San Francisco Giants starter Landen Roupp deals against the Cincinnati Reds line up at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Thu Apr 16, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

There wasn’t a lot of offense for the Giants but the team turned the hits they got into runs in the seventh inning beating the Cincinnati Reds in game three of their series. The Reds were looking for a sweep but what they got was a shut out. Not only was the Giant bullpen terrific but starting pitcher Landen Roupp continues to be outstanding, a huge reason for Thursday’s 3-0 shutout win.

Game recap: This game turned into a real pitchers duel with a slew of three and outs for both teams. This game was moving along at a crazy clip due to the excellence the Giants saw on the mound today. The game had been scoreless through six innings. Then along came the seventh inning and everything would change.

Landen Roupp had another stellar game allowing only one hit and two walks with six strikeouts through six solid innings. Then the bullpen would take over with one huge difference. For the first time in this series the Giants came into this game to pitch and they were not trailing because of an exceptional seventh inning. Ryan Walker would relieve Roupp in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The speed that this game was moving at came to a grinding halt in the top of the seventh inning. The struggling San Francisco offense turned this whole game around. Luis Arraez reached first on a Reds fielding error.

The next two at bats struck out, Willy Adames and Rafael Devers. With the two outs all the pressure was on Matt Chapman to keep this inning going and he did not disappoint hitting a double and Arraez scored giving San Francisco their first lead in not only this game but in the entire series 1-0.

With Chapman on second, Jung Hoo Lee singled Chapman home extending their lead to 2-0. Heliot Ramos was walked and Lee advanced to second. A Casey Schmitt single allowed Lee to cross home plate and the Giants had a 3-0 lead.

Drew Gilbert would strike out for the third out but the Giants had had their best inning in the series. They would now rely on their relievers to seal the deal and bring this game home. Walker would be San Francisco’s first reliever in the seventh inning of the game. He was spotless, no runs, no hits, no walks and one strikeout.

The Giants had a quick three and out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Relief pitcher Keaton Winn dismissed three Red batters in order. Erik Miller would relieve Winn to close out this game for the Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was pretty clean pitches striking out Myers and De La Cruz but walking McLain.

Miller finished off the Reds striking out Stewart for the third out and that was the ball game with San Francisco breaking a four-game skid in a shutout 3-0.Hopefully this win will get the team fired up.

The ending of this game was certainly fiery with both benches emptying when San Francisco closer Erik Miller got really pumped on the third strike against Sal Stewart. He supposedly yelled something at Stewart. (unprintable)

At this point Steward moved towards Miller and with that both benches rushed onto the field. There had been tension between the two teams when in the eighth inning Red’s pitcher Connor Phillips hit Willy Adames with a pitch which he was ejected for.

Earlier in the game Giant’s pitcher Landen Roupp had hit Spencer Speer. And so it goes in the game of baseball. No punches were thrown but it for sure indicated some bad blood between the two teams who will meet up again in August.

Game notes: In an early afternoon game the San Francisco Giants matched up with the Cincinnati Reds for game three of their series. The Reds won the first two games of the series and Thursday the Reds couldn’t get the sweep.

The Giants struggles at the plate as well as on the mound for the most part have contributed to their current losing streak which they were able to snap getting a shutout over the Reds. The Giants got the fire in the belly after Adames got hit by a pitch and started out in front of the plate asking what that was all about of Reds reliever Connor Phillips who was thrown out of the game.

Later Giant closer Erik Miller struck out the last batter in the bottom of the ninth for the win. Miller showing some emotion and pointed towards the Reds dugout after striking out Sal Stewart emptying both benches. There was a ton of emotion as Miller was jawing with Stewart and the Reds and with everyone out on the field.

Next up for the Giants will be a weekend series with the Washington Nationals. While they did struggle with only six hits in Thursday’s game the Giants did string together hits and were able to score three runs on those hits.

The Reds only had one hit in the entire game. If San Francisco can get those bats to cooperate, with their pitching, their bullpen and their defense they should be solid. For Friday Logan Webb will start the game for the Giants with a 1-2 win/loss record and a 5.25 ERA. The Nationals will feature Zack Littell on the hill still in search of a win with a 0-1 record 4.20 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for Friday evening at 3:45 PM PDT.