San Francisco Giants Jung Hoo (51) Lee celebrates Matt Chapman (right) home run in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 4, 2025 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

San Diego Padres 5 (35-25)

San Francisco Giants 6 (34-28)

Win: Sean Hjelle (1-0)

Loss: Jason Adam (1-3)

Save: Randy Rodriguez (1)

Time: 2:21

Attendance: 34,821

By Stephen Ruderman

Buster Posey shook things up, and it proved pivotal in multiple ways, as the Giants came back from down 5-0 to beat the Padres 6-5 in what was no doubt their biggest win of the season.

Prior to the game, LaMonte Wade Jr., the fifth-longest tenured Giant, who had been here in 2021, was designated for assignment. Wade was hitting .167, and with the fact that Bryce Elridge is on his way to the big leagues, Wade was destined to be the odd man out. Wednesday night was the night.

Catcher Sam Huff was also designated for assignment. Infielder Christian Koss was sent down to Triple-A Sacramento.

The Giants signed veteran first-baseman Dominic Smith to a one-year major league contract and added him to the roster. Smith spent time with the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds last season, and hit .233.

To complete the shakeup, Buster called up outfielder Daniel Johnson and catcher Andrew Knizer from Sacramento. Johnson and Knizer both have major league experience. Johnson started the season in the Mexican League with the Cliente de Durango, and signed a minor league deal with the Giants on May 2. Knizer signed a minor league deal on May 21.

Johnson is also a local kid, as he was born and grew up in Vallejo. He attended Jesse M. Bethel High School, where he hit .515 in his senior season in 2013.

Since their 24-14 start in which the offense clicked on all cylinders playing situational baseball, the Giants have gone 9-14, and the offense’s struggles from the last three seasons returned. After last night’s 3-2 loss in 10 innings, the Giants fell to just five games over .500 for the first time since April 8

After Farhan Zaidi tinkered with the roster on an almost-daily basis for the last three years, Buster has kept the roster mostly intact since Opening Day. However, with the recent struggles, moves were going to be made at some point. A shakeup like this can sometimes come across as rash, changes needed to be made.

Smith and Johnson would both be in the lineup, as Kyle Harrison took the ball for the Giants on a tranquil and foggy night at Oracle Park. Unfortunately, it looked like it was going to be another one of those nights for the Giants. The Padres struck early with a pair of runs on a two-out triple by Gavin Sheets in the top of the first inning.

The Giants’ offensive struggles continued. Padres’ starter Nick Pivetta retired 14 of the first 15 men he faced, including 13-straight from the bottom of the first through the fifth.

Harrison worked his way in and out of trouble, as he got through the second, third and fourth with the deficit still at two. Harrison would then have a very rough go of things in the top of the fifth.

The Padres had runners at first and second with one out for Jackson Merrill, who lined a double down the left field line to make it 3-0. Sheets, who knocked in the Padres’ first two runs with his triple in the top of the first, hit a sharp chopper off the top of Harrison’s back, and the ball ricocheted into shallow right field. Two runs scored, and the Padres had opened up a 5-0 lead.

Harrison left the game, and Bob Melvin brought in Sean Hjelle, who retired the next two. It was clearly not the best night for Harrison, who gave up five runs over four and two thirds innings. He gave up nine hits, and he did not pitch a single one, two, three inning.

The Giants have come back from a 5-0 deficit to win a game this season. Oddly enough, it was April 9, the last time the Giants came into a game just five games over .500. The Giants came back from down 5-0 to beat the Reds on Mike Yastrzemski’s walk-off splash hit in the bottom of the 10th.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Daniel Johnson, the new kid, fisted a base-hit to center to end Pivetta’s streak. Patrick Bailey then came up and hit a double to right-center, which scored Johnson, and put the Giants on the board.

Hjelle threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the sixth, and the Giants would put a real dent in San Diego’s lead in the bottom of the sixth. Jung Hoo Lee doubled with one out, and two batters later, Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run to the first row of the left field bleachers to make it 5-3.

It suddenly felt like April. The crowd was fired up, and so was the Giants’ dugout. Most importantly, the Giants had that aura again. There was a feeling in the Giants’ dugout that they were going to come back and win the game.

Hjelle threw another one, two, three inning in the top of the seventh, and he retired eight of the nine men he faced over two and two thirds innings. Hjelle was not going to get the most credit Wednesday night, but he quietly played a big part with his performance.

The Giants were ready to strike in the bottom of the seventh. Willy Adames drew a walk to start the inning, and after Johnson lined a base-hit to center, Pivetta was done. Jason Adam came in and struck out Bailey, and then Tyler Fitzgerald flipped a single to right-center to load the bases.

Heliot Ramos came up to the plate. Ramos took a slider down and away for ball one, and then he golfed a slider at the knees down the left field line to tie the game.

It was a brand-new game, and the Giants were still going. Lee hit a sacrifice fly to right-center, and Fitzgerald scored to give the Giants the lead.

Tyler Rogers was summoned for the top of the eighth, and he saw some action right away. Jose Iglesias led off the inning, and hit a chopper in between the mound and first base. Rogers dropped it, and then he slipped, but as he slipped, he recovered the ball and underhanded it to first to get the out.

It was a remarkable play by Rogers, who was a bit dinged up. He was checked on, but he stayed in the game to complete a scoreless inning.

Since Camilo Doval pitched Tuesday night, Melvin summoned his old closer, Ryan Walker to try and nail down the save Wednesday night. However, we would get our usual drama from Walker.

Tatis lined a base-hit to left-center to start the top of the ninth. Then Luis Arraez hit a shot out into the gap in right-center, but Johnson, playing in his first-ever game at Oracle Park, ran like the wind to take away extra bases and save the Giants’ lead.

Johnson’s catch especially paid huge dividends, because Manny Machado blooped a single to left to put runners at first and second. Melvin had seen enough, and he brought in Randy Rodriguez.

Rodriguez struck out Jackson Merrill, and then both runners pulled off a double steal to get to second and third. Gavin Sheets, who had knocked in four of the Padres’ five runs, was at the plate with a chance to put the Padres back ahead. Rodriguez got Sheets to pop out, and the Giants held on for their biggest win of the season.

Sean Hjelle was rewarded for his effort with the win. Jason Adam took the loss, and Randy Rodriguez picked up his first-career save.

And how about the local kid, Daniel Johnson. He went 2-for-4 and scored two of the Giants’ six runs, and his tremendous running catch in the top of the ninth single-handedly saved this game. It looks like Buster’s moves paid off in more ways than one.

The Giants improve to 34-28, and they can get a split in the series with a win Thursday afternoon. The Giants will have the right man on the mound in Robbie Ray (7-1, 2.43 ERA). Dylan Cease (1-4, 4.66 ERA) will go for San Diego.

First pitch will be at 12:45 p.m.

Major League Baseball News and Notes:

Rob Manfred dropped the bomb Wednesday. He told Evan Drellich of The Athletic that the Major League Baseball Joint Competition Committee will officially propose implementing an Automated Balls and Strikes challenge system next season. While it is not official, the majority of the committee is made up of owners, which makes it very likely we will see the ABS challenge system implemented next season.

Final Thoughts:

This was a big win, and this is the exact kind of win that gets a struggling team hot.

However, I am worried about the team for the first time. One of the biggest reasons the Giants have struggled is that they have abandoned the situational hitting that got them off to their 24-14 start, and have been relying on home runs again. I get that this is likely due to guys pressing at the plate, but if they can’t kick this habit soon, the Giants will risk falling out of contention.

That is why the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday night was so big. They kept the line moving, and the big hit was Heliot Ramos’ line-drive double down the left field line. That is the kind of baseball the Giants have to play to get out of this slump. If they can go back to consistently playing the kind of situational baseball that got them off to their 24-14 start, they will be just fine.