SF Giants drop series to Guardians as Hjelle allows crucial home run

The Giants had an opportunity to win a third straight series, but Sean Hjelle allowed a crucial three-run homer that decided the game.

The Giants took two of three from the Dodgers at home. They took two of three from the Braves in Atlanta. On Sunday, they had an opportunity to take two of three from the Guardians in Cleveland.

Given that San Francisco has teetered below the .500 mark for most of this season, three straight series victories against three playoff teams would’ve been invaluable as the team closes out the first half.

Instead, a potentially great road trip becomes merely a good one.

Despite taking an early lead, Sean Hjelle allowed a go-ahead, game-deciding three-run home run to Bo Naylor in the sixth inning as the Giants fell to the Guardians, 5-4, at Progressive Field, missing on an opportunity to win a series against one of the American League’s best teams.

The Giants (44-47) snatched control early. Michael Conforto hit a 440-foot, two-run home run in the second inning, the longest long ball in his time with San Francisco. In the third, Heliot Ramos drove in Nick Ahmed with a single, providing rookie Hayden Birdsong with a 3-0 lead in his third career start.

The Guardians (56-32) subsequently proved why they’re one of the best teams in baseball. Cleveland tagged Birdsong for two runs in the fourth — the first on an RBI single by Josh Naylor, the second on an RBI double by Daniel Schneemann.

Birdsong finished the inning on his own terms despite throwing 23 pitches, but his afternoon ended with two outs in the fifth after allowing two runners to reach base. Hjelle escaped that jam by striking out José Ramírez to maintain San Francisco’s 3-2 lead, giving Birdsong a final line of two earned runs across 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. The following inning, Hjelle would, once again, be one strike away from maintaining his team’s one-run lead.

After recording two quick outs, Andrés Giménez and Tyler Freeman recorded back-to-back singles. Bo Naylor entered off the bench to pinch-hit for Austin Hedges, but Hjelle was on the verge of sending him right back to the dugout, getting ahead in the count, 0-2. Naylor, indeed, returned to the dugout in short order, but not in the manner Hjelle hoped.

The younger Naylor brother, fouled off two pitches, then took two balls, bringing the count to 2-2. On the seventh pitch of the plate appearance, Naylor sent Hjelle’s middle-in sinker into the right-field bleachers, flipping San Francisco’s one-run lead into a two-run deficit. For the Guardians’ bullpen, a unit that entered play with a league-best 2.59 ERA, those two runs were plenty.

San Francisco made things interesting in the ninth against closer Emmanuel Clase. Matt Chapman doubled with one out, took third base on defensive indifference and scored on Conforto’s groundout. Luis Matos hit a potential game-ending grounder with two outs, but reached base as third baseman Angel Martínez made a throwing error. But Clase got Brett Wisely to ground out, ending the ball game and the series.