Category: San Francisco Giants

Casey Schmitt (10) greets Jung Hoo Lee (right) at home plate after both score on San Francisco Giants Wilmer Flores two run double in the bottom of the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco Thu Jun 19, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Michael Villanueva:

#1 San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb put together seven dominant innings with nine Ks and no walks. What do you feel clicked for him yesterday compared to the past starts?

#2 Wilmer Flores came through with a clutch two-run double off the bench — should the Giants be using him more in key late-game situations?

#3 Michael do you remain worried about the offense’s inconsistency, or are you more inspired by the Giants’ ability to fabricate a victory with just two runs scored?

#4 The bullpen held strong again, with Doval locking down the ninth — is the Giants’ bullpen quietly becoming the most reliable part of this team?

#5 Looking at the upcoming schedule, can a close win like this be a turning point to assert dominance in the league, or do the Giants still have too many unanswered questions?

#6 The Giants continue their homestand tonight at Oracle Park with a key game against the Red Sox, following a much-needed victory over the Guardians. When Rafael Devers plays his old team for the first time since the trade, everyone will be watching him closely. Boston’s Hunter Dobbins (3.74 ERA) will face Hayden Birdsong (2.79 ERA). 7:15 is the first pitch.

Michael Villanueva is a Major League Baseball podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giant Wilmer Flores hits a two run double in the bottom of the seventh to give the Giants the lead over the Cleveland Guardians at Oracle Park on Thu Jun 19, 2025 (AP News photo)

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Cleveland Guardians 1 (37-36)

San Francisco Giants 2 (42-33)

Win: Logan Webb (7-5)

Loss: Matt Festa (1-1)

Save: Camilo Doval (11)

Time: 2:22

Attendance: 40,093

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Logan Webb was rewarded for an incredible seven-inning, nine-strikeout performance by a two-run double by Wilmer Flores with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Giants avoided the sweep with a 2-1 win over the Guardians to snap their four-game losing streak.

Usually, weekday getaway games at Oracle Park start at 12:45, but that was not the case today. Thursday was Juneteenth, which became a federal holiday in 2021. “Lift Every Voice,” the black national anthem, was played prior to the start of the game, followed by the Star Spangled Banner.

The Giants sent their ace and stopper, Logan Webb, to the mound, as they looked to snap their four-game snide and avoid the sweep on a hazy afternoon at Oracle Park. The Giants were held to just two runs in both of the first two games of this series, and with the offenses’ inability to give Webb run support, Thursday looked to be a good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel at the ballpark.

Webb ran into trouble right away in the top of the first inning, as the Guardians placed runners at first and second with one out in the top of the first inning. Webb struck Carlos Santana out swinging for the second out. Heliot Ramos then took an RBI base-hit away from Lane Thomas with a great diving catch out in left field to end the inning.

Gavin Williams took the ball for Cleveland, and the Giants went down scoreless in each of the first two innings. Webb settled down with a one, two, three top of the second, but he got into trouble again in the top of the third.

Angel Martinez led off the top of the third with a double down the right field line, and then Steven Kwan lined a base-hit up the middle that almost took off Webb’s head. The Guardians had runners at the corners with nobody out.

Daniel Schneemann, who hit the big home run last night, struck out swinging for the first out. Kwan then stole second, but Martinez was cut down at the plate by first-baseman Dominic Smith.

Webb had a chance to get out of the inning unscathed, but Santana had other plans. Webb threw a sinker just off the outside corner at the knees, and Santana dunked it out to shallow left-center to put the Guards on the board.

The Guardians got to Webb in the top of the third, but he settled down the rest of the way. In fact, Webb was dominant the rest of the way, and he set down 12 of the final 14 men he faced to finish off an incredible outing. While Webb gave up seven hits, he gave up just one run, and he struck out nine over seven innings. On top of that, he did not give up any runs.

Webb did his job. The only question was whether the Giants’ offense would do theirs. The Giants wasted major opportunities in three-straight innings from the third through the fifth, and they were unable to do anything after Heliot Ramos was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the sixth.

Williams was done after giving up just two hits over six shutout innings. Perhaps, the Giants would have better luck against Matt Festa in the bottom of the seventh.

Casey Schmitt started things off by fisting a broken bat single up the middle to center. Jung Hoo Lee then drew a walk, and the Giants had runners at first and second with nobody out. Up came Patrick Bailey, and he did exactly what he was supposed to do: bunt the runners over to second and third. It was with a torpedo bat, a fad that is thankfully going away, but he still got the job done.

Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt then brought in Nic Enright to face Wilmer Flores, who was pinch-hitting for Christian Koss. Wilmer worked the count to 2-2, and then he grounded a double down the left field line to give the Giants their first lead of the day.

The Giants have been pressing as of late and trying too hard to hit home runs. The bottom of the seventh inning Thursday was how the Giants are meant to win games, and exactly how they won during their torrid 24-14 start. It was a base-hit; a walk; a sacrifice bunt; and then a double down the line. Beautifully done.

Bob Melvin entrusted Randy Rodriguez with the top of the eighth Thursday, and Rodriguez rewarded his skipper with a one, two, three shutdown inning. Camilo Doval then came in for the ninth, and he threw a 1-2-3 inning to notch down his 11th save.

The Giants beat the Guardians 2-1, and this sold-out crowd of 40,093 could all go home happy. Well, at least all of the ones who were Giants’ fans.

Logan Webb was rewarded for his great start with the win; Matt Festa took the loss; and Camilo Doval got the save.

The Giants improve to 42-33, and they will face Rafael Devers’ old team, the Boston Red Sox, over the weekend for three starting Friday night. It should be interesting and full of emotions to say the least.

Hayden Birdsong (3-1, 2.79 ERA) will take the ball for the Giants in the series opener Friday night. Hunter Dobbins (4-1, 3.74), a young pitcher who has excited fans in Boston, will make the start for the Red Sox.

First pitch will be at 7:15 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

Thursday was Duane Kuiper’s 75th birthday. It was fitting that his milestone birthday came on a day that the two teams he played for faced off.

Duane’s son, Cole, brought a birthday cake into the broadcast booth, and he was joined by Jon Miller and Dave Fleming, who came over from the radio booth. Buster Posey also came into the booth for the cherry on the top, as Thursday’s sold-out crowd sang “Happy Birthday.”

Here’s to many more years of great memories with the great Duane Kuiper, truly one of the greatest baseball announcers of all-time, behind the mic!

San Francisco Giants starter Justin Verlander was touched up by the Cleveland Guardians on Wed Jun 18, 2025 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Cleveland Guardians 4 (37-35)

San Francisco Giants 2 (41-33)

Win: Logan Allen (5-4)

Loss: Justin Verlander (0-4)

Save: Emmanuel Clase (16)

Time: 2:27

Attendance: 34,055

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants have now lost four-straight for just the second time this season, as Justin Verlander struggled in his return from the Injured List, and the Giants’ offense stumbled again in a 4-2 loss to the Guardians.

Following the hoopla around the trade for Rafael Devers, the Guardians beat the Giants 3-2 in Devers’ debut last night. The loss was also the third-straight for the Giants, whose offense has started to go dormant again.

The Giants turned to Justin Verlander, who was activated off the Injured List to make his 11th start of the season. Verlander was still looking for his first win as a Giant, as he came into Wednesday night’s game 0-3 with a 4.33 ERA over ten starts in a Giants’ uniform.

Verlander last started on May 18 against the A’s. In that start, Verlander gave up two runs and walked five over four innings, and he got a no-decision. However, Verlander also aggravated his right pectoral muscle in that start, which prompted the Giants to place him on the IL

Unfortunately, Verlander was given a rude welcome in the top of the first inning. Kyle Manzardo lined a double to right field with one out, and then Jose Ramirez, the lone-remaining member of the 2016 Cleveland Indians, lined a base-hit to right to put the Guardians on the board early.

The Guardians could have made it a bigger inning, but when Ramirez took off for second base, catcher Patrick Bailey, who was also returning from the IL Wednesday night, gunned Ramirez down at second. That’s right: a whole battery coming off the IL.

Left-hander Logan Allen took the ball for the Guards, and he started his night with a one, two, three bottom of the first. Allen threw a scoreless bottom of the second, and he worked his way out of a jam in the bottom of the third.

Verlander settled down to throw a scoreless top of the second and a one, two, three top of the third. Unfortunately, Verlander found himself back in trouble in the top of the fourth.

Carlos Santanta reached on a chopper to the right side that took a weird hop off the lip of the outfield grass and was bobbled by second-baseman Tyler Fitzgerald. In this era of not giving errors on plays that clearly should be, Fitzgerald was cast with a tough error.

Lane Thomas lined a base-hit to center to put runners at first and second for Cleveland with one out. Up came Daniel Schneemann, and he blasted a three-run home run to left-center, and the Guardians now had a 4-0 lead.

The Giants went down scoreless against Allen in the bottom of the fourth, and the Guardians made noise again in the top of the fifth. Monzardo, who doubled and scored the game’s first run in the top of the first, doubled with one out. The longtime veteran, Carlos Santana, then walked two batters later with two outs.

That would end the night for Verlander, and Bob Melvin turned to Spencer Bivens. Bivens caught Thomas looking at a sinker on the outside corner to end the inning with the score still 4-0.

Verlander gave up four runs, three of them earned, over four and two thirds innings in his return from the IL. He gave up seven hits, but he struck out six, and he hit 95 miles per hour on the gun.

Allen retired the first two men he faced in the bottom of the fifth, but Baile lined a base-hit to center to extend the inning for Heliot Ramos. Ramos got a “sweeper”—don’t worry, I’ll get around to saying it soon—and golfed it out to left-center field for a two-run shot to put the Giants on the board and cut the deficit in half.

The Guardians’ lead was now 4-2, as Bivens threw a one, two, three top of the sixth. The Giants’ bullpen did their job, as they held the Guardians scoreless the rest of the way.

Unfortunately, the Giants’ offense couldn’t do their job. Allen ended up going five and a third innings, and the Guards’ bullpen took it the rest of the way. The Giants had runners on in each of the final four innings, but they just couldn’t keep things going, and the Guardians won it 4-2.

Logan Allen got the win; Justin Verlander took the loss; and Emmanuel Clase got the save.

The Giants have indeed just four-straight, as they fall to 41-33.

The Giants will look to salvage a game in this series and avoid the sweep in a Thursday matinee at Oracle Park. The Giants will have their ace, Logan Webb (6-5, 2.58 ERA), who has also become their stopper, on the mound Thursday. Gavin Williams (5-3, 3.89 ERA) will go for Cleveland.

Usually, weekday afternoon games at Oracle Park start at 12:45 p.m. That will not be the case Thursday. First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

To make room for Justin Verlander and Patrick Bailey, who both came off the Injured List Wednesday night, the Giants sent right-handed pitcher Tristan Beck and catcher Logan Porter back to Triple-A Sacramento.

San Francisco, California, USA, June 17, 2025; At Oracle Park, Robbie Ray, 38, the starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, throws a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning. (Photo Credits to D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images)

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Oracle Park

Cleveland Guardians: 3

San Francisco Giants: 2

Win: Cleveland Guardians Pitcher Slade Cecconi (2-3)

Loss: SF Giants Pitcher Robbie Ray (8-2)

Saver: Cleveland Guardians Emmanuel Clase (15)

Attendance: 36,222

By: Michael Villanueva

SAN FRANCISCO- The Cleveland Guardians defeated the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night to start their nine-game homestand. The Giants were beaten by the Cleveland Guardians in a final score, 3-2.

Giants Manager Bob Melvin placed Rafael Devers into the No.3 spot in the roster and DH role. In the third inning, Devers excellently earned himself an RBI double, a strong 111mph blast into Triples alley that scored Willy Adames and put San Francisco ahead 2-1. Later, he would add a single in the ninth, part of a desperation rally that nearly turned the tide.

Throughout the game, the Giants’ offense had opportunities but found it tough to take advantage of them. San Francisco only finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position, leaving 13 men behind overall, even though they put runners on base in almost every inning. Dom Smith’s RBI single in the second inning leveled the game early and was the only other Giant to drive in a run.

Robbie Ray pitched six innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits while striking out five batters, giving San Francisco a strong display. His only big error occurred in the sixth inning when Gabriel Arias hit a game-winning solo home run to put the Guardians ahead for good.

Arias hit his first home run since April 16th. “When you get six innings with three runs, a lot of times you win the game like that,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the game, putting Ray’s performance in perspective. He believes you are expecting more from him because he has been so excellent.

Slade Cecconi of Cleveland held his own, giving up just two runs in five innings while keeping the Giants in check. San Francisco put up a strong fight in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases following consecutive hits by Jung Hoo Lee and Devers, as well as a walk by Heliot Ramos, but closer Emmanuel Clase jammed the door shut. The Guardians’ bullpen took it the rest of the way. He earned his 15th save of the season by striking out Casey Schmitt on a high heater to close the game.

There were good signs for San Francisco despite the defeat. The club kept fighting in the last innings, and Devers seemed at ease at the plate. However, moral victories are not reflected in the standings, and the Giants are aware that if they hope to tie the series, they will need to perform better in the closing moments. In the ninth, the Giants had a chance to walk it off after loading the bases, but Emmanuel Clase closed the game off with a strikeout. After the game, Melvin noted, “We had a rally going, and it looked like we had a chance in the ninth, which we’ve done so many times here, but just couldn’t.”

On Wednesday night, the two teams will play again, The Guardians will start LHP Logan Allen (4-4 ERA 4.28) and the Giants’ veteran right-hander Justin Verlander (0-3 ERA 4.33) is expected to make his comeback from the injured list. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m., and he will face Logan Allen from Cleveland.

With the loss, The Giants are now on a three game losing streak and are 41-32 on the season. Guardians have now just snapped their previous three game losing streak.