Category: MLB

San Francisco Giants Casey Schmitt slugs a ground rule double in the bottom of the tenth inning to score Luis Matos for a walk off hit against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun May 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Cincinnati Reds 5 (17-23)

San Francisco Giants 6 (19-23)

Win: Luke Jackson (1-1)

Loss: Emilio Pagan (2-3)

Time: 3:13

Attendance: 36,210

By Stephen Ruderman

What started off as a disastrous game turned into possibly the biggest win of the season for the Giants, as despite Kyle Harrison’s wildness and Jung-hoo Lee going down to injury in the first inning, the Giants came back to beat the Reds in a wild 10-inning game 6-5 on a walk-off base-hit by Casey Schmitt.

After a much-needed 5-1 over the Reds in a nationally-televised late-afternoon affair yesterday, the Giants had a chance to take the series on Mother’s Day with a win today. With their young left-hander, Kyle Harrison, going, the Giants had every reason to feel good about today.

However, the first inning would be far from ideal. Harrison hit TJ Friedl to start the game, and it pretty much set the tone for the early part of the game. Harrison walked Spencer Steer with one out, and he walked Stuart Fairchild with two outs to load the bases for Jeimer Candelario.

Candelario hit a high fly ball to right-center field that center-fielder Jung-hoo Lee kept from going out of the park with a grand slam with a leap over the wall, but the ball deflected off his glove, and all three runs scored on a double by Candelario to give the Reds an early 3-0 lead.

Worst of all, Lee, who was in the lineup for the first time since fouling a ball off his left foot Wednesday night in Denver, crashed his left shoulder into the fenced portion of the wall in right-center that is not totally padded. Lee sat on the ground for a few minutes, as he was tended to by Manager Bob Melvin and two of the Giants’ trainers, and he had to come out of the game with a dislocated left shoulder.

“That guy leaves it all out there,” said Harrison. “I have so much respect for him, and hopefully, he’s alright. The guy’s just a gamer.”

The Giants have already lost a good chunk of players to injuries over the last week: Patrick Bailey, Jorge Soler, Nick Ahmed, Tom Murphy and Michael Conforto just to name a few. Losing Lee could be a massive blow to the team.

This was not the first time in this series that a Giants’ outfielder crashed into the non-padded part of the outfield fence. Austin Slater of course suffered a concussion after crashing into the non-padded portion of the fence in left-center in the first inning on Friday night.

Lee was also not the only player who came out of the game in the first inning. Reds’ right-fielder TJ Friedl, who was hit by a pitch on his right shoulder to start the game, also had to leave the ballgame.

The Reds turned to veteran right-hander Frankie Montas to make the start, and he set down the first two Giants he faced in the bottom of the first inning. LaMonte Wade walked with two outs, and Wilmer Flores was hit by a pitch to set things up for Mike Yastrzemski, but Yastrzemski popped out to short to end the inning.

The one thing that has constantly gotten Kyle Harrison into trouble has been his command, and today would be one of those days for him, as he escaped a pair of walks in the top of the second. Montas, meanwhile, pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the second.

“[I] just came out flat today,” said Harrison. [I] hate to put the boys behind early, but they came out and had my back.”

With one out in the top of the third, Harrison walked Fairchild, as it was the fifth walk in just two and a third innings for Harrison. However, Harrison caught a break when Candelario lined a bullet to Matt Chapman at third, and Chapman threw to first to double off Fairchild to end the inning.

Unfortunately for the Giants, Montas kept dealing, as he pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third. Harrison then pitched a scoreless top of the fourth after giving up a one-out single to Santiago Espinal.

LaMonte Wade appeared as if he was going to get the Giants on the board on a long drive to right-center to start the bottom of the fourth, but center-fielder Stuart Fairchild made an incredible catch at the wall to take away a home run from Wade.

Wilmer Flores then finally got the Giants’ first base-hit, as he singled on a ground ball the other way to right. Heliot Ramos grounded a single to left with two outs to put runners at first and second for Blake Sabol, who was hit by a pitch.

It was the third hit batsman in the game, and it was the second game in a row in which there were three hit batters in the game, as four were hit yesterday. The bases were then loaded for Casey Schmitt, but the Giants would waste another opportunity, as Schmutt grounded to third for a force out at second to end the inning.

Kyle Harrison then pitched a scoreless top of the fifth, and he was a strike away from his first 1-2-3 inning of the afternoon, but Jonathan India singled with two outs. It wasn’t the prettiest outing for Harrison, but he was able to settle down after struggling with his control early on to give his team five innings.

“I focused just on the secondary stuff [later on],” said Harrison. “[I went with my] off-speed [stuff]. [My] slider was really good today. [I] probably should have thrown it earlier in that first inning just to get me synced up.”

“Over the course of [the] early part of this season, he’s had to navigate some situations that weren’t particularly comfortable,” said Melvin. “You gotta take a deep breath and step back and do things a little bit differently and make big pitches when you have to. For a young guy, that’s pretty impressive to watch, because it did not start out great [for him], and it didn’t look like it was getting any better, then all the sudden, he ended up making a pitch when he had to every single time.”

The Giants then started a rally. Tyler Fitzgerald doubled down the left field line with one out, and Matt Chapman lined a single up the middle and into center field to score Fitzgerald and put the Giants on the board.

Wade then came up and hit a high soaring fly ball down the right field line that he appeared to get too much underneath to hit out, but the ball kept carrying, and it ended up going over the 24-foot-high Willie Mays Wall in right to tie the game. Right when it came out that Lee’s injury was not as bad as feared, the Giants suddenly came back to tie the game, so the mood was definitely much better at Oracle Park.

The Giants had come back to tie it, and they were still going in the bottom of the fifth. Wilmer Flores singled to left and advanced to second on a ground out by Yastrzemski. Heliot Ramos then came up looking to continue his hot start with the Giants, and he lined a base-hit up the middle to center to score Flores and give the Giants their first lead of the game.

Ramos’ single nicked Montas out of the game, as Reds Manager David Bell went to Nick Martinez. Blake Sabol then came up and his a slow ground ball to short that was charged by Elly De La Cruz, but De La Cruz bounced the throw, and it skipped off the glove of first-baseman Jeimer Candelario, which allowed Ramos to score all the way from the third and make it 5-3.

Sean Hjelle came in for Harrison and pitched a scoreless top of the sixth for the Giant, and Martinez stayed in the game and threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth for Cincinnati. Hjelle set down the first two batters he faced in the top of the seventh, but after he gave up a two-out base-hit to Spencer Steer, he was done.

Melvin brought in Ryan Walker, who immediately gave up a base-hit to Jonathan India, which put runners at the corners for Jake Fraley. Fraley then lined a base-hit to left to score Steer and cut the Giants’ lead to 5-4.

Walker was able to escape further damage in the top of the seventh, but Justin Wilson came in for Martinez and threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh. Walker was back out for the eighth, and on the first pitch of the inning, he gave up a game-tying home run to Mike Ford.

Walker was pulled with a runner at first and two outs for closer Camilo Doval, and Doval struck De La Cruz swinging to end the inning. Fernando Cruz came in for the Reds and threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the eighth.

Doval stayed out for the ninth, but he ran into trouble. With one out, Jonathan India singled to left and stole second. Jake Fraley then walked, and the runners advanced to second and third on a groundout by Candelario. Doval was able to strike Ford out looking to end the inning.

The Giants caught a break against Alexis Diaz in the bottom of the ninth when Matt Chapman was able to reach second with two outs after several Reds’ converged but were unable to catch a popup to center. However, after an automatic walk to Wade, Flores was trying to swing for the fences, and he ended up fouling out to end the inning.

The game went to the 10th, and with extra innings, that of course meant the automatic runner at second base. In the top of the 10th, the automatic runner would be Conner Capel. Luke Jackson came in for San Francisco, and despite a two-out walk to Will Benson, Jackson struck De La Cruz out swinging to end the inning and keep the game tied.

In the bottom of the 10th, the automatic runner for the Giants was Luis Matos, who was called up prior to the game, and the pitcher for the Reds was Emilio Pagan. Mike Yastrzemski struck out looking for the first out, and Heliot Ramos flew out deep to right. Matos should have been at third, but he was half-way between second and third as expected Ramos’ fly ball to fall, and as a result he had to stay at second.

Fortunately for the Giants, Blake Sabol worked a two-out walk, and after David Bell went to Lucas Sims, Casey Schmitt hit a walk-off single to left-center to end it. It was Schmitt’s first hit of the season, as well as his first-career walk-off hit.

“[I] just [wanted to] see something I could hit and let it rip,” said Schmitt. “I’m just trying not to do too much, just trying to be as simple as I can and find something I can hit.”

At the onset, this game appeared to be an utter disaster, but not only were the Giants were able to come back from down 3-0 to take the lead after losing one of their best players to injury, they hung in there after the Reds tied it late, and they were able to battle all the way to the very end of an extra-inning game to get their biggest win of the season.

“It’s resilience,” said Harrison. “That’s [been] Giants’ baseball as long as I remember it…..it was an awesome day.”

“It was a great team win,” said Schmitt. “It was a lot of fun to be a part of it.

The Giants showed a lot of grit and resilience today, but dislocated shoulders tend to take at least six to eight weeks to heal, so it will be a real test of the mental agility of the 2024 Giants in how they can play in the long run without Lee.

“It’s just one of those times during the season where you gotta persevere,” said Melvin. “[It’s a time when] other guys get some opportunities, and those guys came through today.”

“I think [we have] that focus of the next game,” said Harrison. “It doesn’t matter who we have out there, we gotta fight, and even when we have everyone, we gotta fight. I think the mentality stays the same. We got good guys here in the clubhouse, and we’re meshing well now.”

Through it all, Luke Jackson got the win, and Emilio Pagan took the loss. The Giants improve to 19-23, and now they will have some momentum going into their three game set against the Dodgers that starts tomorrow night.

Jordan Hicks will be on the mound in the series opener tomorrow night, and first pitch will be at 6:45 p.m.

News and Notes:

Jung-hoo Lee will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the severity of his dislocated left shoulder. If it is severe enough, there is the potential that it could end his season.

Michael Conforto was placed on the 10-Day Injured list prior to the game due to his strained right hamstring. Outfielder Luis Matos was called up to take Conforto’s place.

Catcher Patrick Bailey, who was activated off the 7-Day Concussion IL yesterday, was scratched from the lineup due to a viral illness. It is not yet known how much time he will miss as a result.

Casey Schmitt got the hit with his mom, Tina, in the stands. Schmitt said that getting the hit with her in the stands on Mother’s Day made it extra special for him.

San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman (left) is greeted at the plate by LeMonte Wade Jr (31) after hitting a bottom of the first inning grand slam home run against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat May 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Cincinnati Reds 1 (17-22)

San Francisco Giants 5 (18-23)

Win: Taylor Rogers (1-1)

Loss: Nick Lodolo (2-3)

Time: 2:35

Attendance: 37,321

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants bounced back in a big way today, as a grand slam by Matt Chapman and a solid start from Mason Black carried the Giants to a 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds in a late-afternoon affair at Oracle Park.

The Reds beat the Giants last night 4-2 to snap their eight-game losing streak, and as has been the case a lot of the time so far this season, the Giants were in need of a bounceback win. The Giants needed a stopper, and that responsibility would fall on Mason Black, who was sent to the mound to make his second-career big league start.

Black pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first inning. For the Reds, they turned to their left-hander, Nick Lodolo, who got Thairo Estrada to fly out to right field to start the bottom of the first.

LaMonte Wade and Patrick Bailey, the latter who was activated off the 7-Day Concussion Injured List prior to the game, each lined base-hits with one out to put runners at first and second with one out for Wilmer Flores. Flores struck out swinging, and that brought up Heliot Ramos, who has been swinging the bat well since his call up from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.

Ramos walked to load the bases, and Matt Chapman stepped up and hit a grand slam to left-center to give the Giants an early 4-0 lead. It was a much-needed swing of the bat for both Chapman and the Giants, as Chapman has struggled at the plate in the early going this season, and the Giants have really been lacking the big hit.

“For me, a good swing like that is something I can build off [of],” said Chapman. “I think I’ve been a little bit off balance, or a little bit in between, so to be able to get a swing off like that feels good, and then you just work on trying to repeat that.”

“The grand slam in the first inning [was] a big deal,” said Manager Bob Melvin. “Especially against a really good pitcher.”

Black would have had another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, but Jake Fraley reached on a one-out bloop single that shortstop Casey Schmitt lost in the sun, as is often a risk in these 4:15 p.m. starts. Other than that, Black got through the inning unscathed, and Lodolo pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the second.

“Sun and wind at 4…..there wasn’t a ball that went up in the air today where both sides [didn’t hold their] breath a bit,” said Melvin.

“It was a little rough,” added Chapman. “Those 4:00 games, it doesn’t matter where you play, they’re always a little bit tough. Whether it’s the shadows, or the sun kinda setting right in the outfield, those balls are definitely tough for everybody.”

Will Benson hit a base-hit to right to start the top of the third and decided to challenge the arm of right-fielder Heliot Ramos, but Ramos threw a strike to second to nail Benson. The Reds challenged the call by Second Base Umpire Nate Tomlinson, but the call was upheld, and the Reds lost their challenge. Black retired the next two men he faced for a quiet top of the third, and Lodolo pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third.

Elly De La Cruz hit a home run to left-center—almost to the exact same spot where Chapman hit his grand slam—to start the top of the fourth, and put the Reds on the board. Spencer Strider was hit by a pitch with one out, and then Jake Fraley lined a base-hit to right to move Strider to third, but Ramos threw another strike from right to nail Fraley at second. Tyler Stephenson then grounded out to short to end the inning.

“I was just trying to get the job done,” said Ramos. “I’m just trying to help the team. I’m trying to do my best. I’ve been trying since 2022, when I made my debut, and I feel like I’m in a good spot. I just want to keep playing hard and make the best of this opportunity.”

“[I] definitely have to take [Ramos] out for a nice dinner after that,” said Black. “It was huge having him out there.

“[Black] better give me a steak,” added Ramos.”

The shadows then made their way across home plate, which made the hitting conditions incredibly difficult. However, that did not deter the Giants in the bottom of the fourth. Ramos grounded out to third to start the inning, though he nearly beat out the throw from third-baseman Jeimer Candelario.

Chapman was called out at first on another close play on a throw by Candelario, but the Giants challenged the call by First Base Umpire David Rackley, and the call was overturned. Michael Conforto then lined a base-hit the other way to left, but he had to leave the game with a strained right hamstring.

The Giants had an opportunity to add on, and after Chapman’s grand slam in the first, it would have been easy to believe that the Giants would keep the RBI hits going. Sadly, that would not be the case, as Casey Schmitt popped out to first, and Tyler Fitzgerald grounded out to third to end the inning.

Black walked Candelario to start the top of the fifth, he walked Jonathan India with one out, Black was done. Black only went four and a third innings, which means he would not get the win, but the Giants got exactly what they needed from him.

“He got some big outs when he needed to,” said Melvin. “Too bad he couldn’t get the win…..but he pitched well.”

“[It was] a lot better [than my last start], just because of the win,” added Black. “That’s all that matters.”

Black was also helped out by a sliding catch by Ramos, who had moved over to left, for the first out of the top of the fifth.

“Obviously the big diving play, too, in the outfield saved me,” said Black. “So it’s awesome having guys like that who can make plays.”

What made Ramos’ catch rather unique was the presence of a pelican in left-center field during the top of the fifth inning. The pelican even got a big round of applause by the fans at Oracle Park when it was shown on the scoreboard.

“I turn[ed] around, and I saw standing out there, and I was like, ‘Casey’s playing deep,’” Black joked. “I didn’t know what the protocol was, ‘are we gonna get that thing off the field, or just let it hang out?’ It was funny.”

Left-hander Taylor Rogers came in for Black and struck out TJ Friedl for the second out, but he hit De La Cruz to load the bases. Rogers then struck out Stuart Fairchild swinging to end the inning, as he got out of the inning with the Giants still up 4-1.

Lodolo pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, and then Ryan Walker came in for the top of the sixth. Walker gave up a leadoff base-hit to Spencer Steer back to the mound, but he got Fraley to line out to Ramos, who was now in left, and he struck out Tyler Stephenson swinging.

Candelario then came up with two outs, an hit a single to right-center to Mike Yastrzemski, who was now playing right, and Yastrzemski made the third throw from a Giants’ right-fielder to nail a Reds’ base-runner trying to stretch a single into a double.

“[Defense was] really the key to the game,” said Melvin. “The [grand slam] was huge, but being able to make defensive plays all day long…..[against] a team [like the Reds] that gets on the bases—and that’s what they do: create havoc on the bases—to be able to get all those outs, especially at second base where there’s a runner in scoring position, the outfield defense was superb today.”

“Those can be momentum sparks, just as much as [the offense],” Melvin added.

Wilmer Flores reached on a throwing error by De La Cruz at short to start the bottom of the sixth, but Lodolo then struck out the side to end his afternoon on a positive note. Meanwhile, Erik Miller came in for the Giants in the seventh and worked through a walk and a hit batsman to escape the inning without any damage.

Brent Suter was the new pitcher for Cincinnati, and after striking out Casey Schmitt swinging for the first out of the bottom of the seventh, Suter gave up a single to Tyler Fitzgerald. Thairo Estrada singled Fitzgerald over to third, and Wade was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Patrick Bailey came up with the bases loaded and one out and hit a fly ball to deep right-center that center-fielder TJ Friedl caught at the warning track for a sacrifice fly to score Fitzgerland and extend the Giants’ lead to 5-1. Wade, who was at first, very boldly took second on the play. It was a close play, and had Wade been called out at second before Fitzgerald touched the plate, the run would not have counted.

The submariner, Tyler Rogers, came in for the top of the eighth and pitched a scoreless inning, and Buck Farmer pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth for Cincinnati. Sean Hjelle closed things out with a scoreless ninth, and the Giants won it 5-1.

“[This win] means a lot,” said Chapman. “We’re grinding a little bit and not playing our best baseball, so to be able to jump out early like that is huge, and I think that we can build off a game like today. We obviously have a lot of work to do, still, but it feels good for sure.”

Taylor Rogers, who came in for Mason Black in the fifth, ended up getting the win, and Nick Lodolo took the loss despite settling down after Matt Chapman’s grand slam in the bottom of the first.

The Giants improve to 18-23 with this much-needed win, and now they can take the series with a win tomorrow with Kyle Harrison on the mound. First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m.

News and Notes:

Patrick Bailey was activated off the Concussion IL, but Austin Slater was placed on it after jamming his head against the wall in an attempt to make a catch in center field in the first inning last night. Catcher Jackson Reez was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento, and outfielder Brett Wisely was called up.”

Michael Conforto’s strained right hamstring will be evaluated when he gets to the ballpark tomorrow morning, but it does appear that he could be the latest Giant headed to the IL.

Today was Girl’s Day at Oracle Park, and prior to the game, Giants Senior Director of Broadcast Communications and Media Operations Maria Jacinto was honored with the 2024 Alexis T. Busch Award.

The Alexis T. Busch Award is named in honor of the late Alexis T. Busch, who became the first batgirl in Baseball History in 2000, and spent the 2000 and 2001 Seasons in that role for the Giants. Busch tragically lost her life in a sailing accident in 2012.

The award was presented by Former Giants Manager and now Special Adviser to Baseball Operations Dusty Baker, who was the Giants’ manager during Busch’s time as batgirl.

Several past recipients of the award, as well as many of the women employees of the Giants’ Organization were on the field for the ceremony.

San Francisco Giants outfielders Michael Conforto (left) and Tyler Fitzgerald (right) try to track down the baseball on Cincinnati Reds Stuart Fairchild’s inside the park home run hit in the top of the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri May 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Cincinnati Reds pinch hitter Stuart Fairchild hit an inside the park home run Fairchild slide to the right of San Francisco catcher Jackson Reetz tag to give the Giants an insurance run.

#2 Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott pitched over five innings six hits two earned runs and two strike outs talk about some of the pitches Abbott was throwing to keep the Giants off balance?

#3 The inside the park home run was the first one hit at Oracle Park since the Tampa Bay Rays Luke Raley did it Aug 16, 2024. Raley was the sixth opposing player to do it and the 16th overall in San Francisco.

#4 Stephen talk about Casey Schmidt whose now taking he place of shortstop the injured Nick Ahmed?

#5 Patrick Bailey returned from concussion protocols. Bailey was on the 7 day IL. The Giants also recalled infielder/outfielder Brett Wisely from Triple A Sacramento.

#6 Stephen, talk about Saturday’s starters for game 2 of this series for Cincinnati LHP Nick Lodolo (3-1, ERA 2.79) and for San Francisco RHP Mason Black (0-1, ERA 10.38) first pitch 4:15pm PDT.

Stephen Ruderman is a baseball beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cincinnati Reds Stuart Fairchild’s slide gets ahead of the San Francisco Giants catcher Jackson Reetz’s tag for an inside the park home run in the top of the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri May 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

Cincinnati (17-21). 101 100 001. 4. 9. 0

San Francisco (17-23). 110 000 000. 2 7. 1

Time: 2:30

Attendance: 32,867

Friday, May 10, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The slumping San Francisco Giants fell to the slumping Cincinnati Reds, 4-2, tonight in an exciting contest that featured the 13th inside the park home run on the banks of McCovey Cove.

The Giants that took the field against the Rhinelanders was not the San Francisco Giants we’ve been used to seeing this still young season. Slick fielding shortstop Nick Ahmed was put on the 10 day injured list and replaced by Casey Schmitt, who was recalled from the River Cats and started at short.

This followed Jackson Reetz’s promotion to cover for the injuries to catchers Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy. Blake Sabol also had been recalled from Sacramento since the Giants left on their disastrous 3-7 road trip.

And Jung Hoo Lee is day to day as. he recovers from the foul ball that he slammed into his own foot the day before yesterday. More roster moves may yet be coming; Michael Conforto pinch hit for Austin Slater in the bottom of the second after the starting center fielder showed signs of a possible concussion.

Logan Webb was coming off two rough starts including last Saturday’s game when he was under the weather. He had a rocky start tonight but settled down to hold the visitors to three runs, one of which was unearned over seven frames on eight hits and two walks.

He threw an even 100 pitches, 36 of which were balls. He with his fourth loss against three wins, although his ERA dropped to 3.38. Erik Miller pitched the eighth and was the victim of the first inside the Oracle Park home run since Bryce Harper pulled off the feat last August 16. Tyler Rogers was the third and final San Francisco hurler of the night. Hey set the Reds down in order in the ninth.

Andrew Abbott, Cincy’s promising 24 year old lefty, who was their second round draft pick in 2021 came to work at 1-4, 3.82 performed credibly over the five innings he pitched. He gave up two runs, both earned, on six hits, one for the distance, and a walk, throwing 88 pitches, 54 for strikes, and earning the win, which left him 2-4, 3.36 for the year.

Emilio Pagán relieved him and pitched a perfect sixth before being relieved, in turn, by Justin Wilson in the seventh. Wilson pitched to one batter before being relieved by Lucas Sims. We haven’t as yet received an explanation for this substitution, which, under MLB’s speed ’em up rules, wouldn’t have been allowed except in case of an injury. Alexis Díaz earned his seventh save by shutting the hosts down in the ninth.

Cincinnati got a leg up with a Rickey run in the first. Elly de la Cuz hit a one out single to left. Webb almost picked him off. In fact, first base umpire Larry Vanoveer called him out, but the video review crew in New York thought otherwise, and the ruling was reversed. De la Cruz swiped his 24th base of the year, against four failures, on the very next pitch. He scored on Spencer Steer’s two out two bagger.

San Francisco wiped out that advantage soon enough. With one out in the bottom of the first, Thairo Estrada hit his sixth home run of the year. It travelled 377 feet into the left field bleachers and came on an 82 mph sweeper. An inning later, San Francisco took the lead by defeating The curse of the Leadoff Double. Ramos supplied the double and Tyler Fitzgerald, the RBI Texas League single.

But the Giants couldn’t contain the daring do of De La Cruz. He dumped a single into center field in the top of the third and instantly took off for second when Michael Conforto fumbled the ball. The speedster promptly pilfered third and scored on Steer’s Texas League single.

The Reds pulled into the lead in the fourth on a single by Will Benson and TJ Firedl’s two bagger to left center. De la Cruz didn’t do any damage on the base paths because he struck out to end the inning.

It was speed, but from a different source, that stretched the Red legs’ lead to 4–2 in the eighth. Erik Miller, pitching in relief of Webb, had just picked Steer off first for the second out of the frame. Manager David Bell sent Stuart Fairchild to the plate to bat for Jake Fraley.

Fairchild larruped a high line drive to deep left center, 388 feet from the plate. It hit the wall, and Fairchild hit the road and didn’t stop running until he slid across the plate with an inside the park home run upping Cincinnati’s lead to 4-2.

Post game notes: San Francisco Giants VP of Communications Maria Jacinto received the Alexis T Busch Award which is presented to a woman Giants employee who best exemplifies the spirit and courage of Alexis and her love for the game of baseball. Maria is one of the most deserving honorees of this award as we at Sports Radio Service can attest to her hard work, dedication, knowledge, and most important her humanities of deserving this award. Congratulations Maria.

The Giants will try to work their way back to contention at 4:15 Saturday, afternoon. Mason Black, another new face will take his 0-1, 10,38 record to the mound, opposed by Cincy’s Nick Lodoto (3-1, 2.79) a 4:15pm PDT.