San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers heads back to the dugout after flying out in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jul 30, 2025 (AP News photo)
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Oracle Park
San Francisco, California
Pittsburgh Pirates 2 (47-62)
San Francisco Giants 1 (54-55)
Win: Isaac Matson (3-1)
Loss: Ryan Walker (2-4)
Time: 2:41
Attendance: 38,144
By Stephen Ruderman
SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants, who were 12 games over .500 on June 12, have just been swept by the Pirates with a 2-1 10-inning loss Wednesday afternoon after wasting another strong start by Logan Webb, and have fallen all the way to under .500 (54-55) for the first time this season, as the Giants suddenly now appear prepared to kick the tires on this season.
There is no way to sugarcoat it; this homestand and the second half thus far have been an absolute nightmare. The Giants came into today looking to avoid their first 0-6 homestand since 1896. That’s right; not 1996, 1896, before the modern era of baseball when Grover Cleveland was president.
The Giants have dropped 11 of their last 13, and have fallen from 12 games over .500 on June 13, all the to .500, and faced falling under .500 for the first time this season with a loss today. Thursday is also the Trade Deadline in Baseball, which meant Wednesday was the final day to determine who’s contending and who’s not. To be blunt: Wednesday was a must-win.
The Giants once again turned to Logan Webb to be the stopper. The Giants needed a strong performance from Webb, who was coming off a pair of rough starts to open the second half.
Webb worked in and out of jams through the first five innings on July 19 in Toronto, but he ran into a brick wall, as the Blue Jays got to him for four runs in the bottom of the sixth. He then got torched by the Mets for six runs this past Friday.
The sun did everything it could to peak through the peaceful blanket of fog over Oracle Park this afternoon. It was great weather for pitching, and that was good news for Webb, who wiggled his way out of a couple of jams early on and looked more like his normal self
Unfortunately, it was the worst weather for the Giants’ faltering offense. Pirates’ starter Mike Burrows retired the first nine men he faced Wednesday, and we had ourselves a pitcher’s duel.
Early in the game, the Giants traded their longtime submariner, Tyler Rogers, the third-longest tenured Giant, to the New York Mets for reliever Jose Butto and a pair of prospects. This was a shocking move and a sign that the Giants are going to be sellers at the deadline tomorrow.
The Giants already came into Wednesday’s game at risk of falling under .500 for the first time this season. Now with the fact that they were ready to start selling, today suddenly felt like a last-ditch effort for the 2025 San Francisco Giants.
The Giants desperately needed something to go their way, and they got it in the bottom of the fourth. Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames both got base-hits, and the Giants had runners at first and second with two outs for Dominic Smith. Smith got a fastball right down the pipe, and lined it to right field for a base-hit. Ramos scored, and the Giants struck first.
Hey, the Giants finally got a line-drive base-hit with a runner in scoring position. They did a lot of that early in the season, and that is precisely what carried them to their 24-14 start. Jung Hoo Lee finally went the other way after trying to pull the ball the last several weeks, but it was right into the glove of the diving Jack Suwinski in left.
The Pirates had a response against Webb in the top of the fifth. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa lined an opposite-field base-hit to right to lead off the inning, and Spencer Horwitz followed that up with a double into the gap in right-center to tie it.
The Pirates then loaded the bases one out, and were threatening to do more. However, Webb got Nick Gonzales to hit a chopper back to the mound that Webb used to start a one to two to three double play, and he got out of it with the game still tied.
Burrows threw another one, two, three inning in the bottom of the fifth, and after Henry Davis singled with one out in the top of the sixth, Webb was done. Spencer Bivens then came in and retired the next two to end the inning.
Webb gave up five hits and walked four over five and a third innings, but he gave up just a run and struck out 11. Unfortunately, the Giants’ offense did what they’ve always done, and gave Webb very little support.
Burrows ended up giving up three hits, walking one and striking out seven over six innings.
The game fittingly went extra innings, and Ryan Walker took the ball for the top of the tenth. Oneil Cruz started the inning as the ghost runner runner at second and got to third on a ground out by Nick Gonzales. Jack Suwinski walked, and that brought up Henry Davis.
Davis hit a chopper back to the mound, and Walker had Oneil dead to rights between third base and home plate. However, for whatever reason Walker tried to turn a double play, and he failed to get Suwinski at second. Oneil scored, and the Pirates had the lead.
The Giants were three outs away from falling under .500 for the first time this season. Isaac Mattson, who had pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth, was back out for the bottom of the tenth.
Lee was the ghost runner at second, and the Giants caught a break, as Casey Schmitt hit a blooper to left that Suwinski lost in the sun. Mike Yastrzemski then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runners up to second and third.
It felt as if the Giants were mounting one last rally to try and save what many believe was going to be a magical season. Patrick Bailey took three-straight out of the zone to work a 3-0 count, but in typical fashion for this team, Bailey struck out. Heliot Ramos was the last hope, and he too struck out to end the game.
Fittingly, the Giants completely wasted their last-ditch rally, and they indeed lost to fall under .500 for the first time this season.
Isaac Mattson got the win, and Ryan Walker took the loss.
The Giants have now dropped 12 of their last 14 games, and they have gone 13-26 since June 12, the worst record in all of Baseball during that stretch.
The Giants’ record is now 54-55, and with the Padres completing a sweep of the Mets down in San Diego today, the Giants are now six games back of the Padres for the third wild card.
The Giants will have the deadline off Thursday, as they will head back out on the road for a road trip that will mimic this homestand, with three in New York against the Mets, and three in Pittsburgh against the Pirates.
The Giants have yet to announce their starters for their series at Citi Field this weekend, and we may not even know what this team will look like after Thursday. At this point, the only thing I can say for sure is that if the Giants want to make a run at this thing, it will take a miracle.
First pitch on Friday will be at 7:10 p.m. in Queens, 4:10 p.m. back home in San Francisco.
Giants News and Notes:
- The two prospects the Giants received for Tyler Rogers are right-handed pitcher Blade Tidwell and outfielder Drew Gilbert. Both could feasibly be ready to be called up to the big leagues as soon as this season.
- It’s also being reported that Giants’ closer Camilo Doval could be available to be traded before Thursday. It is a pretty clear signal that they are truly preparing to sell and start focusing on the future.
- Mike Yastrzemski made what may have been the catch of the year for the Giants in the top of the eighth, as he ran a long way towards the right field line to catch a foul ball off the bat of Jack Suwinski, and was able to come up with it, as he bounced into the netting over the side wall.
It is quite unfortunate that this catch couldn’t have been part of the story of a much-needed win for the Giants.
Final Thoughts:
In 2022, the Giants were 10 games over .500 after a win in Pittsburgh on June 18. They then collapsed and fell all the way to eight games under .500 on Sept. 18. Though they did go on a tear to make it to play a meaningful game in the fifth-to-final game of the season on Oct. 1, and they ended up going 81-81.
In 2023, the Giants were 13 games over .500 after winning the resumption of a suspended game on July 19. They suffered a massive collapse in the final two months of the season, and finished under .500 at 79-83
Here in 2025, the Giants went from 12 games over .500 on June 13, all the way to a game under .500 today. What looked to be a bounceback season for the Giants after three-straight mediocre seasons is now about to be their fourth-straight mediocre season.
It’s technically not over yet. The Giants are six games back of the Padres for the third wild card spot with 53 games to go, and mathematically, they still have a lot of opportunities. Baseball is a weird game, and this Giants’ team is certainly capable of winning 15 of their next 20 games to surge back into the race.
Buster Posey built this team around doing a little bit of everything. They hit home runs; they played situational baseball; they played small ball; they even stole bases; and they pitched and played defense. That’s why they got off to their 24-14 start.
Then for whatever reason, they revived the failed Farhan Zaidi strategy of relying on home runs, and they completely fell apart. It makes absolutely no sense, and I truly have no idea why they did that. Maybe they were pressing. I don’t know.
Really, all it took was the Giants going back to playing the way they did in Spring Training in April. It wasn’t rocket science.
Unfortunately, the Giants could never truly get it going again, and just 22 days after one of the most magical wins in Giants’ history, they suddenly now appear ready to focus on next season.
I still felt like the Giants could make a run, but this mediocre core is not a viable long-term strategy, and they’re going to get old in a couple of years. They need to develop guys around it to make it a stronger core.
Buster inherited one of the worst farm systems in all of Baseball from Farhan, and he needed to start building it and preparing for the future. Blade Tidwell and Drew Gilbert are a good start, and the Giants could get even more for Camilo Doval.
It is unclear whether Buster is buying and selling, or strictly selling, though it seems to be the latter. Robbie Ray could also nab some good prospects, and the Giants would be wise to deal him if they are truly selling.
They still can compete over the next few years as they build the farm system, and I imagine that is what Buster has in mind. The Giants’ top prospect, Bryce Eldridge, should be up next season, and Helliot Ramos will be entering his prime. A trio of Eldridge, Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee could be akin to that of Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent and Ellis Burks in 2000.
I still wouldn’t rule out a miracle for this season, but that is quite unlikely. This has been a disappointing season, but if the Giants truly want to return to winning baseball next season, changes need to be made.
The one positive you can take out of this collapse is that those necessary changes will be made, and that the future is about to get a whole lot better.
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