MILWAUKEE — Pablo Sandoval’s day began at 3 a.m., when a ghost awoke the third baseman in his hotel room. It ended with the Giants losing another game in their personal chamber of horrors.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ aggressive lineup haunted Matt Cain, rattling his chains for four extra-base hits in the early innings, and the Giants’ offense couldn’t answer against Yovani Gallardo in a 5-1 loss Friday night.
Cain (9-2) lost for the first time since May 2. He had been 7-0 in his previous nine starts and missed a chance to become the NL’s first 10-game winner.
Now the Giants have spent their biggest gun in this important series. Saturday’s starter, Barry Zito, has a 10.05 ERA in three starts at Miller Park. And Giants Manager Bruce Bochy remained unsure whether Jonathan Sanchez would get the ball on Sunday.
The series isn’t setting up well for the Giants, who lead the NL wild card standings by a half-game over Milwaukee but haven’t matched up well against offensively gifted clubs. They’ve also lost 15 of their last 18 games here in America’s Dairyland, including five consecutive.
Cain was shaking his head after Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee hit first-pitch strikes for run-scoring doubles in the first inning.
“They kind of jumped on me,” Cain said. “I didn’t even get a chance to go at Braun. I was trying to freeze him (with a curveball) to get ahead, and he put it into right field. You’d think a guy (McGehee) who hadn’t seen you might take a pitch. “... These guys are aggressive, but I thought if I made quality pitches, they’d get themselves out.”
That plan worked for Gallardo. He allowed a home run to ghostbuster Sandoval in the first inning but allowed just three more hits — two to Nate Schierholtz — in his 7·innings. Gallardo retired 16 consecutive batters, a stretch that began with a key strikeout of Matt Downs with runners at the corners and one out in the second inning.
Gallardo (8-4) also beat the Giants during the opening series at AT&T Park, when he had the special privilege of becoming the first pitcher to hit a home run off Randy Johnson. On Friday, he became just the second pitcher to defeat Cain this season.
“It’s been a joy to watch what Matt has done this year,” Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. “You look up there and he gave us seven innings. We’re still in that game. He battled without his best stuff.”
But Cain was displeased with how the Brewers scored two insurance runs in the fifth inning. The right-hander “got in a goofy spot” by walking Gallardo and Craig Counsell to begin the inning. Then J.J. Hardy surprised the Giants with a bunt to the left side.
Sandoval was caught in between, perhaps unsure whether to cover third base for a potential forceout. Cain hesitated before fielding the ball and his throw was late to first base. The runs scored on Braun’s single and Prince Fielder’s sacrifice fly.
Bochy admonished Sandoval, saying “if there’s any doubt, you’ve got to get the out. That’s a tough play for the pitcher.”
But Cain disagreed, saying he shouldn’t have hesitated.
If Sandoval didn’t sleep well, it wasn’t because of the loss. Prior to the game, he told teammates that a door in his room opened and closed by itself in the middle of the night. The club stays at the historic Pfister Hotel, which dates to 1893 and is rumored to be spectrally active.
“What can I do?” Sandoval said. “It’s 3 a.m. so I went back to sleep. I’m not scared.”
A few minutes after batting practice, though, Sandoval sought out traveling secretary Kell King.
“I need a big favor,” Sandoval said. “I don’t want that room.”