Giants’ Brandon Belt criticizes umpire after loss to Reds

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 16: Scooter Gennett #3 of the Cincinnati Reds leaps over Brandon Belt #9 of the San Francisco Giants after getting his throw off to complete the douple play in the bottom of the fifth inning at AT&T Park on May 16, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) less SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 16: Scooter Gennett #3 of the Cincinnati Reds leaps over Brandon Belt #9 of the San Francisco Giants after getting his throw off to complete the douple play in the bottom of the fifth ... more Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Giants’ Brandon Belt criticizes umpire after loss to Reds 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

Brandon Belt has been on fire at the plate. He homered in all three games of a series against the Reds at AT&T Park that started with two Giants wins and ended Wednesday with a 6-3 Reds victory.

Belt’s strike-zone awareness has been off the charts, a huge reason he will take a .301 average into Thursday night’s series opener against the Rockies.

When Wednesday’s loss ended with Belt looking at a full-count third strike from Rafael Iglesias, leaving Brandon Crawford at first base and Evan Longoria on deck, Belt was not happy.

His feelings were not soothed more than 20 minutes later when he went off on home-plate umpire Doug Eddings in an uncharacteristic criticism that surely will cost the first baseman a few dollars, particularly when he insinuated that Eddings just wanted the game over with.

Belt said Eddings “multiple times,” including Wednesday, has talked about how he wants to get through games quickly.

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“There are just some times when you have a feeling that one or two of them are trying to get the game over with, whether that’s through what they say or what they do,” Belt said.

“That just can’t happen. You can’t have these guys affecting games and affecting careers. We had a really good hitter coming up after that who could have tied the game for us and he never got that chance because (Eddings) calls a ball so far off the plate I don’t think I could have touched it.”

Asked if Eddings might have been joking, Belt said. “I don’t know, but if you say it enough you start to believe it. I’m not sure if that’s connected or not, but if you don’t want it to be, don’t say it.”

Crew chief Joe West declined to respond, saying, “I don’t comment on postgame comments and things said in anger.”

Belt’s words were a fittingly strange coda to a game the Giants could have won if not for some self-inflicted wounds, a separate umpire’s ruling against them and a dream first inning on both sides of the ball by former Giant Adam Duvall.

Duvall’s three-run homer gave the Reds a 4-0 lead four batters into the first inning. Andrew Suarez needed 29 pitches to get an out and 36 to retire the side. Suarez rebounded to last six innings.

The Giants stormed back for two in the bottom of the first and could have had a huge inning when Pablo Sandoval shot a ball into the left-center gap. But Duvall made a diving catch on what became a sacrifice fly that Matt Harvey was glad to absorb.

An inning later, the Giants had runners on second and third with nobody out but failed to score after Miguel Gomez tagged at third on Gregor Blanco’s one-out fly to left and did not run home, even when Duvall airmailed a throw to the fence near the Giants’ on-deck circle and catcher Tucker Barnhart could not find the ball — or pretended he couldn’t.

Andrew McCutchen then flied out.

“When you break off the bag, you want to watch the throw,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s instinct there and he didn’t quite read it. He’s a young kid. At the time that’s a huge run.”

The Reds did get a huge run on a Nick Hundley passed ball after the Giants thought the fifth inning ended on a Joey Votto grounder to first. But the umps ruled, after conferring, that the ball hit Votto’s foot and thus was foul. Bochy disagreed, saying, “That’s a fair ball.”

When the Giants failed to score after loading the bases with one out in the sixth, their best chance to win ended.

Bochy sent pinch-hitters Austin Jackson and Gorkys Hernandez to the plate against lefty Wandy Peralta even though he had Crawford and Buster Posey on the bench.

Bochy said he wanted to stay away from Posey a day after he was drilled by a vicious Votto foul tip, and feared the Reds would summon righty David Hernandez, who has been tough on the Giants, if he sent Crawford to the plate.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hschulman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman