MILWAUKEE -- Derek Holland gave the Giants his best on Friday night at Miller Park, but it still wasn't enough to snap what's now a six-game losing streak, as San Francisco fell to the Brewers, 4-2.
Holland held Milwaukee to two runs on two hits over six innings of work. He walked five batters, one intentionally, but tied his season high with eight strikeouts. Both hits came in the first inning: a leadoff single by Lorenzo Cain and a two-out two-run home run by Ryan Braun. Holland retired the next eight batters he faced and then stranded a pair of runners in the fourth and left the bases loaded in the fifth.
"I thought me and [catcher Nick Hundley] were on the same page," Holland said. "He kept everything where we needed it to be. Just trying to stick with him and keep working like we have been. The defense made some good plays, as well."

Holland, the Giants' leader with 27 starts this season, has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts and eight of nine since moving back into the rotation on July 25. During that stretch, he has a 2.48 ERA.
"He's been throwing well," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's been doing that all year for us."
Alen Hanson got Holland off the hook for his early miscues with a game-tying home run in the fifth inning, and it was still a 2-2 game when Holland turned things over to the bullpen for the seventh.

Hunter Strickland came on but walked pinch-hitters Curtis Granderson and Eric Thames to open the seventh. The hard-throwing right-hander retired Cain on a fly ball to center field and gave way to Tony Watson. The left-hander struck out Christian Yelich for the second out, but Jesus Aguilar drove in Granderson and Thames with a double to right-center field.
Watson got out of the inning without further damage, but the Giants' offense went hitless over the final four innings against Milwaukee's bullpen.
"His stuff was fine," Bochy said of Strickland. "He just missed on those first couple of hitters and those walks came back to haunt us. [Watson] got the big strikeout and you like your chances there, but [Aguilar] did a nice piece of hitting."
The Giants' losing streak ties a season high. They've lost 10 of their last 12 games on the road and seven of their last eight overall.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Just a bit outside: San Francisco had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the fourth inning after Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt led off the inning with singles off Anderson, who found himself in a 3-0 hole to Hundley. Anderson's fourth pitch of the at-bat appeared to miss the strike zone low and outside, but instead of drawing a walk to load the bases with no outs, home-plate umpire Adam Hamari called it a strike and Hundley eventually popped out. Longoria scored on Chris Shaw's groundout later in the inning to make it a 2-1 game before Anderson pitched out of the mess.

"That was probably one of the worst strike calls I've had happen to me in my career," Hundley said. "You get a 3-0 pitch that's at least eight inches outside -- and I'm not exaggerating -- nobody out, bases loaded, it's a completely different game. But that's what we got today."
HUNDLEY, BOCHY EJECTED
Hundley was still fuming over the call when Hamari rung him up looking at a fastball against Milwaukee reliever Jeremy Jeffress in the ninth inning. Hundley made his feelings known to Hamari, who ejected him and then Bochy.

"Probably the most inconsistent strike zone that I've seen all year," Hundley said. "It just built up, the frustration when at-bats get taken out of your hands. Especially in a close game. Both sides were upset so it wasn't like it was one-sided."

HE SAID IT
"Getting those hits with runners in scoring position, that's the difference between winning and losing. Getting those RBIs. We had a couple of chances there, but we just couldn't get the hit to keep things going." -- Bochy, on the Giants' offense, which went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position
UP NEXT
Chris Stratton gets the nod Saturday as the Giants continue their three-game series with the Brewers at Miller Park at 4:10 p.m. PT. He took the loss his last time out despite holding the Mets to two runs over six innings but is 1-1 with a 1.77 ERA over his last three starts. Stratton allowed three runs over 1 1/3 innings of relief against the Brewers earlier this season and has a 2.89 ERA in three career outings against Milwaukee, including six shutout innings last season in his lone start.