Category: San Francisco Giants

MLB Headline podcast with Bruce Magowan: Giants Farhan admits he mishandled young pitchers; Also a look at 49ers and Raiders

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San Francisco Giants president Farhan Zaidi’s job is reportedly on the rocks. Zaidi admitted that he mishandled the young pitchers on the staff this season (AP file photo)

MLB Headline podcast with Bruce Magowan:

#1 Bruce, talk about San Francisco Giants president Farhan Zaidi where do you see him ending up next season. Zaidi said Sunday that he has regret on how he handled the young pitchers.

#2 Farhan assembled the hiring of manager Bob Melvin and the singing of third baseman Matt Chapman but the Giants couldn’t get tracked and end up missing the post season.

#3 The Giants released during the season Jorge Soler, Luke Jackson, and Thairo Estrada do you think that was a mistake and how did that impact the line up.

#4 The San Francisco 49ers have lost two in a row and need to get back in the win column as they faced the New England Patriots on Sunday.

#5 The Raiders who defeated the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago on a field goal and last week simply got beat convincingly by the Carolina Panthers and are taking on the Cleveland Browns in Vegas Sunday.

Bruce Magowan writes for the Bay Area Sports Guide and is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants fight through seesaw battle to beat Cardinals 6-5 for 80th win

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San Francisco Giants Tyler Fitzgerald scores from first base as St Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages waits for the throw in the bottom of the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Sep 28, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

St. Louis Cardinals 5 (82-79)

San Francisco Giants 6 (80-81)

Win: Ryan Walker (10-4)

Loss: Matthew Liberatore (3-4)

Save: Spencer Bivens (1)

Time: 2:51

Attendance: 36,328

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants fought through a seesaw battle, and eventually got lucky to take the lead on almost the exact same error that won them Game 3 of 2014 NLCS, as they beat the Cardinals 6-5 to win their 80th game Saturday.

With the Cardinals’ 6-3 win in the series opener Friday night, the Giants have failed to finish over .500 for the seventh time in the last eight years. However, they still had a chance to finish at .500 for the second time in the last three years if they could win their final two games.

Blake Snell was originally set to go Saturday, and he said he would have gone had the Giants been playing a team in playoff contention, but Tristan Beck took the ball instead. The reason Snell was scratched Saturday is unknown, and this writer can only speculate, but considering that Scott Boras is his agent, that could explain a lot of things.

The Cardinals got on the board in the top of the first inning off Beck. With runners at second and third and nobody out, longtime Giant killer Paul Goldschmidt knocked in Masyn Winn with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Andrew Pallante took the ball for the Cards, and the Giants’ offense woke back up and was ready to go. Mark Canha doubled to center, and he got to third on an infield hit by Heliot Ramos. LaMonte Wade then lined a base-hit the other way to left, and Canha scored to tie the game. Jerar Encarnacion followed that up with an infield hit, and Ramos scored to give the Giants the lead.

Beck settled down after his rough tough of the first, and he ended up going four innings.

The Giants scored two more runs off Pallante in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 4-1. With one out, Patrick Bailey singled in 2024 Willie Mac Award winner Matt Chapman, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Bailey then stole second, and he scored on a double by Casey Schmitt.

The Cardinals got their second run of the day in the top of the fifth against Sean Hjelle. It could have been more, as the Cards had runners at the corners with one out, but Hjelle was able to retire the final two to limit the damage to just one run.

Pallante ended his day with a one, two, three bottom of the fifth, and Camilo Doval pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the sixth. Matt Chapman led off the bottom of the sixth with a double off Chris Roycroft, and he scored two batters later on a sac fly by Patrick Bailey to make it 5-2.

Left-handed flamethrower Erik Miller has had a solid rookie season for the Giants. Miller made his major league debut all the way back on Opening Day on March 28 in San Diego with a one, two, three inning, and has been a reliable arm in the Giants’ bullpen all season.

However, Miller was unable to record a single out in the top of the seventh. Miller faced four batters, and the Cardinals had two runs in with the tying run standing at second.

Tyler Rogers then came in, and the Cardinals tied the game on a base-hit by Jordan Walker. The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out, but Rogers being the gamer that he is, retired the next two to keep the game tied.

Kyle Leahy, who finished the bottom of the sixth for Roycroft, threw a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the seventh. Bob Melvin then brought in his closer, Ryan Walker, for the top of the eighth. Walker ran into trouble, but he got out of it and kept the game tied going to the bottom of the eighth.

Left-hander Matthew Liberatore was then summoned for St. Louis in the bottom of the eighth. Liberatore set down the first two hitters he faced, but Tyler Fitzgerald reached on a ground ball back to the mound.

Brett Wisely then came up, and Melvin put on the bunt, which would set almost an exact replica of the end to Game 3 of the 2014 NLCS in motion. The Giants won that game when Gregor Blanco laid down a bunt in between the mound and home plate, a little bit on the third base side, that Cardinals’ left-hander Randy Choate winged down the right field line.

Wisely bunted the ball to almost the exact same place, though a bit closer to home plate, and like Choate, Liberatore threw it down the right field line. Fitzgerald scored all the way from first, and the Giants retook the lead. The only difference on the throws was that Choate’s throw was to the left of the first-baseman, and Liberatore’s throw was to the right of the first-baseman.

If you’re wondering why Melvin brought in Walker for the eighth, it was so that Spencer Bivens, who has had a solid rookie season following a long journey to the big leagues, could get his first major league save. Thomas Saggese lined a base-hit to center to lead off the top of the ninth, but Bivens settled down to retire the side in order, and indeed he got his first big league save.

Ryan Walker got the win in this bullpen version of musical chairs; Matthew Liberatore got the loss; and as you just saw, Spencer Bivens got his first-career major league save.

The Giants indeed got their 80th win, as they improve to 80-81. In 2022, the Giants finished right at .500 for the first time in their 140th year of existence. With a win Sunday, the Giants can finish at .500 for the second time in the last three years.

It’s kinda like how the Giants won the World Series for the first time in 56 years in 2010, and won it all again two years later in 2012, though nowhere near as cool or special. This would be more meh, but still interesting.

Hayden Birdsong (5-5, 4.66 ERA) will look to finish his up-and-down rookie season on a high note, as he will take the ball for the Giants in the season finale Sunday. Rookie Michael McGreevy (2-0, 2.40 ERA) will make the start for the Cardinals.

As has been the custom since 2015, every game in Baseball on the final day of the regular season starts at the same time, though anywhere between five and 20 minutes past the top of the hour. First pitch for the Giants and Red Birds Sunday will be at 12:05 p.m PDT.

MLB Baseball podcast with Augie Mesenburg: Giants hoping to sign Snell; Still hard to believe it’s farewell to Oakland for A’s

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San Francisco starter Blake Snell is not certain whether he will be returning next season or not. The Giants would like to see if they get his services. (AP News photo)

MLB Baseball podcast with Augie:

There were questions as to whether or not if San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell was going to start today but because the St Louis Cardinals were a team that were not in spot for contention and it really didn’t matter that’s one of the reasons why he didn’t start.

The Giants are hoping that Snell would be back next season in a Giants uniform. Snell signed late this season and that’s probably part of the reason why the Giants season turned out as it did. With injuries and other factors. What is Snell going to do for next season that’s the question.

The date of Thursday Sep 26, 2024 the last Oakland A’s game in their history their first game for the A’s in Oakland April 17, 1968. Reggie Jackson was remembered for being the first Oakland hitter to hit a home run and that was on the road.

The first A’s player to hit a home run in Oakland was Rick Monday and he was the first ever draft pick for the Oakland A’s back in 1965 when they were still Kansas City. Monday hit that first and no one hit a home run in the A’s last homestand before they closed out the Oakland Coliseum.

Augie Mesenburg is a podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com and is a reporter at 1080 KWAI Honolulu

Cards 4 runs in fifth is all the damage needed to defeat Giants 6-3 at Oracle Park

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San Francisco Giants starter Landen Roupp (65) is removed in the top of the four inning by Giants manager Bob Melvin (left) against the St Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Sep 27, 2024 (AP News photo)

St. Louis (82-78). 101 400 000. 6. 13. 0

San Francisco (79-81). 030 030 000. 3. 9. 1

Time: 2:46

Attendance: 35,101

September 27, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Although neither team in this Friday night’s game between the playoff eliminated St. Louis Cardinals and your equally frustrated San Francisco Giants had any much to win or lose, one of them, of necessity, had to win or lose. It turned out to be the Giants had to lose, by a score of 6-3.

Before the action began, the Giants announced that they had reinstated right handed reliever Randy Rodríguez from the paternity list. He entered the game in the top of the sixth as San Francisco’s third pitcher and threw a perfect inning. Fellow starboard hurler Mason Black was optioned to the River Cats to make room for him.

The Giants also presented Matt Chapman with the Willie Mac Award for being the team’s most inspirational player. He was the 44th recipient of the award named for number 44, Willie McCovey. It would be hard to find significance in that coincidence. Maybe if he’d have made a splash hit into the cove, it would have been less of a stretch.

Although little was at stake for the teams as a whole, the contest presented a chance for several players to position themselves for 2025. One of those was the Giants’ starting pitcher, Landen Loupp, who needed to show he was sturdy enough and less reliant on his curveball, to join next year’s rotation.

He wasn’t successful. In his 3-2/3 innings on the mound he allowed all six St. Louis runs. All were earned, but one of them was posthumous, coming on a triple to left center by Lars Nootbarr off Taylor Rogers that drove in Nolan Arenado, who had smacked a double into the left field corner.

Those six runs were the only ones St. Louis could muster all night. After Rodríguez finished his work, Camilo Doval and Austin Warren continued to stymie the Cardinals, although the latter allowed them three hits in his two innings of work.

How did some of the other Giants whose proximate future was in doubt stack up against the Cards tonight? Tyler Fitzgerald, playing shortstop, let a ground ball bounce off his chest for an error in the top of the fifth.

Two innings later, there was no shock and awe fanfare for Camilo Doval when he followed Rodríguez to the hill, but he retired all three Cardinals he faced before the crowd sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Héliot Ramos, who has been suffering from the Jinx of the Rookie All-Star. at least as far as his hitting is concerned, went 0-5 with two strikeouts, lowering his batting average to .270..

Miles Mikolas, a 37 year old veteran control specialist of six MLB seasons and three more with the Yomiuri Giants started for the Cardinals and earned his tenth win of the season, against 11 losses. He surrendered three runs, all earned, on seven hits, one a 430 foot home run to center with Michael Conforto on base that put the Giants up 2-1 in the second.

Mike Yastrzemski’s two bagger to right with Brett Wisley, who had singled, increased their lead to 3-1. It would be the last time a Giant batter crossed the plate. In at least one way, Mikolas’s performance was typical of him. His earned run average remained unchanged at 5.35.

The visitors from the Gateway City sent four more pitchers to the mound, each for an inning. They were, in order, John King, Andrew Kitteridge, Matthew Liberatore, and Ryan Helsely. The last two were the only ones to allow a hit (one apiece). Kitteridge and Liberatore each struck out one batter, and Helsely, two.

The Giants now are 2-10 at Oracle Park in September.

Home plate umpire Jacob Metz threw St. Louis DH Matt Carpenter out of the game in the top of the ninth for arguing a ball-strike call. The Cards had another setback when they appealed Michael Siani’s having been called out on Ramos’s throw to Chapman while trying to advance on Brandon Donovan’s hit to left. Replay confirmed the call.

The Giants will try to even this three game series Saturday, the 28th at 1:05. They’ll throw Blake Snell (5-3, 3.12) against the Cardinals, who will entrust their fate to André Pallante (8-8, 3.71).

Giants unable to get sweep in 8-2 loss to Diamondbacks to close out 7-2 final road trip

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Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zack Gallen struck out 11 San Francisco Giants batters at Chase Field in Phoenix on Wed Sep 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024

Chase Field

Phoenix, Arizona

San Francisco Giants 2 (79-80)

Arizona Diamondbacks 8 (88-71)

Win: Zac Gallen (14-6)

Loss: Mason Black (1-5)

Time: 2:44

Attendance: 23,767

By Stephen Ruderman

The San Francisco Giants were unable to get back-to-back sweeps to close out their road schedule, as the Arizona Diamondbacks took it to Mason Black and the Giants with an 8-2 win to salvage a game in this series on Wednesday night.

When the Giants embarked on this final road trip to play three teams fighting to get into the Playoffs, it seemed as if it was going to be a disaster. Afterall, they had been swept by the Padres, and as they neared elimination, they were utterly lifeless.

However, the Giants ran into two struggling teams in the Orioles and the Royals. The Giants took two out of three in Baltimore, and they swept the Royals in Kansas City. The Giants then went to Phoenix to play a Diamondbacks’ team that was reeling after a devastating loss on Sunday in Milwaukee, in which they blew an 8-0 lead to the Brewers.

The Giants promptly won the first two games of this series. On Monday, Hayden Birdsong gave the Giants a solid five-inning performance, which helped lead the way to a 6-3 win. Then last night, the Giants’ offense broke out for five home runs, and Logan Webb pitched six strong shutout innings in an 11-0 shellacking of the Diamondbacks.

The Giants now looked to get the sweep in their final road game of the season, and stick that fork in the neck of the Diamondbacks, who were on the verge of falling out of the third and final wild card spot in the National League, and get the sweep. However, there would be a small problem for the Giants, and his name was Zac Gallen.

The roof was closed at Chase Field Wednesday night, just as it was in the first two games of this series, as Gallen and the Diamondbacks took the field. Gallen threw a scoreless inning in the top of the first to start things out.

Mason Black would take the mound for the Giants in the bottom of the first. After having to wiggle out of a jam to pitch a scoreless inning in the bottom of the first in his last start at Kauffman Stadium on Friday, Black had a much easier time throwing a scoreless bottom of the first Wednesday night.

The Giants would get on the board in the top of the second, when Tyler Fitzgerald lined a double to center field to knock in Michael Conforto.

Even though Black was off to a stronger start Wednesday night, things fell apart for him in the bottom of the second. Christian Walker hit a ground-rule double the other way to right to start the inning, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit an opposite-field single to right to tie the game.

Jake McCarthy reached on a fielder’s choice, and Eugenio Suarez walked. That brought up Gabriel Moreno, who singled up the middle and into center field to knock in McCarthy, and the Diamondbacks took the lead. Geraldo Perdomo then walked, and Corbin Carol got Suarez in with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 3-1.

Gallen pitched a one, two, three inning in the top of the third, and established that this was going to be a much different game than the first two of this series.

Black then ran into trouble when he took the mound for the bottom of the third, as he walked a pair of guys and gave up a base-hit, which loaded the bases for Arizona with one out. Black got a brief reprieve when he struck Suarez out swinging for the second out. Black then quickly jumped ahead of Moreno 0-2, but he threw four-straight out of the zone to walk Moreno, and Christian Walker scored to make it 4-1.

Black had just walked his fifth batter of the night, and his lack of control knocked him out of the game. Sean Hjelle finished the bottom of the third, and then proceeded to give up a run of his own in the bottom of the fourth.

As for Gallen, he was nails when his team desperately needed it. He gave up just one run and two hits over six dominant innings, and he walked just two and struck out 11.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless bottom of the fifth for the Giants, and Erik Miller followed that up with a scoreless bottom of the sixth. Camilo Doval then threw a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the seventh, his first one, two, three inning since Sept. 7.

The Giants got a run off of Justin Martinez in the top of the eighth to make it 5-2, but any late momentum the Giants had would be snuffed out in the bottom of the eighth. The Diamondbacks would then put the game away against Spencer Bivens, as with runners at the corners and two outs, Pavin Smith hit a home run into the pool in right-center, and it was now 8-2.

A.J. Puk and Kevin Ginkel combined for a scoreless bottom of the ninth, and the Diamondbacks got their desperately-needed win.

Zac Gallen got the win, and Mason Black took the loss.

Diamondbacks’ pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts against the Giants Wednesday night, and every single Giant who took an at-bat struck out.

The Giants fall back to under .500 at 79-80, and they end up going 38-43 on the road. Still, they made their mark in the wild card races in both leagues, and they have every reason to hold their heads high and enjoy their final flight back home to San Francisco.

The Giants went 7-2 on what was expected to be a brutal road trip. Not only was it not the brutal trip we all expected, it was tied for their second-best nine-game road trip in franchise history, and tied for their best nine-game road trip in their 67 years in San Francisco.

As for the Diamondbacks, they improve to 88-71, and they are now a game up on the Braves for the third wild card.

The Diamondbacks were already put in a bind with the Braves and Mets squaring off in Atlanta, but now that Hurricane Helene has caused both Wednesday night’s and Thursday’s game between the Braves and Mets to be postponed to a traditional doubleheader on Monday, the day after the originally-scheduled end of the Regular Season on Sunday.

The Giants will return home to close out the season with a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park starting on Friday night. Landen Roupp (1-1, 2.70 ERA) will make the start for the Giants, and he will be opposed by Miles Mikolas (9-11, 5.35 ERA).

Prior to Friday night’s game, the winner of the 2024 Willie Mac Award will be announced in a pre-game ceremony. The Willie Mac Award is given annually to the Giants’ player—or in rare cases of a tie, players—who best exemplifies the leadership of the late great hall-of-famer, Willie McCovey. The award is voted on by Giants’ players, coaches, trainers and Manager Bob Melvin.

First pitch is currently scheduled for 7:15 p.m. PDT, but with the Willie Mac Award being announced, the first pitch could be pushed back a few minutes.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Padres 91-67 +3.5
  2. Mets 87-70 —
  3. Diamondbacks 88-71 —

Braves 86-71 1.0

Giants News and Notes:

This morning on KNBR’s Murph and Markus, Andrew Baggarly, the Giants beat writer for The Athletic, discussed the future of Farhan Zaidi. Baggarly noted that the Giants’ ownership board has seemed to have lost patience with Zaidi, and that they are leaning towards making a change.

Zaidi’s fate will most likely be determined in the next one to five days.

Webb goes six strong, and Giants slug five home runs En route to 11-0 shellacking of D-Backs

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San Francisco Giants Brett Wisely (0) celebrates in the Giants dugout after hitting a three run third inning three run homer against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on Tue Sep 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024

Chase Field

Phoenix, Arizona

San Francisco Giants 11 (79-79)

Arizona Diamondbacks 0 (87-71)

Win: Logan Webb (13-10)

Loss: Brandon Pfaadt (10-10)

Time: 2:33

Attendance: 22,355

By Stephen Ruderman

The San Francisco Giants continued to stay white-hot with the pressure off and have now won seven of their last eight to get all the way back up to .500, as they hit five home runs, and Logan Webb pitched six shutout innings en route to a 11-0 shallacking of the Phoenix Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

The Giants beat the Diamondbacks in the opener of this series last night 3-0, and Tuesday night, they had the chance to do something that has eluded them for most of the season: get back up to .500. They had their ace, Logan Webb, going up against a Diamondbacks’ team that has still yet to recover from their devastating loss in Milwaukee on Sunday.

Brandon Pfaadt would take the ball for Arizona, and while he would pitch a scoreless top of the first inning, Patrick Bailey would put the Giants on the board with a home run to right-center field in the top of the second. It was Bailey’s eighth home run of the season, and his first since July 10.

Mike Yastrzemski came up with runners at first and second with two outs, and he hit a fly ball deep to right-center that appeared to be headed out, but right-fielder Corbin Carroll made a great catch at the wall to take a home run away from Yastrzemski. It would have made it 4-0, but not to worry, the Giants would get that 4-0 lead just an inning later.

Heliot Ramos singled to start the top of the third, and LaMonte Wade doubled him over to third. Matt Chapman struck out swinging, but Michael Conforto continued his great road trip with a three-run shot to left-center, and the Giants indeed had their 4-0 lead. It was Conforto’s 20th home run of the year, and his fourth in his last six games.

The Giants still weren’t done. Bailey walked, and two batters later, after Pfaadt was removed for Blake Walston, Grant McCray reached on an error. That brought up Brett Wisely, and hit a three-run home run to right-center to make it 7-0.

Meanwhile, Webb, who had not been himself in recent starts, was back to his old dominant self. Webb gave up just four hits over six shutout innings, as he walked one and struck out three.

Heliot Ramos joined the home run party with a solo shot to left-center to lead off the top of the fourth, and Tyler Fitzgerald hit a two-run home run to left in the top of the fifth. The Giants now led 10-0.

The Giants would at least manufacture one run Tuesday night. Though granted, it was on a bases-loaded walk to Casey Schmitt in the top of the eighth.

Back to the pitching side, Tristan Beck pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the seventh, and Austin Warren pitched a pair of shutout innings in the eighth and ninth to close it out.

Logan Webb got the win, and Brandon Pfaadt took the loss.

The Giants are indeed back up to .500, as they improve to 79-79, and now all they need to do is win three of their final four to get their first winning season in three years. Again, it’s very doable.

As for the Diamondbacks, they really have been thrown off their game since their devastating loss in Milwaukee on Sunday. Unfortunately for Arizona, they’re in a catch 22 with the Mets and the Braves meeting for a three-game series in Atlanta.

The Braves beat the Mets Tuesday night in the opener of their three-game series 5-1, and now the Diamondbacks only have a half-game lead over the Braves for the third wild card. Like the Mets, the Braves have a winning record against Arizona, so the Diamondbacks sputtering in the final week, they have quickly found themselves in big trouble in a suddenly-thrilling pennant race.

The Giants can continue to make their mark on this wild card race Wednesday, as they go for the sweep in their final road game of the season. Mason Black (1-4, 5.88 ERA) will take the ball for the Giants, and he will be opposed by Diamondbacks’ ace Zac Gallen (13-6, 3.74 ERA). First pitch will once again be at 6:40 p.m.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Padres 91-66 +4.5
  2. Mets 87-70 +0.5
  3. Diamondbacks 87-71 —

Braves 86-71 0.5

Giants News and Notes:

Giants President of Baseball Operations met with reporters prior to the game Wednesday night at Chase Field. While he is preparing for the off-season, Zaidi acknowledged that it is not a given that he will make it that far.

We will find out more in the coming days.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Snell throws six innings of shutout ball; SF defeats KC 2-0 at Kaufman

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San Francisco Giants Jerar Encarnacion slides home safely scoring on a Grant McCray triple in the top of the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kaufman Stadium on Sun Sep 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell struck out nine Kansas City Royals hitters in six innings of work and the Giants swept the Royals in a three game series with a 2-0 shutout Sunday.

#2 With the loss the Royals moved to second place in the AL Wild Card and holds the tie breaker as they won the season series over the Detroit Tigers 7-6.

#3 Snell was on he allowed two hits and no Royals runner was able to pass first base. Snell is 5-0 in his last 14 starts with a 1.23 ERA.

#4 Snell credited his change ups for retiring Royals hitters 1-13 when he threw a first strike.

#5 The Giants opened up a three game series in Arizona on Monday night. The Giants will start RHP Hayden Birdsong (4-5, ERA 4.74) starting for the Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-3, 5.09) at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Marko Ukalovic does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants thrive in spoiler role with pressure off, as Snell strikes out nine over six strong innings, and Giants sweep Royals with 2-0 win

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San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell pitches to the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the first inning at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City on Sun Sep 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024

Kauffman Stadium 

Kansas City, Missouri  

San Francisco Giants 2 (77-79)

Kansas City Royals 0 (82-74)

Win: Blake Snell (5-3)

Loss: Seth Lugo (16-9)

Save: Ryan Walker (9)

Time: 2:08

Attendance: 24,189

By Stephen Ruderman

A two-run second inning plus another dominant start by Blake Snell led the Giants to a 2-0 win and a sweep of the Royals Sunday, their first road sweep and sweep of a team other than Rockies this year.

After winning the first two games, the Giants had a chance at their first road sweep of the year. They came close on Thursday in Baltimore, but a walk-off home run by Anthony Santander denied the Giants the sweep. 

The weather was much cooler Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, as it was gray and misty with a gametime temperature of 64 degrees. Or in this writer’s view, a beautiful day for baseball. The Giants would be up against Seth Lugo, and though he would throw a scoreless inning in the top of the first, the Giants were able to get to him in the second. 

Jerar Encarnacion lined a base-hit up the middle into center field with one out in the top of the second. Grant McCray then hammered a triple out into the gap in right-center, and the Giants once again struck first. 

Tyler Fitzgerald struck out swinging, and then Brett Wisely singled in McCray to make it 2-0. The Giants would get three hits this afternoon, and every single one of them came in the top of the second.

Blake Snell made the start for the Giants, and he was once again superb, as he gave up just two hits, and he walked one and struck out nine over six innings. In his 14 starts since coming off the injured list on July 9, Snell had been the best pitcher in Baseball, going 5-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 114 strikeouts.

After Snell was done, Sean Hjelle struck out the side in a one, two, three bottom of the seventh. 

The Royals had a rally going against Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the eighth, as they had runners at second and third with two outs for the white-hot Bobby Witt Jr. Bob Melvin decided to put Witt on to face the struggling longtime Royal, Salvidor Perez, and Perez popped out to end the inning.

Ryan Walker then came in for the bottom of the ninth in his first appearance since giving up the home run to Santander on Thursday. Walker hit MJ Melendez to start the inning, but he settled down and retired the side to complete the save.

Blake Snell got the win; Seth Lugo took the loss; and Ryan Walker got the save.

The Giants have won five of their last six, and they improve to 77-79. They have also made their mark on the American League Wild Card race, as they have gone 5-1 against the Orioles and Royals.  

After the game, Grant McCray said on Giants Postgame Live that after the Giants were eliminated, the pressure was off. McCray said the Giants were having fun, and that they have been chanting “Rally Baby” at Matt Chapman, who has gotten a spark from his newly-born daughter, Alexandra. 

Now the Giants will head to Arizona to take on the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks for three games, as they will get a chance to play spoiler in the National League Wild Card race. Hayden Birdsong (4-5, 4.74 ERA) will make the start for the Giants in the opener of the series Monday night. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (3-3, 5.09 ERA) will take the ball for Arizona. 

As for the weather, it will be hotter than you know what, but don’t worry, they’ve got the roof at Chase Field. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m.

Wade and Chapman homer, and Landen Roupp gets first big league win in Giants’ 9-0 rout of Royals; KC extends losing streak to six

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San Francisco Giant Michael Conforto is caught in a run down with Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin throwing to third baseman Maikel Garcia (11) after Conforto tried to score on a fielders choice hit by Grant McCray in the top of the sixth inning at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City (AP News photo)

Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024

Kauffman Stadium

Kansas City, Missouri

San Francisco Giants 9 (76-79)

Kansas City Royals 0 (82-73)

Win: Landen Roupp (1-1)

Loss: Brady Singer (9-12)

Time: 2:14

Attendance: 24,189

By Stephen Ruderman

LaMonte Wade and Matt Chapman both hit two home runs, as the Giants’ offense exploded in a 9-0 win over the Royals on a hauntingly-beautiful late Saturday afternoon in Kansas City.

After an exciting and tense 2-1 win last night, the Giants looked to keep playing spoiler against the struggling Royals. With severe weather moving into Kansas City, this game was moved up two hours. It was a warm and humid afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. It was partly cloudy, and the sun was out at the start of the game.

Royals’ starter Brady Singer retired the first two men he faced in the top of the first inning. LaMonte Wade then came up, and he hit a home run down the right field line to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead.

The Giants turned to Landen Roupp, who took the ball for his third big league start. Roupp escaped a one-out double by Bobby Witt Jr. in the bottom of the first, and he escaped another jam in the bottom of the second.

Singer pitched a scoreless top of the second and a one, two, three top of the third. Roupp then pitched another scoreless inning in the bottom of the third.

As the game reached the middle innings, it became overcast for the most part at Kauffman Stadium with a beautiful touch of blue skies off in the distance.

On the first pitch from Singer in the top of the fourth, Wade hit a towering drive down the right field line that went out for his second home run of the day. Matt Chapman, who returned to the team today after the birth of his daughter, Alexandra, came up to the plate.

Chapman got a hold of one, and hit a fly ball deep to center that got out. Wade and Chapman went back-to-back, and it was now 4-0 Giants.

Roupp survived a leadoff ground-rule double by MJ Melendez in the bottom of the fourth, and he pitched another scoreless inning in the bottom of the fifth. Roupp was done after five.

Roupp allowed a base-runner in every inning he pitched, and the Royals had a runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings, but he kept his focus in every single inning to pitch five scoreless. Roupp gave up three hits, and he walked three and struck out three.

Singer pitched a scoreless top of the fifth and retired Wade to start the top of the sixth. Chapman then came up and golfed out a slider at the knees to the Giants’ bullpen in left for his second home run of the game.

It was Chapman’s 26th home run of the year, and he is now four home runs away from becoming the first Giant to hit 30 in a season since Barry Bonds hit 45 all the way back in 2004. He will have seven games left to do it, so while it may be a tall order, it is certainly doable.

Michael Conforto immediately followed up Chapman’s second home run with a double to right, and Tyler Fitzgerald singled him over to third. That ended the day for Singer, and the Royals Manager Matt Quatraro brought in Carlos Hernandez.

Grant McCray reached on a weird fielder’s choice that saw him get to second, while Conforto was out at the plate. Donovan Walton was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Curt Casali singled to left to knock in a pair and make it 6-0. Those would be the only two runs for the Giants to score on something other than a home run.

Mike Yastrzemski then hit a three-run home run to right to make it 9-0. It was the fifth home run of the day for the Giants, and the third for Yastrzemski in the first five games of this road trip.

It was now a blowout, and as you would expect, there would be no drama the rest of the game. Spencer Bivens pitched a pair of scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, and Tristan Beck threw a pair of one, two, three innings in the eighth and ninth.

Landen Roupp got his first major league win, and this was the second game in a row in which a Giants’ rookie would get their first major league win after Mason Black got his first Thursday night. Brady Singer took the loss.

The Giants have now won four of their last five, as they improve to 76-79. They can now get that first road sweep of the season with a win Sunday. Blake Snell (4-3, 3.31 ERA) will make the start for the Giants, and he will be opposed by the veteran right-hander, Seth Lugo (16-8, 3.08 ERA).

The only question is with the wild weather in Kansas City expected to persist into , whether Sunday or not the game will be played. If it starts on time, first pitch will be at 1:10 at Kauffman Stadium, and 11:10 a.m. back home in San Francisco.

Ramos hits for three legs of cycle, Black gets first major league win and Doval struggles to get save in oddly-familiar 2014 World Series rematch in Kansas City; SF edges KC at Kaufman 2-1

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San Francisco Giants Heliot Ramos hits for an RBI single in the top of the first inning one of three hits against the Kansas City Royals on Fri Sep 20, 2024 at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City (AP News photo)

Friday, Sept. 20, 2024

Kauffman Stadium

Kansas City, Missouri

San Francisco Giants 2 (75-79)

Kansas City Royals 1 (85-68)

Win: Mason Black (1-4)

Loss: Michael Wacha (13-8)

Save: Camilo Doval (23)

Time: 2:42

Attendance: 22,117

By Stephen Ruderman

Heliot Ramos hit for three legs of the cycle; Mason Black threw a solid outing en route to his first major league win, as the Giants survived some ninth-inning drama from Camilo Doval to beat the Royals 2-1 in an oddly-familiar 2014 World Series rematch at Kauffman Stadium Friday night.

The Giants were officially eliminated Thursday after Anthony Santander hit a walk-off home run. With nine games left to finish the season on a good note, the Giants came into the hot 80 plus degrees confines of Kansas City for a 2014 World Series rematch. This was only the second time the Giants came into Kansas City since that fall classic.

While the Giants are not going to the playoffs, they were thrown right into the middle of the American League wild card race. The Royals came into Friday night in possession of the second wild card spot.

Just as the Giants took advantage of a struggling Orioles’ team in Baltimore, they would have that same advantage this weekend. The Royals came into Friday night with a four-game losing streak, which included a three-game sweep at the hands of the surging Detroit Tigers and wound up extending it to five games after the loss to the Giants.

While the Giants were facing their counterparts from the 2014 World Series, they would be up against the former St. Louis Cardinal, Michael Wacha, who Travis Ishikawa hit his legendary home run off of to win the pennant for the Giants.

The Giants pounced on Wacha in the top of the first inning. Mike Yastrzemski lined a base-hit to center field to begin the ballgame, and Mark Canha drew a walk to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Michael Conforto then flew out to center to move Yaz over to third.

Up came Heliot Ramos, who despite some of his recent struggles, was about to have a night reminiscent of the Ramos we saw in May and June. Though sometimes when you’re struggling, you need a break. Ramos got that break when he hit a chopper out in front of the plate that took a high hop back to Wacha, who had no time to make a play. Everyone was safe, and Yastrzemski scored to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

With the focus now turned to 2025, Bob Melvin is going to give a lot of the young guys a looksie in these final nine games. Friday night, it would be Mason Black, who took the ball for the Giants. Hjelle pitched a scoreless bottom of the first, and then he had to wiggle out of a jam in the bottom of the second.

From there, Black settled down to throw a pair of one, two, three innings in the third and fourth. Wacha also settled down, though the Giants were unable to do anything with a leadoff triple by Ramos in the top of the fourth.

Wacha threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the fifth and retired the first two hitters he faced in the top of the sixth. Ramos then doubled with two outs, and Patrick Bailey singled to right to knock in Ramos and make it 2-0.

Black had pitched a scoreless bottom of the fifth. He then allowed a leadoff base-hit to Bobby Witt Jr. in the bottom of the sixth, but he retired the next two. Still, Bob Melvin came out and pulled him for Sean Hjelle, who got the third out.

Black ended up going five and two thirds innings after throwing 84 pitches. He gave up four hits, and he walked just one and struck out four.

Erik Miller and Tyler Rogers got the Giants through the seventh and the eighth, and then Melvin would give his old closer, Camilo Doval, a chance to get the save in the bottom of the ninth. After two dominant seasons that earned him a cool ninth-inning intro at Oracle Park, Doval has had a nightmare season that not only cost him the closer’s role, but also cost him his spot on the roster.

After Ryan Walker pitched in the final two games in Baltimore, Doval would get his shot Friday night. Unfortunately, the nightmare continues for Doval, who walked the first two guys, both on four pitches.

Yuli Gurriel was at second, and Dairon Blanco came in to pinch-run for Robbie Grossman at first. Doval then settled down to strike out the veteran, Adam Frazier, for that much-needed first out.

However, Doval was not out of the woods yet, and he was about to catch a tough break. Maikel Garcia hit a ground ball right to Tyler Fitzgerald that seemed like it was going to be a game-ending double play, but Fitzgerald hesitated, and everyone was safe.

The bases were loaded with one out for Garrett Hampson, who lined a ball just foul past the bag at third. Nevertheless, the Royals wanted the play reviewed, quite possibly to rattle Doval. Hampson then hit a sacrifice fly to right, and Gurriel scored to put the Royals on the board and make it a one-run game. Blanco moved to third on the play

It was now 2-1. The tying run was at third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, which was a familiar position for the Giants at Kauffman Stadium. The veteran, Tommy Pham—also a member of the 2014 Cardinals—was at the plate. With a 1-1 count, Doval threw a pair of sliders off the outside corner, and Pham chased both. Someway, somehow, Doval locked down the save. Well, barely.

Mason Black got his first major league win; Michael Wacha took the loss, just as he did when the Giants won the pennant in 2014; and Camilo Doval picked up his first save since Aug. 7, his 23rd of the year.

Of course, Ramos had the big night offensively for the Giants. Though I might add that his leadoff triple in the bottom of the fourth had a chance of being an inside-the-park home run, just like Alex Gordan’s two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7.

Anyway, the Giants improve to 75-79, and the Royals have now lost five-straight. With severe weather expected Saturday night in Kansas City, the game has been moved up two hours to 4:10 p.m. in Kansas City, 2:10 p.m. back in San Francisco. Landen Roupp (0-1, 3.02 ERA) will take the ball for the Giants, and Brady Singer (9-11, 3.53 ERA) will go for Kansas City.