night. The loss drops the Wolfpack to 8-3 at the halfway point of the season, good for second place in the standings behind the Diamondbacks. 

Jaret Loran (0-1) provided another strong outing on the mound going four innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out four and walked one while giving up only three hits. Loran found the strike zone early and often and forced the Giants hitters to swing defensively for most of the game while they were behind in counts.

Michael Goldade was reinstated from the disabled list Monday and wasted no time in making his presence felt as he made a ridiculous highlight reel catch in right field to end the third inning and stop a rally, then proceeded to tie his own club record of stealing four bases in a game (which he set against the same Giants team in 2017). The speedy outfielder now leads the team with nine steals on the season despite only having played in six out of eleven games while battling a leg injury in the early going.

Apart from Goldade's catch in the third inning, the defense was nowhere to be seen in this game. All four of the Giants runs were unearned, and the Pack set a new team record for errors in a single game with six. Loran and Trent Lawson both pitched well enough to beat a quality team, but the difference in this game was the Giants supporting their pitcher by doing the little things right more often than the Pack could. The Wolfpack have now committed twenty-three errors through eleven games, which has spotted their opponents with a total of thirteen unearned runs.

The Wolfpack have a week off and will be back in action on Tuesday, June 19th to take on the Canadians.