Tampa Bay Rays’ Yandy Diaz, left, celebrates with first base coach Michael Johns, right, after hitting an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, August 15, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez)

By Vince Cestone

SAN FRANCISCO–The San Francisco Giants were ever so close to snapping their five-game losing streak, but a disastrous eighth and ninth inning sunk them in, as they get edged by the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 at Oracle Park on Friday night.

With the score tied at 6, the Giants had the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the eighth inning after Rays reliever Edwin Uceta hit Casey Schmitt in the forearm to start the inning. Schmitt went down immediately and came out of the game. After the game, Giants Manager Bob Melvin said the X-rays were negative and he’ll probably be out a couple of days.

The next batter Jung Hoo Lee singled, and then Uceta hit Koss to load the bases. That brought up catcher Patrick Bailey who scalded a line drive but it was right at the shortstop. One out.

The next two batters grounded out–two out and three out. No runners scored and the Giants looked deflated after the Rays immediately pushed across a run in the top of the 9th inning off the bat of Yandy Diaz.

The winning run scored after he was handed first base by a Randy Rodriguez hit-by-pitch.

Giants blockbuster deadline acquisition, Rafael Devers, doubled to lead off the bottom of the 9th, but the next three batters quietly got out, and the Rays held on to win 7-6.

But before that, the Giants started off the game with optimism and full of hope.

San Francisco jumped out to a 1-0 lead with the help of a little bit of some small ball. Shortstop Willy Adames walked with 2-outs, stole second base, and came home on a Dominic Smith single.

But as they would all night, the Rays punched right back in the top of the second inning. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero homered in the top of the second to immediately knot the score at 1.

But the Giants came right back in the bottom of the second with two runs. Lee stole second base after he led off with a walk, and was doubled home by the next batter Christian Koss. Three batters later, Heliot Ramos double home Koss.

Both RBI hits in the second inning were opposite field line drives, an approach the Giants have been lacking.

The Giants were up 3-1. All was good, as they were poised to finally snap out of their funk. But here came those pesky Rays again.

In the top of the third inning, with one out, Rays ninth-place hitter Hunter Feduccia doubled. But then, an infield hit by the next batter Chandler Simpson fueled a two-run rally when Diaz had a 2-RBI single two batters later to tie the game at 3.

With the same opposite-field approach, the Giants scored three times in the bottom of the third. Adames led off the inning with a home run to right-center and Bailey had a 2-RBI double to give the Giants a 6-3 lead.

But Giants starter Landen Roupp, who just came off the injured list, gave up a walk and a single to start the fourth inning. Melvin then pulled Roupp, who ended his night with 3 innings pitched, giving up five runs and five hits. In came lefty Matt Gage.

Gage started out strong, striking out first baseman Bob Seymour but then more bad luck happened for the Giants. Rays shortstop Ha-Seong Kim appeared to hit an inning-ending double play headed right to second baseman Koss, but instead, the ball hit off Gage and became an infield hit.

After a Feduccia RBI groundout, Simpson singled to tie the game at 6.

And this all set the stage for the fateful eighth and ninth inning.

The Giants will somehow stay only five games out in the National League Wild Card race as the New York Mets lost again and the Cincinnati Reds blew a seven-run lead, falling to the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers.

In a year where the Wild Card was gettable with a struggling National League field competing for the last playoff spot, the Giants will appear to miss out on the postseason yet again–for the eighth time in nine years.

Fans at Oracle Park booed the Giants after Tyler Fitzgerald popped out to second base to end the game. And rightfully so, as a playoff-starved Giants fan base will most likely have to be told yet again that next year will be better as the players speak after the last game of the season.

The Giants will try to get right on Saturday night as Justin Verlander (1-9, 4.53 ERA) will take the hill for the Giants. The Rays will counter with Adrian Houser (6-4, 2.84 ERA).

Will the Giants win another game at home in 2025? Of course they will, but in times like this, it feels like the Giants won’t ever hear the soothing tones of Tony Bennett after a game for the remainder of the year.