San Francisco Giants starter Trevor McDonald pitches against the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the first inning at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City on Mon Jul 20, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco Giants (42-58) rolled into Kansas City Monday after dropping a series to the Mariners over the weekend. The Royals (41-60) took a series off the San Diego Padres in their last series at home.

Both teams have struggled this season this game having all the makings of a very competitive series. San Francisco was first up on the scoreboard in the fourth inning when Heliot Ramos had a monster hit for a solo home run and a 1-0 lead.

The Royals answered with three runs taking a 3-1 lead. Salvador Perez hit a 2-run homer followed by Michael Massey scoring from third base after hitting a double. Isaac Collins singled him home for the 3-1 lead.

This game went into the top of the ninth inning and the Giants were three outs away from losing the game. Rafael Devers and Heliot Ramos both struck out. Jung Hoo Lee singled followed by Willy Adames who clobbered the ball into right center to tie up this game at three apiece.

The Royals were looking for a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth. Rojas got the inning underway with a single. When Carter Jensen lined out Rojas advanced to third and he was 90 feet away from the walk-off.

Loften reached first on a bunt single, Rojas scored and that was the ball game. San Francisco fought hard to tie up the game but fell short in the bottom of the ninth inning losing the first game of the series 4-3.

GAME RECAP

This game got underway early evening with San Francisco having to deal with some uncomfortable humid temps. At first pitch the temperature was 95 degrees. San Francisco had two runners on base leaving both Bryce Eldridge and Rafael Devers stranded.

It was unfortunate that San Francisco could not capitalize on the opportunity early. Giants starting pitcher Trevor McDonald threw an idyllic opening inning going three and out.

San Francisco went three and out in the top of the second inning but Kansas City had a huge opportunity to drive in some runs loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning.

The Royals came away empty when Michael Massey flied into a double play followed by as Rojas ground out for the third out, a squandered opportunity for the Kansas City.

The third inning was another three and out for the Giants still looking for their first hit of the game. Trevor McDonald had his third walk of the game but finished the inning giving up nothing else.

San Francisco was first up on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs, Heliot Ramos homered to right center, a monster hit for 430 feet giving the Giants a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth inning the Royals fought back getting a lucrative rally going.

Vinnie Pasquantino was hit by a pitch followed by a Salvador Perez home run giving the Royals a 2-1 lead with two outs. Michael Massey doubled with an Isaac Collins single driving him home for a 3-1 lead. Carter Jensen fouled out for the third out but the Royals had taken the 3-1 lead into the top of the fifth inning.

The Giants got their second hit of the game in the fifth inning but not much else going into the bottom of the inning. The Royals also got a single in the inning still leading 3-1 going into the sixth.

There would be a change on the mound for San Francisco with no medical reason given. The team has not announced that McDonald suffered an injury but it apparently was something physical. JT Brubaker would come in to relieve McDonald.

Neither team was able to get very much if any offense in the sixth inning. The Giants went three and out in the seventh inning but the Royals did get a couple of singles in the bottom of the seventh but were not able to score any more run continuing to lead 3-1.

San Francisco’s Daniel Susac doubled to start the top of the eighth inning. He advanced to third when Luis Arraez grounded out but was left stranded. The Royals went three and out and San Francisco was down to their last three outs.

Rafael Devers struck out for the first out in the ninth inning, Ramos struck out for the second out and San Francisco was one out away from losing game one. Lee singled followed by a booming shot from Willy Adames to tie up this game 3-3.

The question now would Kansas City be able to walk-off this game. The answer was not long in coming. The Royals fought back winning the game in a walk-off. Rojas had singled and advanced to third scoring on a Loftin bunt for the 4-3 win. It was a crushing loss for the Giants.

GAME NOTES

The big difference in this game was that the Royals capitalized on one bad inning while the Giants came up just short in their late comeback. San Francisco starting pitcher was cruising through the first three innings but the Royals broke through in the fourth inning.

Salvador Perez hit a two run homer and KC added another RBI single to score three runs in the inning. They had turned a 1-0 Giants lead into a 3-1 deficit. Heliot Ramos provided the San Francisco’s offense for most of the game with a solo home run in the fourth inning.

The Giants struggled to string hits together against Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha and the Kansas City bullpen. The Giants rallied in the ninth scoring two runs but came up just short.

There was concern when McDonald left the game in the fifth inning exiting with a trainer but the exact reason is still unknown. The difference in this game was one costly inning by the Giants’ starter and not enough timely hitting. San Francisco had six hits in this game, the Royals with nine.

McDonald went four innings allowing four hits, three earned runs, two walks and three strikeouts. He exited the game going into the fifth inning with a trainer. Brubaker relieved McDonald allowing three hits, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts. The Royals starter Michael Wacha pitched through six innings allowing three hits, one earned run, one walk with five strikeouts.

Tuesday the Giants will be looking to tie up the series in game two. Tyler Mahle will take the mound for San Francisco. He has a 2-8 win/loss record and a 5.31 ERA. The Royals will start Luinder Avila. He has a 4-3 win/loss record and a 5.08 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 4:40 PM.