Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Schmitt hits two home runs, and McDonald is lights out over 6 2/3 innings in much-needed 6-4 bounce-back win for Giants over A’s

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Casey Schmitt (10) rounds the bases after hitting a first inning home run off Sacramento A’s starter Luis Severino at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Sat May 16, 2026 (AP News photo)

Saturday, May 16, 2026

Sutter Health Park

West Sacramento, California

San Francisco Giants 6 (19-27)

Sacramento Athletics 4 (23-22)

Win: Trevor McDonald (2-0)

Loss: Luis Severino (2-5)

Save: Matt Gage (1)

Time: 2:34

Attendance: 12,489

By Stephen Ruderman

WEST SACRAMENTO–Casey Schmitt hit two home runs, and Trevor McDonald gave up just a run over six and two thirds lights-out inning, as the Giants bounced back with a much-needed 6-4 win over the A’s here in Sacramento.

The Giants’ three-game winning streak was completely wiped out by a three-game losing streak. They had some good news, as Erik Miller was activated off of the Injured List. However, Heliot Ramos was placed on the Injured List after he strained his right quad Friday night.

(As for corresponding roster moves, Tristan Beck was sent down to the River Cats, and Will Brennan was called back up.)

The Giants’ offense had been home run happy again over the last three games, which was the biggest reason they lost three-straight. However, that paid dividends when Casey Schmitt hit a home run to left off Luis Severino with two outs in the top of the first inning.

Unfortunately, this game did not come without more wasted opportunities by the Giants. It also didn’t come without more bone-headed base-running blunders by Willy Adames.

Willy has already been in hot water for forgetting the amount of outs and getting doubled off second base after jazzercising with Mookie on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Saturday night, Adames was standing at second with one out in the top of the second. I couldn’t tell if he was talking to Darrel Hernaiz and Jeff McNeil, so I am not going to make any assumptions. However, when Drew Gilbert hit a ground ball to short that bounced in front of Adames, even though players are taught when they’re kids not to advance on a ground ball that bounces in front of them, Adames took off for third anyway, and was promptly thrown out by a mile. It was Adames’ second bone-headed base-running blunder in just the last four games.

Adames had a chance to redeem himself when he came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the third. Willy has shown more of a willingness to shorten his swing and hit line drives since last Friday. Here, he lined a base-hit the other way to right to knock in a pair of runs and make it 3-0. However, Adames was thrown out trying to take second on the throw home by Lawrence Butler.

To give Willy credit, Shea Langeliers was standing a good 10 feet in front of the plate to receive the throw that he knew had no chance of getting Luis Arraez, and was itching to make that play on Adames. Also, runners are generally going to try and take second on throws from the outfield to the plate, so I’m not going to fault Willy for that one.

As for the pitching side of things, Trevor McDonald took the ball for his third big league start of the year, and have up just one hit through his first three innings. The A’s put runners at first and second with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but McDonald retired the next two guys he faced to get out of it.

Luis Arraez walked with one out in the top of the fifth, and that set things up for Schmitt to hit his second home run of the game. This one was an opposite-field shot that just stayed fair down the right field line.

Do you remember how I mentioned earlier that this game did not come without missed opportunities by the Giants? Well, the Giants had a chance to make this one a laugher after they loaded the bases later in the inning with still just one out. Then, Drew Gilbert struck out on a foul tip, and Harrison Bader missed a grand salami by just a matter of feet, as he flew out to the track in left to end the inning.

The Giants wasted a golden opportunity to put the game away, and McDonald had to sit for a bit during the top of the fifth. The A’s immediately pounced, and got runners to first and third to start the inning. McNeil then hit a one-hopper to first, but Rafael Devers made a great sliding stop to his right to get it, and while his throw to second was a bit wild, Adames was able to catch it and step on the bag to get Hernaiz. Butler scored to put the A’s on the board, but McDonald was able to work out of it with just the run.

To give credit to Severino, he ate up six innings for the A’s, despite giving up the five runs. McDonald, on the other hand, was lights out over six and two thirds. He gave up just a run on five hits, and he struck out five.

The Giants tacked on a run off Scott Barlow in the top of the seventh to make it 6-1. They had a chance to add on more, as they still had runners at second and third with one out, but, well, they wasted it.

Tony wanted to give Erik Miller some work in his return, and he got the final out in the bottom of the seventh. Miller was back out for the bottom of the eighth, and walked the first two batters of the inning. Tyler Soderstrom flew out to right for the first out, and then Tony pulled Miller for Caleb Kilian. Brent Rooker then stepped up, and hit a three-run bomb that hooked down the left field line to make it 6-4.

The Giants were going to have to earn this one. However, I was assured by people who have covered the A’s on a routine basis this season that the A’s wouldn’t come back. As for me, after watching the Giants get off to a horrendous 18-27 start, and have their three-game winning streak, where it looked like they were finally getting it together, get completely wiped out by a three-game losing streak, I was not going to relax until that final out was made.

Well, they were right. Matt Gage threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his first big league save, and the Giants won 6-4.

Trevor McDonald got the win; Luis Severino took the loss; and you already saw it in just my very last sentence: Matt Gage picked up his first big league save.

The Giants improve to 19-27, and they can take the series with a win Sunday. They will have to rely on Adrian Houser (1-4 ERA 5.79) Sunday. While Houser got off to a rough start, he is coming off a pair of solid outings. Hopefully, he can give the Giants another one Sunday. Jeffrey Springs (3-3 ERA 4.22) will go for the A’s.

First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m.

San Francisco Giants game wrap: Giants’ offense is dead again, As Mahle implodes in 5-2 loss to A’s

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Mahle delivers a pitch to the Sacramento A’s line up in the bottom of the second inning at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Fri May 15, 2026 (AP News photo)

Friday, May 15, 2026

Sutter Health Park

West Sacramento, California

San Francisco Giants 2 (18-27)

Sacramento Athletics 5 (23-21)

Win: Aaron Civale (5-1)

Loss: Tyler Mahle (1-5)

Save Hogan Harris (3)

Time: 2:27

Attendance: 12,348

By Stephen Ruderman

WEST SACRAMENTO–The San Francisco Giants’ three-game winning streak has been wiped out, as Luis Arraez and Harrison Bader hit solo home runs, but the A’s got to Tyler Mahler for four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the Sacramento A’s beat the Giants 5-2 to hand the Giants their third-straight loss on Friday night.

The Giants’ offense finally came to life, and hit the way they were supposed to during their three-game winning streak, in which they scored 22 runs. By that, of course I mean that they were playing station to station, and keeping the line moving.

Unfortunately, the Giants were shutout on Wednesday, and scored just two runs last night. Friday night was the second-straight night in which the Giants didn’t get a single hit over the first three innings.

Luis Arraez got the Giants’ first hit with a home run to lead off to the top of the fourth. However, the Giants were unable to do anything with a two-out rally later in the inning.

Harrison Bader put the Giants ahead with a solo home run with one out in the top of the fifth. Sadly, like the inning before, the Giants wasted an opportunity later in the inning.

Tyler Mahle was shaky over the first two innings. He escaped a two-out double in the bottom of the first, but he gave up a run in the bottom of the second.

Mahle then threw a pair of 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth, but he imploded in the bottom of the fifth. The A’s batted around, and scored four runs to take a 5-2 lead.

The Giants could not do anything with a one-out double by Willy Adames in the top of the sixth. They then had runners at second and third with one out for Matt Chapman in the top of the seventh. Chapman hit a long fly ball down the right field line that went just foul. You just knew after that happened that the Giants were not going to come through. Indeed, Chapman struck out, and Rafael Devers grounded out to first.

The Giants got a two-out base-runner in both the eighth and ninth, but both innings were otherwise uneventful.

The only real drama in the later innings was that Heliot Ramos left the game with right quad tightness.

The one positive tonight was that the Giants finally got Daniel Susac back from the Injured List. There was no better place for Susac to make his return, and take the mantle as the Giants’ everyday catcher than his hometown of Sacramento with 20-30 family and friends present.

Christian Koss was sent down to the River Cats to make room for Susac, and the Giants will carry three catchers in Susac, Jesus Rodriguez and Eric Haase.

Aaron Civale, who started and win five innings for the A’s got the win. He is 5-1. Tyler Mahler took the loss, and is 1-3. Hogan Harris picked up his third save of the season.

The Giants are now back to nine games under .500 at 18-27.

San Francisco will turn to the kid, RHP Trevor McDonald (1-0 ERA 2.92), to try and stop the slide Saturday. For Sacramento RHP Luis Severino (2-4 ERA 4.07)

First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m.

Giants Split Series With Dodgers 2-2 Losing Game Four 5-2

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Los Angeles Dodgers Alex Call (right) kicks up a little dirt on the infield surface near San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (left) after hitting an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on Thu May 14, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Los Angeles Dodgers (25-18) led early 2-0 but the San Francisco Giants (18-25) tied up the game in the fifth inning. The Giants were back in this game until the Dodgers pushed back scoring three runs in the sixth inning.

Los Angeles held onto that lead for the remainder of the game. It was a rough offensive game for the Giants with only two hits in the game. The bats had gone silent for San Francisco the past two games.

Game recap: The Dodgers picked up right where they left off Wednesday night scoring a run in the first inning and a second run in the second inning taking a 2-0 lead. Will Smith knocked one out of the park 390 feet for the early 1-0 lead. Hyeseong Kim was responsible for the second run driving Max Muncy home from third base for the 2-0 tally.

The Dodgers carried the 2-0 lead through the fourth inning but San Francisco turned it all around in the fifth inning. With two outs, Jung Hoo Lee hit an inside-the-park home run scoring two runs and this game was tied 2-2 driving in Eric Haase from first base.

The Giants went three and out in the sixth inning and the game remained tied at 2-2. Giants pitcher Landen Roupp was holding his own allowing five hits and the two earned runs but had seven strikeouts. The Dodgers threatened in the bottom of the inning.

Teoscar Hernandez doubled, his third double of the game, and with Max Muncy on third and only one out Los Angeles was looking at possibly taking back the lead. After the Hernandez double there was a change on the mound for the Giants.

Matt Gage relieved Roupp who allowed six hits, two runs with the seven strikeouts. The Dodgers did make good on their threat scoring two runs taking a 4-2 lead when Alex Call singled both Muncy and Hernandez home.

The Dodgers would score their third run of the inning extending their lead to 5-2. Miguel Rojas singled Call home from second base and once again the Giants were playing from behind the eight ball.

The Giants would again make a change on the mound with Dodger runners at first and second with two outs. Ryan Borucki would try to get that third out in a very very long sixth inning. Borucki successfully got that third out and the game went into the seventh inning.

There was not much going on for San Francisco in the top of the seventh going three and out against Los Angeles relief pitcher Edgardo Henriguez. The Dodgers also went three and out in the bottom of the inning.

After a quiet eighth inning for both teams this game went into the ninth inning with the Dodgers closing in on a win in game four. The Giants were down to their final three outs. San Francisco went three and out and that was the ball game losing the game 5-2 and splitting the series 2-2 with Los Angeles

Game notes: The Giants will finish off their four game series with Dodgers Thursday night but couldn’t get the series win. The Giants had a great start to the series winning the first two games of the series but ran into a buzzsaw in game three and four.

San Francisco really struggled Wednesday night with Shohei Ohtani on the mound getting the shutout. Ohtani was pretty much unstoppable in fact the Giants only had two hits through six innings of the seven he pitched. The Giants would finish the game with five hits.

San Francisco starter Landen Roupp pitched 5.1 innings, allowed six hits and four runs for Los Angeles starter Emmet Sheehan pitched six innings, allowed two hits and two earned runs and struck out six.

Friday night the Giants will jet up to Sacramento for a three game series with the Sacramento Athletics. Probable starting pitcher for the Giants is Tyler Mahle. He has a 1-4 win/loss record and a 5.18 ERA. The A’s plan on sending Aaron Civale to the mound with a 4-1 win/loss record and a 2.59 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 6:40 PM.

Giants Hit Three Home Runs to Best Dodgers in Game Two 6-2

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Eric Haase rounds first base after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Tue May 12, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Los Angeles Dodgers (24-17) led for a few innings before the San Francisco Giants (17-24) brought out the big guns. Eric Haase hit a couple of home runs and Harrison Bader also hit a long ball with the final score 6-2.

With the win the Giants took a 2-0 series lead in this four-game series. Willy Adames had two hits and continues to make strides so he is back. After struggling for a while, San Francisco is fighting their way up the standings but they still have a ways to go. The good news is that they are playing some excellent ball right now.

Game notes: The Dodgers got the first run of the game in the first inning. Ohtani singled, Freddie Freeman singled and Kyle Tucker was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Wes Smith sacrificed and Ohtani scored for the early 1-0 lead. Loading the bases was not the way the Giants wanted to start off this game. The damage was kept to a minimum with just the one run. The Giants went three and out in the opening inning. The second inning was a three and out for both teams.

San Francisco was able to tie up the game in the third inning 1-1. Eric Haase hit a long ball to left center to tie up this game. The tie was short-lived when in the bottom of the third inning. Shohei Ohtani gave the Dodgers back the lead with his sixth home run of the season 2-1. Los Angeles pitcher Yamamoto was rolling along with six strikeouts through four innings and two three and outs. The Giants starting pitcher Houser was also having some success with 4 strikeouts through four innings. He had given up three hits.

This game took a crazy turn in the fifth inning. San Francisco hit not one but two back-to-back home runs. Harrison Bader hit the first one and Eric Haase the second giving the Giants a 3-2 lead. This was Haase’s second long ball of the game.

It had been a tough inning for Yamamoto. Now it would be up to Houser to protect that lead for San Francisco. The inning would come to an end with a double play and Hauser was having a very good game.

Much of the damage in this game was done by the bottom of the lineup for the Giants, the eighth and ninth batters. Rafael Devers had a hit, but it was the three Giants home runs, two from Haase and the one from Bader that had San Francisco leading going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Every time the Dodgers took the lead, San Francisco either tied the game or took the lead. With only four hits through six innings those home runs were priceless.

There was a pitching change in the bottom of the sixth inning for San Francisco. Adrian Houser was relieved by Matt Gage. Houser went 5 2/3 innings finishing with three hits, two runs, theee walks and four strikeouts.

The Giants got something going in the top of th seventh inning. They had runners on the corners, Ramos with a double and Adames a single with no outs. An insurance run or two was what San Francisco really needed right now having a great opportunity to do just that with the two runners on base.

The Giants got one of those insurance runs when Drew Gilbert bunted and Ramos scored extending the San Francisco lead to 4-2. The Giants added two more runs in the inning stunning the fans in the stadium. Chung Hoo Lee doubled Gilbert and Adames home for a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Giants finished off the bottom of the inning striking out Ohtani.

The Dodgers refused to go quietly putting two runners on base (Tucker and Freeman) with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. San Francisco relief pitcher Sam Hentges loaded the bases with Max Muncy at the plate. Hentges got the second out and was relieved by Caleb Kilian to close out the inning with the bases remaining loaded. Kilian got the GIants out of the inning and they were three outs away from winning game two.

The Dodgers had one last inning to make a move. Dodger stadium had begun to empty, the fans having little to cheer about since the third inning of the game. Giants relief pitcher Kilian would remain in the game looking to close it out. A strikeout, a couple of ground outs and that was the ball game 6-2 in favor of San Francisco.

Game notes: Tuesday night, the Giants took game one of their four game series with the Dodgers 9-3. Wednesday night San Francisco took a 2-0 lead in the series. Tuesday night’s hero for the Giants was Willy Adames who has recently had his struggles but now seems to be turning that all around.

Adames was not the only player that really showed up for this game. Rafael Devers hit a home run and drew a bases loaded walk that broke a late inning tie. This loss gave the Dodgers an eighth loss of their last 12 games as they continue to limp through May. The Los Angeles offense has been downright awful. Shohei Ohtani was 0-5 and had two strikeouts Tuesday night.

With the win, the Giants knocked the Dodgers out of first place in the National League West. San Francisco finished the game with 12 hits and Adames, Devers, Luis Arraez and Casey Schmitt each had two hits. Their offense was humming.

Wednesday the Giants will play for a win in game three and taking a 3-0 series lead. Robbie Ray will take the mound for San Francisco with a 3-4 win/loss record and a 2.76 ERA. The Dodgers will start Shohei Ohtani. First pitch for Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 7:10 PM.

Giants Start Road Trip With a Game One Win Over Dodgers 9-3

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Gians Heliot Ramos slugs a two run double in the top of the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Mon May 11, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

This game got off to a bit of a slow start for both the San Francisco Giants (17-24) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (24-17) on Monday night but San Francisco busted this game wide open in the seventh inning.

The Giants hit three singles in a row, a walk, another single and when the dust had settled had scored three runs taking a 6-3 lead. The Giants had a most productive ninth inning scoring three times. The final was 9-3.

Game recap: Records do not matter when these two teams clash. Just about anything can happen. In their last series it was the San Francisco Giants who won the series 2-1. The Dodgers will be looking to tie that up with a series win Monday night.

It was a three and out for the Giants in the first inning and the Dodgers went down quickly leaving Freddie Freeman stranded on second base.

This game went into the second inning with San Francisco looking for their first hit. The Giants got that first hit, a big one, from Rafael Devers his fifth home run of the season taking the early lead 1-0. The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Giants going into the third inning. Los Angeles went three and out in the inning.

The Giants got something going in the top of the third inning loading the bases with only one out and Devers at the plate. Sasaki got out of the inning and the Giants had failed to cash in on a great scoring opportunity. The Dodgers had Hernandez on third but left him stranded. So far the difference in this game was the Devers home run.

The Dodgers got a rally going in the bottom of the fourth with three singles (Freeman, Tucker, Smith) in a row loading the bases with no outs. Max Muncy hit the Dodgers fourth single in a row, Freddie Freeman scored and this game was tied 1-1 with the bases remaining loaded no outs. San Francisco got a double play in the inning limiting the damage but Kyle Tucker scored giving the Dodgers their first lead of the game 2-1 going into the fifth.

San Francisco went three and out in the top of the fifth inning. Los Angeles’ Mookie Betts singled and Tucker walked but McDonald got out of the inning and it was on to the sixth inning with the Dodgers still leading 2-1 in a close game.

San Francisco rallied in the sixth with two runners on second and third base with no outs. Another great scoring opportunity for San Francisco. Heliot Ramos doubled and Rafael Devers and Schmitt both scored taking back the lead 3-2. The lead was short-lived in the bottom of the sixth inning when Muncy hit a solo home run to tie this game back up 3-3.

San Francisco loaded the bases in the top of the seventh inning with one out. Dodger relief pitcher Alex Vesia lasted 1/3 of the inning and after walking a run in (Jung Hoo Lee) was relieved by Will Klein who faced the bases loaded situation. Adames came to the plate and singled driving home two runners Luis Arraez and Schmitt. San Francisco had broken this game open taking a 6-3 lead. The Dodgers went down in order to end the seventh.

With not much going on in the eighth inning, this game went into the top of the ninth inning. San Francisco again threatened with the bases loaded (Ramos, Devers and Schmitt) and no outs. Again Adames came through with a single and Schmitt extending the San Francisco lead 7-3.

Another walk for the Giants and Devers scored still with no outs now leading 8-3. The Dodgers finally got two outs in an inning that seemed to have no end. Three walks in a row for Los Angeles, four in total in the inning and this game was as good as done. Going into the bottom of the ninth it was a 9-3 San Francisco lead which turned out to be the final.

San Francisco had a productive offensive game tonight finishing with 12 hits and nine runs. The Dodgers fell short although they did have ten hits. The Los Angeles pitching was their downfall and the Giants took full advantage. It was also really good to see Willy Adames coming away with some huge hits.

Game notes: The Giants took on the Dodgers Monday night for a three-game series with their archrival. Whether playing down south at Dodger Stadium or in San Francisco these series are always highly anticipated. This series was played in Los Angeles with Roki Sasaki on the mound for the Dodgers. He has not had a great start and dropped his record to 1-5.

Sasaki pitched back on May 2 in a loss to St. Louis and prior to that a win for the Dodgers over the Cubs. The Giants starter Trevor McDonald who had a win under his belt against the San Diego Padres, in a game that was played May 4th.

Both of these teams have been struggling lately, although the Giants have really seen diminished production at the plate and watched their record take a nose-dive. The Giants have had flashes of some success but have fallen pretty flat in the middle of their lineup. The big news of the week was the trade of two-time Gold Glove winner Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians in a real stunner.

San Francisco will also be missing Logan Webb placed on IL for 15-days due to right knee bursitis. The Giants come into this series after winning two out of three in a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates while the Dodgers lost their last series to the Braves.

Tuesday night the Giants will be looking for a second win in this series and another guaranteed series win over the Dodgers. Adrian Houser will take the mound for the Giants with a 0-4 win/loss record and a 6.19 ERA. The Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He has a 3-2 win/loss record and a 3.09 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 7:10 PM.

Rodriguez walks off massive 7-6 12-inning gut-check win for Giants over Pirates

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Willy Adames hits a two run single in the tenth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun May 10, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Pittsburgh Pirates 6 (22-19)

San Francisco Giants 7 (16-24)

Win: Ryan Borucki (1-1)

Loss: Justin Lawrence (0-2)

Time: 3:51

Attendance: 41,085

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–What a massive gut-check win for the Giants, who showed real resilience Sunday, as they came back from down two runs three times, and the youngster, Jesus Rodriguez, came up with the walk-off base-hit to beat the Pirates 7-6 in 12 innings here on Mother’s Day.

Fittingly, the Giants couldn’t make it two in a row after their win on Friday. Not just that, but they had their brains bashed in by the Pirates in a 13-3 shellacking Saturday night.

Prior to the game, the Giants made a series of roster moves. Ryan Walker, who came into the season as the closer, was sent down to Triple-A Sacramento. Gregory Santos was sent down to Sacramento as well. Sam Hentges was activated off the 15-day Injured List. Dylan Smith, whom the Giants acquired from the Tigers on March 30, was called up.

The Giants had their hopes in Tyler Mahle. Mahler of course has been off to a rough start this season, but he was solid in his last outing, when he threw five and third shutout innings against the Rays at the Trop last Sunday.

The Pirates got to Mahle for runs in each of the first two innings. Pirates’ starter Bubba Chandler, in turn, threw a pair of scoreless innings innings to start his day.

Jung Hoo Lee lined a double down the right field line with two outs in the bottom of the third. Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t amount to anything, but Luis Arraez lined a base-hit to left to get Lee in, and the Giants were on the board.

Heliot Ramos tied the game with a bomb half-way up into the bleachers in left with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Unfortunately, Oneil Cruz responded with a home run of his own to put the Pirates back ahead in the top of the fifth.

The Pirates got to Mahle for another run in the top of the sixth to make it 4-2, and Keaton Winn finished the inning. Mahler gave up four runs and five hits over five and two thirds innings. He walked two, and struck out eight. It was not the worst day for Mahle, and he gave the start the Giants needed from him..

Isaac Mattson came in for Chandler to start the bottom of the sixth, and the Giants would tie the game with three doubles. Rafael Devers led off the inning with a double. Ramos followed that up with a double of his own to make it 4-3, and Matt Chapman then doubled to tie it.

Winn and Sam Hentges—the latter making his Giants debut—combined for a scoreless top of the seventh. Caleb Kilian then got away with a pair of walks in the top of the eighth.

Dennis Santana came in for Pittsburgh in the bottom of the eighth. Devers led off with a towering shot that almost hit the green tin atop the Willie Mays Wall in right. He had a shot at a triple, but he watched his shot from the right-handed batter’s box, and selfishly cost his team a crucial 90 feet.

Tony Vitello asked the umpires to review it, and the call was confirmed. It would not have mattered had the call been overturned. It is never acceptable for a player to watch his shot if it is not a no-doubter than everyone in the ballpark knows his gone. Devers’ selfish act cost his team a run, as the Giants unsurprisingly wasted the opportunity.

Devers’ selfishness was not the only controversy in the bottom of the eighth. Don Kelly brought in the lefty, Gregory Soto, to face Drew Gilbert with two outs. Gilbert came into the at-bat 2-for-30 in his career against lefties, but Tony did not pinch-hit for him. Gilbert grounded out to first to end the inning.

Joel Peguero threw a scoreless top of the ninth, and Soto threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.

Peguero was back out for the top of the tenth, with Nick Gonzalez as the Manfred runner at second. O’Hearn grounded out, but Puguero hit Marcell Ozuna. Spencer Horwitz then came up, and shot a double into the gap in right-center. Dylan Smith finished off the top of the 10th, and prevented any further damage in his Giants debut.

The Pirates had their third two-run lead of the game, and the Giants were three outs away from falling to 10 games under .500.

Yohan Ramirez was in for the Pirates, and Luis Arraez was the Manfred runner at second. Tony sent up Bryce Eldridge to pinch-hit for Casey Schmitt to start the bottom of the tenth. Eldridge struck out on three pitches.

The Giants were down to their final out, but Willy Adames found it in him to shorten his swing, and line a base-hit to left-center to tie it. The throw from Pirates’ left-fielder Nick Yorke was spiked into the ground, and for the third time Sunday, the Giants had come back from a two-run deficit to tie the game. Jesus Rodriguez then chased two pitches in the dirt, as he struck out to end the inning.

I was certain the game was over when Tony brought in Ryan Borucki in for the 11th. With runners at first and second with one out, and Brandon Lowe at the plate, Kelly put on the hit and run, just as Tony did each of the last two nights. This proved to be a massive break for the Giants, as Lowe lined one right to where Adames was going, and he casually threw to first to turn the inning-ending 5-3 double play.

The Giants were unable to score against Ramirez in the bottom of the 11th, and Borucki’s first pitch in the top of the 12th was a wild pitch. The Pirates once again seemed to have the momentum, but Borucki worked another houdini act to get out of it.

Justin Lawrence was in for the Pirates in the bottom of the 12th, and Ramos was the Manfred runner. Let’s get right to it. Jesus Rodriguez was up with the bases loaded and one out. Rodriguez was 0-for-5, but he lined a base-hit the other way to right, or so we thought. Ramos completely misread the ball, and went back to third to tag up. Thankfully, O’Hearn didn’t see it, and Ramos scored the winning run to mercifully end this absolute cluster you know what of a game.

For his effort, Ryan Borucki got his first win of the season. Justin Lawrence took the loss.

The Giants got a much-needed win to improve to 16-24, and give them a little momentum into what is going to be a brutal four-game series at Dodger Stadium starting Monday night.

Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA) will make his second start of the season, and the Dodgers will counter with Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA).

Just win one in LA, and I can accept that for the time being.

First pitch will be at 7:10 p.m.

San Francisco Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic: Giants take two of three from Bucs in 12 innings 7-6

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Christian Koss (center) scores on Willy Adames’ single in the bottom of the tenth inning against the Pittsbugh Pirates at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun May 10, 2026 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates battled it out in a 7-6 duel that saw the Giants win it in 12 innings to take two out of three from the Bucs at Oracle Park on Sunday.

#2 The Giants Jesus Rodriguez hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning that helped the Giants come back from two two run deficits.

#3 The had the bases loaded against Pirates pitcher Justin Lawrence and Matt Chapman at the plate who hit a double that moved ghost runner Heliot Ramos to third base and Drew Gilbert drew an intentional walk. Rodriguez followed up and got a base hit to score Ramos for the Giants extra innings win. The fought and clawed in this one to get in win column.

#4 Giant reliever Ryan Boruki just got by with runners at first and third in the 11th and got out of the 12th with the bases loaded.

#5 It’s off to Dodger Stadium in the Southland for a huge series with the Dodgers starting on Monday night. Starters for Monday night Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA) will make his second start of the season, and the Dodgers will counter with Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA).

Tuesday starting pitchers for the Giants RHP Adrian Houser (0-4 ERA 6.19) for the Dodgers LHP Yoshnunobu Yamamoto (3-2 ERA 3.09) first pitch for both games 7:10pm PDT at Chavez Ravine.

Join Marko Ukalovic for the San Francisco Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast Stephen Ruderman: Bailey traded for a guy named “Tugboat”; Giants carrying 3 catchers on club

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson a left hander was traded to the San Francisco Giants from the Cleveland double A system in exchange for catcher Patrick Bailey (photo by Minor League Baseball)

San Francisco Giants podcast Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Former San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey was traded to the Cleveland Guardians for the 29th overall draft pick in the MLB draft Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson. Tugboat is a 250 pound left hander. Is it going take a little time for the Giants to promotes Tugboat or do you see them calling up Tugboat sooner than later.

#2 Was the primary reason for trading Bailey that he was hitting .146 and was his offense hurting the club?

#3 Critics of the trade say he is a great defensive catcher and his tools of ignorance skills helped espeically working with the pitchers.

#4 The Giants are now currently carrying three catchers Logan Porter, Jesus Rodriguez, and Eric Haase. How soon will they be ready to getting used to working with with the Giants starting pitchers and bullpen?

#5 Taking a look at Sunday’s starting pitchers for the Pirates RHP Buba Chandler (1-4 ERA 4.76) for the Giants RHP Tyler Mahle (1-4 ERA 5.00) with a 1:05pm PDT first pitch.

Stephen Ruderman is a San Francisco Giants podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Pirates stomp Giants, 13-3; Bailey dealt to Cleveland trade might have impacted team

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants’ Christian Koss is hit by a pitch during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, May 9, 2026 in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

By Ryan Hannagan

San Francisco — The Giants and Pirates faced off for game two of a three game series Saturday night. The Giants were hoping to maintain their momentum and win the series in game two after their 5-2 victory on Friday night but it was all for not as the Pirates won in a 13-3 laugher at Oracle Park on Saturday night.

In other news, the Giants traded two-time Gold Glove catcher Patrick Bailey to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Matt “Steamboat” Wilkinson and their CBA Round A pick (29th overall) in the morning before the game. 

Landen Roupp was given the nod for the Giants. Roupp had a 3.18 ERA and a 5-2 W/L record going into Saturday’s game. The Pirates went with Braxton Ashcraft, also a right-handed pitcher. Ashcraft, a second-year pitcher, had a 3.02 ERA and a 1-2 W/L record going into Saturday’s game. 

The first four innings of the game were scoreless. There was an eye opening difference between the two pitchers despite the scoreless tie. While Roupp struggled to complete his innings at a productive pace, Ashcraft was dominating the Giants lineup.

Roupp’s pitch count surged to 91 after four innings pitched. Despite only giving up one earned run, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Brandon Lowe shortly after he was pulled (Bart was the run that scored, Bart singled to begin the fifth when Roupp was still in) Roupp was only able to go 4 ⅓ innings due to his high pitch count. Replacing Roupp was relief pitcher Ryan Borucki.

The fifth inning was really where the flood gates slowly began to open for the Pirates. Borucki didn’t make it far in Saturday night’s affair, only facing four Pirates, retiring two and leaving the mound with an earned run of his own, an RBI single off the bat of Bryan Reynolds. Following Borucki’s departure, Ryan Walker came in with an attempt to stop the bleeding with the score sitting at 2-0.

Walker allowed an infield single to Nick Gonzales, but shortly after during the next AB, Gonzales was thrown out trying to steal 2nd effectively ending the inning. 

A positive came out of the Giants half of inning five. Rookie DH Bryce Eldrige hit his first career home run to open the bottom half of the inning, moving the score back within one, a 2-1 Pirates lead. A high soaring moonshot just short of a splash hit. That would be the only run the Giants scored in the bottom of the 5th.

Walker returned to the mound in the sixth, where the Pirates offense added two more insurance runs giving themselves a 4-1 lead, forcing manager Tony Vitello to pull Walker after only recording two outs, a recurring theme amongst the Giants pitching staff. Matt Gage was the fourth pitcher of the night to take the mound for the Giants, he went ⅔ IP just as Borucki and Walker did, though without an earned run allowed.

On offense, the Giants had another scoreless inning, quickly allowing the hot Pirate bats back out on offense. The seventh inning is where the score began to get out of hand. Vitello had JT Brubaker out to start the seventh. There was a lot of Pirate offense during Brubaker’s appearance.

By the time Brubaker got the hook, the Pirates had increased their lead to 7-1. Gregory Santos came in relief of Brubaker, and the Pirates didn’t let up. Another three runs allowed, this time by Santos, moved the score to 10-1 Pirates by the end of the inning.

No further offense came until the ninth inning when the Giants sent infielder Christian Koss to pitch. Koss allowed three more runs making the score 13-1.

The Giant’s offense did respond in the bottom of the ninth, but the hole was too deep to dig out of. Two Giants runs and three outs later the game was over with a 13-3 final.

With Saturday’s loss, the Giants have lost nine of their last 11 games.

Sunday is the series finale, 1:05 first pitch. Starting pitchers for Pittsburgh RHP Buba Chandler (1-4 ERA 4.76) for San Francisco RHP Tyler Mahle (1-4 ERA 5.00) first pitch at 1:05pm PDT.

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez: Giants open 3 game set with Pirates; Odds are against Giants in series

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants pitcher Robbie Ray has been dealing but not getting in the win column due to a lack of run support. He faces the Pittsburgh Pirates Fri May 8, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez:

#1 The San Francisco Giants are stuck in nuetral losing eight of their last nine games losing two of three in their last series to the San Diego Padres.

#2 The Giants in addition to losing the series to the Padres have lost their last three series in total while it’s early in the season how concerning is it?

#3 The Giants enter Friday night’s game nine games under .500 for the first time since July 5, 2019 it’s been a while but there only one way to go when your at the bottom?

#4 Lincoln talk about some of the things the Giants were missing, what went wrong, lack of hitting, bull pen problems in these last three seasons?

#5 The trotted out pitcher Trevor McDonald from triple A Sacramento Mon May 4th during the San Diego series and McDonald kept the Padres off balance all game long. He look good enough to complete the game.

Lincoln Juarez is a San Francisco Giants reporter at http://www.sportsradioservice.com