San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle throws to the Cincinnati Reds line up in the bottom of the first inning at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Wed Apr 15, 2026 (AP news photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (6-11) suffered another disappointing loss at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds 8-3 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The Reds hit three home runs in the game two of them three run long balls. San Francisco was playing catch up the entire game.

The Giants had a few scoring opportunities but left runners stranded to end innings. The Reds won the first game of the series and now they lead the series 2-0 on Wednesday and are looking for a sweep Thursday.

Game recap: San Francisco went three and out in the opening inning. The Reds however got going early unfortunately for Mahle. Sal Stewart hit a three run home run to right center driving TJ Friedl and Matt McClain home. Following that home run, Eugenio Suarez came to the plate and hit a solo home run to right and the Reds had a 4-0 lead much to Mahle’s disappointment. It was not the way he had envisioned the start of this game. He got out of the first inning but San Francisco was now way behind the eight ball with a lot of work to do. The only upside was that it was very early in the game.

The Giants cut the Reds lead in half in the top of the second inning and it was the bottom of the lineup that brought in those runs. Susac doubled driving Jung Hoo Lee and Matt Chapman home. (Chapman had singled and Lee walked).

The Giants now only trailed by two runs 4-2 going into the bottom of the second inning. Giants pitcher Mahle had still not settled in missing too many pitches by a lot as well as throwing some dangerous pitches.

Once again, he gave up another three run home run pushing the Reds lead to 7-2. The Reds extended their lead when Sal Stewart connected for a home run off a lousy Mahle pitch driving in Matt McClain and Elly De La Cruz. It was a disastrous inning for Mahle allowing three walks, a single and the three run home run.

San Francisco was unable to score any runs in the third inning but more importantly they kept the Reds from doing anymore damage. The score remained 7-2 going into the top of the fourth inning. The Giants needed the top of the batting order to start hitting.

The Giants went quietly in the top of the fourth inning going three and out. Mahle started the bottom of the fourth striking out McClain, but then it went sideways when the Reds De La Cruz crushed a home run to center (442 feet) and the Reds had taken an 8-2 lead. Mahle remained in the game, his pitch count continued to rise, he is now at 89. It certainly appeared to be time for a change.

Once again the Giants went three and out in the top of the fifth. The bottom of the batting order wasn’t doing very much other than Susac. Blade Tidwell relieved Mahle in the bottom of the inning. Mahle had allowed eight hits, eight runs, five walks, six strikeouts and four home runs. Tidwell pitches with intense velocity and breezed through the inning with a strikeout, a ground out and a pop out. He had a great outing.

The Giants had not gotten a hit since the second inning when Luis Arraez singled in the top of the sixth but that was erased when with one out, Casey Schmitt hit into a double play and San Francisco now had three innings left to try and rally.

Tidwell was relieved in the sixth inning by Ryan Borucki. Tidwell had dismissed the three Reds batters he faced. Borucki also had a nice inning closing out the inning.

San Francisco crept a bit closer in the top of the seventh inning when the top of the batting order got a little something going. Devers singled; Susac would single driving Devers to third with two outs.

Heliot Ramos would hit for Will Brennan driving in Devers. Encarnacion came in as a pinch hitter hitting a single loading the bases for San Francisco but that all came crashing down when Willy Adames struck out for the third out.

The Giants could not catch a break at all in this game. Going into the eighth inning, the Reds had an 8-3 lead. San Francisco did not allow any runs in the bottom of the seventh. JT Brubaker who relieved Borucki pitched two innings allowing a couple of hits, a walk but no runs.

The Giants had another opportunity in the eighth with two runners on base and Chapman at the plate. The Giants have been pretty bad in the latter innings of games this year. The inning came to an end when Chapman hit into a double play and San Francisco would be down to their final three outs.

The Giants were three outs away from losing the series after losing game one. The Reds Pierce Johnson would take the mound looking to close out this game for Cincinnati. Lee hit a double in San Francisco’s first at bat in the ninth inning. What followed is pretty much what we have seen for much of the season.

A foul out, a strikeout and a fly out. The Giants fell behind early and now with the loss have a 6-12 season record. They did have nine hits in the game but left quite a few runners stranded.

Game notes: Wednesday the Giants lost game one of their series with the Cincinnati Reds 2-1. The Giants have been struggling offensively especially in the bottom of the roster. Wednesday those positions will look different. The offense is screaming for change and that’s what the Giants once again lacked again Wednesday. are going to see today. San Francisco will start Tyler Mahle who has an 0-2 win/loss record and a 4.30 ERA. Rhett Lowder will get the nod for the Reds. He has a 1-1 win/loss record with a 3.31 ERA.

The roster changes Wednesday failed to get San Francisco offense on track. Wednesday’s catcher for San Francisco Daniel Susac hit seventh with two hits and two RBIs, Will Brennan hit eighth and was 0-2 and Drew Gilbert hit ninth and also went 0-2.

Wednesday MLB celebrated #42 Jackie Robinson Day and all that he brought to the game of baseball from his skill, his determination, to his resiliency. Against all odds he persevered with courage and established equality in MLB.

On April 15, 1947 he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first black player in modern MLB history. Celebrated every year on this day every team member, coaches as well as umpires will wear the number 42 to honor all that he achieved.

Thursday the Reds will be looking for a sweep and the Giants will try to win at least one game in the series. The Giants have to figure out a way to get this offense going because changing the lineup around in this game didn’t do a whole lot although Daniel Susac did have 2 hits and 2 RBIs.

Rafael Devers also had two hits and ome run but not much else was going right for the team. The Giants will send Landon Roupp to the mound. He has a couple of wins, one against the Orioles and a second against San Diego. His only loss was against the Mets. His ERA is 3.24. The Giants will be facing Chase Burns who has a 1-1 win/loss record and a 3.31 ERA. First pitch for this game is an early one with a 9:40 AM PDT start.