Category: San Francisco Giants

Webb solid and Giants’ offense comes to life to take series over Astros with 5-3 win

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb delivers against the Houston Astros in the top of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Houston Astros 3 (31-38)

San Francisco Giants 5 (34-35)

Win: Logan Webb (6-5)

Loss: Framber Valdez (5-4)

Save: Camilo Doval (12)

Time: 2:07

Attendance: 34,506

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Houston Astros 3 (31-38)

San Francisco Giants 5 (34-35)

Win: Logan Webb (6-5)

Loss: Framber Valdez (5-4)

Save: Camilo Doval (12)

Time: 2:07

Attendance: 34,506

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants’ offense came to life, as they backed up another solid start from Logan Webb with five runs enroute to a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros to take the series.

The home run-happy ways of the Giants’ offense have caught up to them, as they have been limited to just six runs over their last three games. As the Giants looked to take the rubber match of this series on this sunny but hazy getaway afternoon at Oracle Park, the offense would need to wake up and not solely rely on home runs.

With their ace, Logan Webb, on the mound, if the offense would be flexible, the Giants would be in pretty good shape today. Webb started the game with three scoreless innings.

The big left-hander, Framber Valdez made the start for Houston, and he pitched two scoreless innings to start his day, but the Giants would threaten in the bottom of the third. Mike Yastrzemski led things off with a line-drive base-hit up the middle on the first pitch of the inning, and that got things going.

“[I’ve] just been working on staying tall through the middle of the field lately, and it’s been feeling really good,” said Yastrzemski. It’s just about getting on base, honestly, at that point.”

Slater reached on a bunt single, and both runners advanced to second and third on a ground out by Heliot Ramos.

Wilmer Flores was then sawed off, as he hit a broken-bay fly ball to shallow left-center field, and Astros’ left-fielder Yordan Alvarez came in to make a running basket catch. It would be a sacrifice fly, as Yastrzemski scored the game’s first run, and Slater advanced to third. Matt Chapman then clubbed a double into the gap in right-center to knock in Slater and make it 2-0.

The Astros had a response in the top of the fourth. Alvarez doubled high off the wall in left with one out, and Jon Singleton grounded out to first to move Alvarez over to third. Jeremy Pena then hit a chopper the other way that first-baseman Wilmer Flores had to go almost all the way to second to field, but Webb was late in covering the bag, which allowed Alvarez to score and get Houston on the board.

The Giants had their own response off Valdez in the bottom of the fourth. Jorge Soler’s success with the bases empty continued, as he lined a base-hit to left to start the inning, and Brett Wisely stayed hit with a ground rule double to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Thairo Estrada swung out swinging, and Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch near his head to load the bases for the now-red-hot Austin Slater.

Slater hit the walk-off base-hit in the bottom of the 10th on Monday, and he was back in the lineup today to face Valdez, who he was 3-for-6 against coming into today. Slater already singled in his first two plate appearances before stepping in against Valdez in the bottom of the fourth.

With the count at 1-2, Slater took a low sinker from Valdez and flipped a base-hit to right-center to score a pair and make it 4-1. Make it 3-for-3 on the day for Slayer, and 6-for-9 in his career against Valdez. Ramos then knocked in Yastrzemski with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 5-1.

For his second straight outing, Webb had real run support. He had four runs of support in his last outing last Friday against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, and Wednesday, he had five runs of support through the first four innings.

“It was awesome,” said Webb. “Those guys [have] been grinding [and have] been getting a lot of hits, and then [they] put it all together Wednesday. Obviously, as a pitcher, you love that, but it was great to see.”

Following the Giants’ three-run bottom of the fourth, Webb pitched a shutdown 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth. The Giants had runners at first and second with one out against the Astros’ new pitcher, Seth Martinez, in the bottom of the fifth, but this was the Giants’ offense, so they had to waste at least one opportunity today, and that’s what they did.

“Once we scored two, and then we scored again, I think that was a big thing for us,” said Yastrzemski. “We’ve had some tendencies of scoring early, and then not really keeping our foot on the pedal. Today, I felt like we did a better job at that. We still could’ve done it a little bit more [and] tried to blow the game open a little bit, but you never complain about a win.”

The Astros would narrow the gap in the top of the sixth. Alex Bregman led off the inning with a base-hit up the middle, and Alvarez, who nearly missed a home run his previous time up, hit a home run into the Giants’ bullpen that barely cleared the 399-foot marker out in left-center.

It was now 5-3, but Webb was then able to retire the side to end the inning. That would be it for another solid start for Webb. Webb did give up seven hits, but three runs over six innings is your classic quality outing, and he certainly gave the Giants what they needed Wednesday.

“It’s unfortunate and not fair to him that we expect that now at this point,” said Yastrzemski. “You never wanna put that type of level of success on somebody and expect that to be average. He just goes out there and gives his all every time he gets to pitch, and he’s so fun to play behind. He’s a bulldog out there, so there’s always those moments where he has those stellar games, but all those stellar games feel normal, which is not really fair to him. It’s just an attest to how good of a pitcher he really is.”

Webb had only thrown 83 pitches, but after hurting himself on the final play of his last outing, Bob Melvin did not want to push it with Webb Wednesday. Webb did not go into much detail about the injury when he was interviewed after the game last Friday, but he acknowledged that it was precursor to a shoulder injury that he had in 2021.

“I didn’t want to come out of the game, I can tell you that right now,” said Webb. “I trust Bob with every decision, and I agreed with him to be honest. I feel great, but it’s a long season and a long way to go, so I get why we were cautious with that.”

Slater nearly got his fourth hit with one out in the bottom of the sixth, as he reached on a wild throw from Alex Bregman on a ground ball to third. However, even though it was a very close play regardless of the throw, it was ruled an error on Bregman.

It was still quite a day for Slater, the longest-tenured Giant, who went 3-for-5, and has been swinging the bat well after a brutal start to his season. It was his first three-hit game since Sept. 25 of last year. Interestingly, the last time Slater had a five-at bat game was exactly a year ago today, when he went 3-for-5 against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

“He’s just grinded it out,” said Yastrzemski. “He has kept his attitude up; he’s kept his positivity; he knew it would turn around; [and] we all knew it would turn around, so it’s great to see him having the success we know he’s capable of, and a lot of credit to him for just working his tail off.”

Despite the error, Martinez ended up pitching a scoreless inning in the bottom of the sixth. The Giants’ bullpen took it from there. Ryan Walker threw a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, and Tyler Rogers pitched a scoreless top of the eighth. Shawn Dubin came in for Houston and threw scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth.

It was off to the ninth, which meant that it was time for Camilo Doval. Doval has been shaky as of late, and it showed a bit Wednesday, as he retired Singleton and Peña on well-hit deep fly balls. However, he did strike out Dubon on a check swing to end it, and hey, – 1-2-3 inning’s a 1-2-3 inning.

Logan Webb got the win; Framber Valdez got the loss; and Camilo Doval picked up his 12th save. The Giants improve to 34-35, and they’ll have a chance to pad their record against a weak Los Angeles Angels team this weekend.

“At this point, it’s just about trying to stay in the mix,” said Yastrzemski. “We’ve still got some guys that are banged up a little bit, and it’s about starting healthy and playing good consistent baseball. We’ll let the record just take care of itself.”

This win came without a home run, as they did get the key RBI hits when they mattered today.

“That’s the way we’re gonna need to be able to play, especially at home,” said Melvin. “Sometimes, it’s tough to hit homers here. It had a big impact, the home runs that we hit on the road, those get crooked numbers up right away, and that has a big impact, but here at home, it’s a little bit more difficult at times, so we’re gonna have to play the way we did today: Get guys on base, [and] get some key hits.”

The Giants will enjoy a day off at home Thursday, and then they will welcome in the Angels for three starting Friday night. Spencer Howard (0-0, 2.93 ERA) will take the hill for the Giants when they open the series on Friday. The Angels have yet to announce their starter for Friday’s game, which will get underway at 7:15 p.m.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants making home field their advantage; SF is 3 over .500 at home

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Camilo Doval (75) and left fielder Austin Slater share congratulations after defeating the Houston Astros at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael, with the Giants win on Wednesday the Giants have improved to 18-15 for their home record to take the series from the Houston Astros.

#2 The Giants are now 22-3 after they have scored five or more runs. They have a winning percentage of .880 when they have scored at least five runs and their third best in the National League they trail the Padres and Phillies.

#3 The Giants got a good pitching performance from starter Logan Webb who went six innings, giving up seven hits an three runs all earned, struck out five.

#4 Austin Slater got three hits and had two RBIs he was the key for the offense Wednesday in the 5-3 win. slater also stole a base and scored. Quick game too two hours and seven minutes.

#5 Giants have Thursday off and host the Los Angeles Angels on Friday for a 7:15pm PT first pitch. The Angels have not announced a starter yet the Giants will start Spencer Howard (0-0, ERA 2.03) at Oracle Park.

Join Michael for the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Hicks nearing career high innings pitched per season; Cobb in bullpen sessions; plus more news

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks (left) is lifted for a reliever by Giants manager Bob Melvin (right) in the top of the fifth inning against the Houston Astros at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Jordan Hicks is on a pace to exceed his career high of 77 2/3 innings pitched when first broke in the majors in 2018. Hicks who struggled against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night pitched 4 2/3 innings and is at 71 2/3 innings and needs six more innings to go.

#2 On Tuesday RHP Alex Cobb has been throwing in bullpen sessions. Cobb had to come out twice in games due to shoulder irritation. Cobb had been receiving nerve medication and threw a 25 pitch bullpen session which drew a good number of coaches and teammates to watch Cobb’s progress.

#3 Stephen, talk about Marco Luciano’s improvement from his hamstring injury. Luciano was running up the first base line when he injured the hamstring back on May 29th and was placed on the 10 day IL. Talk about how he’s been missed in the starting line up for the Giants.

#4 Nick Ahmed’s return from his left wrist sprain is mid June. Ahmed after getting injured did have a setback on June 1st but has been making progress at Triple A Sacramento. Ahmed came out of May 9th’s loss to the Rockies. Talk about his injury and how he’s needed in the line up.

#5 Giants pitcher Blake Snell whose been snake bitten all season is looking to get back in the rotation with a projection of late June. Snell left on June 3rd in the middle of pitching to a hitter. This is the second time on the IL for Snell this season. The first time he was out with a adductor strain.

Stephen Ruderman covers the San Francisco Giants and podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Blanco blanks Giants through six in Astros 3-1 win at Oracle

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Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco works the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Jun 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

Houston (31-37). 001 020 000. 3. 7. 0

San Francisco (33-34). 001 000 000 1. 3. 1

Time: 2:16

Attendance: 32,853

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Fresh off their exhilarating ten inning rabbit out of the hat triumph over the visiting Houston Astros on Monday night, the Giants were three hit by four Houston pitchers on Tuesday, foiling the home team’s attempt to return to the .500 mark and generally dampening the spirits at 24 Willie Mays Plaza.

Matt Chapman was back in the Giants’ lineup after missing two games because of a hamstring injury.. He made a nifty grab and throw to get José Altuve out on the very first play of the game but later on made a crucial throwing error. At the plate, he went 0-4 ending his 25 game on base streak.

Jordan Hicks, who went seven innings and yielded only one earned run and was the winning pitcher in San Francisco’s home opener back in April, brought a 4-2, 2.82 record to this game. He uses the sinker a little more than half the time and also throws the split finger fastball, sweeper, and the four seamer.

This is a bit paradoxical because opposing hitters had a .292 batting average against his sinker before today, while .182 was the best they could muster against any of his other deliveries. On this warm Tuesday evening, the 27 year old righty started out strong but couldn’t get through the fifth inning.

He lasted 4-2/3, in which he allowed three runs, all earned but one, at least that could have been avoided with a better defense, on five hits and a walk while striking out five. He lost his third game against four wins and saw his ERA rise to 3.01. He had exhibited flu like symptoms before the game, and they might have been a factor in his performance.

Ronel Blanco, who signed with the Astros as an undrafted free agent in April 2016 and worked his way through their system, mainly as a reliever, to become a 4-A player in 2022. After earning a steady spot on their roster, he seems to have established himself as a member of the big team’s rotation.

Blanco certainly acquitted himself well this evening, holding the Giants to a single run, earned, in six full innings of work, the 21st century equivalent of a complete game. He allowed three hits, one for all the bases, and a walk while striking out eight. His pitch count reached 96, 57 for balls. The win left him with a balance sheet of 6-2, 2.67.

Houston jumped to an early lead in their half of the third on Mauricio Dubón’s leadoff automatic double that escaped The Curse when he advanced to third on Victor Caratini’s ground out to short and scored on Altuve’s ditto to second. San Francisco got that run back in their half of the frame. Brett Wisely did it with his second round tripper of the season, a 385 foot solo shot t0 right that came off a 93 mph four seam fastball.

The top of the fifth was Hicks’ undoing. It wasn’t entirely his fault. Trey Cabbage led off with a single to right and advanced 180 feet on Dubón’s two bagger off the centerfield wall. Cabbage scored on Alex Bregman’s infield hit to third, on which Chapman made a nice play.

A nice play but marred by an errant throw that allowed Dubón to scamper home with Houston’s third run of the game. That ended Hicks’ work before the sun had set on McCovey Cove. Taylor Rogers entered the game and stayed on until Sean Hjelle replaced him to open the seventh with Houston still ahead, 3-1.

Hjelle stayed on for two innings, retiring all six batters he faced. Luke Jackson allowed a single in the top of the ninth but faced only three batters thanks to an inning ending 5-6-3 double play, something we hadn’t seen since the exaggerated shift was outlawed.

Tayler Scott took over for Blanco in the Giants’ half of the fatidic fifth, held the Giants to a walk, and gave way to Bryan Abreu in the eighth, who set the orange and black down in order in spite of hard line drives off the bats of Wisely and Ramos.

San Francisco sent the heart of the order—Bailey, Chapman, and Conforto—against Ryan Pressly, who was attempting to achieve his second save in seven opportunities. He earned it with a line out followed by two Ks.

The rubber game of this series will start Wednesday at 12:45. The ace of the Giants’ staff, Logan Webb (5-5, 2.92) will try to ensnare the Astros, who will counter with Framber Valdez (5-3, 3.53).

Giants just get by Astros in extras 3-2 in series opener; SF scores 3 runs in 10th for walk off win

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San Francisco Giants Jorge Soler (2) is congratulated by Thairo Estrada (right) on scoring on a triple hit by Mike Yastrzemski in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Houston Astros on Mon Jun 10, 2024 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

Houston (30-37). 000 000 100 2. 3 9. 1

San Francisco (33-34) 000 001 000 3. 4. 9 1. 10 (10 innings)

Time: 2:46

Attendance: 32,820

Monday, June 10, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The orange and black returned to Oracle Park Monday evening after completing a week long trip in which they split six games, leaving them at 32-34, still stuck two games under .500. Monday night’s exciting come from behind win brought them a giant step closer in their quest for a winning season, which, as things stand now, could qualify them for the playoffs.

Southpaw Kyle Harrison, a member of what currently is the Giants’ three man rotation, started Monday night after having lost his last two starts and saddled with a record of 4-3, 4.18. Although highly promising, the sophomore southpaw is no Spahn or Sain, and the weather service doesn’t predict three days of rain.

Nevertheless, Harrison was excellent in his 6-1/3 inning tenure on the mound. He allowed one run, earned, on four hits, half of which came in the seventh frame. He struck out three ‘stros and didn’t walk any. He had to settle for a no decision that shank his ERA to 3.96.

The Astros’ media guide, published during spring training, started off its thumbnail biography of right hander Spencer Arrighetti by calling him the team’s “top pitching prospect.” This evening they called on him to start against the Giants. He was Houston’s sixth round draft choice in the 2021 draft and rose quickly through their farm system from the rookie level Florida Complex League that summer to the AAA Sugarland Space Cowboys last year.

Over his three year minor league apprenticeship he went 19-15, 4. 44 with an opponents’ batting average of .229. About two thirds of his appearances were as a starter. In the bigs, he was 3-5, 5.79 when he came to work Monday evening.

That’s a small sample, and not an impressive one. It might have been better if he hadn’t been forced to leave his last start after three innings when a line drive bruised his left calf. That was on June 4, so the injury wasn’t serious enough to make him miss a start.

Monday evening, he pitched up to his hype, not down to his record. The youngster went 5-2/3 frames and, like Harrison, allowed but one run, also earned, and four hits. He walked three and struck out a half a dozen of his opponents. 61 of his 99 offerings went in the strike column, and he lowered his earned run average to a still elevated 5.33.

Harrison started out strong. Only nine Astros came to bat in the first three innings. The only one who reached base was the pesky José Altuve, who did so by leading off with a grounder to third that Casey Schmitt, subbing for the ailing Matt Chapman, couldn’t handle. Schmitt was charged with an error, and Altuve was erased when Alex Bergman bounced into an around the horn double play two pitches later. Schmitt looked good on that and subsequent plays.

Arrighetti held the Giants at bay until the sixth, yielding only three hits and an equal number of walks until Mike Yastrzemsky drove Jorge Soler, who had walked, blasted a triple off the 415 foot marker in right center field to break up what had been a scoreless tie. That was the end of the line for Arrighetti. Seth Martínez replaced him on the mound and got the third out, a grounder to third by Thairo Estrada.

Houston retied the score in a similar fashion in their next turn at bat. Their triple to right was a leadoff blow by Yordán Alvarez, who scored when the next batter, Jeremy Peña, lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Jake Meyers smacked a double down the left field line that sent Harrison to the showers. Sean Hjelle replaced him and got consecutive ground outs to short to limit the damage.

Tayler Scott set San Francisco down in order in the home seventh and allowed just a walk in the eighth.

Ryan Walker took over for Hjelle in the top of the eighth. Pinch hitter Jon Singleton greeted him with a hard hoit sinking liner to right, where Yastrzemki made a spectacular somersaulting catch to rob Singleton of extra bases. Walker allowed a single to Victor Caratrini, but back to back ground outs to third by Altuve and Bregman ended the threat.

The top of the ninth brought out the light and sound show of a Camilo Doval performance. Thanks to a walk to Peña and an infield single by Mauricio Dubón, followed by a two out wild pitch, Doval almost threw the game away. But he got his third strikeout of the frame, fanning Abreu and taking us into the bottom of the ninth with the score still knotted at one all.

Now it was up to Josh Hader to keep Houston’s hopes alive. He did, allowing only a two out pinch hit single to Wilmer Flores.

The tenth frame began with Erik Miller on the mound for the Giants and Joey Loperfido, running for Abreu, placed on second for the Astros. Cabbage laid down a bunt, Miller fielded it and threw to Flores at first.Umpire John Libka called him out.

Houston challenged the call. New York overturned it, giving the ‘stros runners on the corners with none down. Caratini hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Loperfido with the leading run. Cabbage stole second and went to third on Altuve’s bunt single. Bregman’s single to center made it 3-1 when Cabbage crossed the plate. Randy Rodríguez took over for Miller and got the final out, a grounder to third.

But the Giants weren’t dead yet. Rafael Montero came in to pitch for Houston. Schmitt was placed on second. He scored on Brett Wisely’s single to right center.Héliot Ramos drove a hard shot towards short that Peña let get by him for an error that scored Wisely and drew the Giants to within a run of tying things up.

Patrick Bailey shot a single to center, putting Ramos on second representing the potential winning run. Montero’s failure to handle Conforto’s comebacker loaded the bases, bringing up Soler. He hit a fly to deep left that would have been an extra base hit if Bailey’s crossing the plate with the winning run didn’t end the game, which made Soler’s RBI shot a count as a single.

The win went to Rodriguez, who threw three pitches. He’s now 2-1, 3.05. Montero was charged with his third blown save and his second loss against one win,

The three game series will resume Tuesday, evening at 6:45. Ronel Blanco (5-2, 2.78) will start for Houston, and Jordan Hicks (4-2, ERA 2.82) will be throwing for San Francisco, Monday night’s thrilling roller coaster ride will be a hard act to follow.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants return home to face Astros to start six game homestand tonight

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San Francisco Giants Brett Wisely gets the throw too late as the Texas Rangers Marcus Semien slides in safely in the bottom of the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sun Jun 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 Marcus Semien who got hit in the helmet in his next at bat clobbered a three run home run as Semien’s home run helped the Rangers in an offensive win 7-2 over the Giants.

#2 Adolis Garcia later stole home plate and scored. The Rangers scored three in the first inning, two runs in the second, and another two runs in the fifth inning.

#3 The first pitch of the game knocked Semien’s helmet off his head,  “The first pitch, you don’t expect that, but luckily I’m OK.”

#4 The Giants Mike Yastrzemski who hit a home run Sunday to provide in one of two of the Giants runs. The Giants fell short in the five run loss.

#5 The Giants open a three game homestand starting Monday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Starting for the Houston Astros Spencer Arrighetti (3-5, ERA 5.79) and for the Giants Kyle Harrison (4-3, ERA 4.18) first pitch 6:45pm PT.

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

Keaton Winn rocked for seven runs in return off IL as Giants unable to sweep Rangers; Texas salvages series with 7-2 win

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The Texas Rangers Adolis Garcia steals home on a slide ahead of the tag by San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey in the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sun Jun 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, June 8, 2024

Globe Life Field

Arlington, Texas

San Francisco Giants 2 (32-34)

Texas Rangers 7 (31-34)

Win: Nathan Eovaldi (3-2)

Loss: Keaton Winn (3-7)

Time: 2:16

Attendance: 34,912

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants were unable to get the sweep, as Keaton Winn got rocked for seven runs in his return from the Injured List, and the Rangers beat the Giants in the finale of this three game series in Arlington, Texas 7-2.

The Giants’ fortunes have dramatically changed over the last few days. They salvaged a game in their series in Arizona on Wednesday to snap a six-game losing streak, and they started a three-game winning streak. Sunday, the Giants looked to sweep the Rangers and make it four in a row.

Sadly, many Giants fans would not be able to watch the game, because it was being exclusively broadcasted on Roku, which requires a subduction. Roku is one of a handful of subscription platforms that Major League Baseball and Commissioner Rob Manfred have made deals with over the last two and a half years to broadcast games. With many fans wisely not wanting to pay for a monthly subscription to watch one baseball game, they were out of luck.

Anyway, making the start Sunday for the Giants was Keaton Winn, who was coming off the 15-Day Injured List. Winn strained his right forearm in last start on May 14 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.

Making the start for Texas was the longtime veteran right-hander, Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi was an instrumental part of the Boston Red Sox’ 108-win world championship season in 2018, as he was for the Rangers in their run to the title last season. He came into this game 2-2 over nine starts this season with a 2.70 ERA.

The Giants’ offense, which has thrived off hitting seven home runs in their last three games, but which has still wasted many opportunities, would have a hard rule against Eovaldi Sunday. The white-hot Heliot Ramos struck out looking to begin the game, and Eovaldi proceeded to throw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first.

Before going on the IL, Winn was off to a bad start. He was 3-6 with a 6.17 ERA in nine games, and the Rangers were ready to tee off him Sunday. Marcus Semien was hit in the hand by Winn’s first pitch back to start the bottom of the first. The trainers tended to Semien, who remained in the game, and then pulled a Rickey Henderson by immediately stealing second base.

Josh Smith walked, and Adolis Garcia lined a base-hit to left to load the bases with nobody out. Winn was in deep trouble, but he struck Nathaniel Lowe and Ezequiel Duran both out swinging, and he now had a chance to get out of the inning without any damage.

However, Wyatt Langford singled on a ground ball up the middle and into left-center to knock in a pair and give the Rangers an early 2-0 lead. Bruce Bochy then put on a crafty double steal. Langford stole second, and when catcher Patrick Bailey made the throw to second, Garcia stole him. That capped off a really tough inning for the Giants, and the Rangers had a 3-0 lead.

Eovaldi threw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and the Rangers would be right back at it against Winn in the bottom of the second. Travis Jankowski lined a base-hit to lead off the inning and stole second. The Rangers had now already stolen four bases through the first inning-plus of this game. Leody Taveras struck out swinging, and then Semien hit a two-run home run to left to make it 5-0.

It was 5-0, but it was early. The Giants made a habit of coming back from big deficits during their last hot stretch two and a half weeks ago. However, the Giants were now home run happy, and if they wanted to come back Sunday, they would have to do what they did during their stretch two and a half weeks ago: string base-hits, keep the line moving and get the key hits with runners in scoring position.

The Giants actually did that in the top of the third. Casey Schmitt lined a base-hit to left with one out, and Trenton Brooks singled Schmitt over to second. Ramos flew out to center, and the Giants were preparing to waste another opportunity, but Bailey lined a base-hit the other way to left to score Schmitt and put the Giants on the board.

The Giants only got one run, but it was a start. Winn would now have to settle down on the mound, which he somewhat did when he escaped a two-out triple in the bottom of the third.

It was now 5-1 Texas going to the fourth. Michael Conforto and Thairo Estrada both grounded out for the first two outs in the top of the fourth, but Mike Yastrzemski then blasted his seventh home run of the season to right to make it 5-2.

The Giants were back in it, and Winn pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the day in the bottom of the fourth. Eovaldi countered that with a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, but the Rangers would be ready to pounce on Winn again in the bottom of the fifth.

Josh Smith drew a leadoff walk, and Garcia lined out to left. Lowe then doubled to left to put runners at second and third with one out, and that ended Winn’s day. Bob Melvin went to Randy Rodriguez, who has been quite reliable as of late, but Rodriguez was welcomed to the game with a base-hit by Tovar to right to score two and make it 7-2.

Rodriguez got out of the inning without any further damage, but enough damage was already done. Winn really did struggle in his return, as the Rangers torched him for seven runs in just four and a third innings.

After the Giants wasted an opportunity against Eovaldi in the top of the sixth, the rest of the game would prove to be quite uneventful.

Rodeiguez pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the Dutch, and Eovaldi pitched one last 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to cap off another strong performance.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers got an appearance and pitched through a base-hit and a walk in the bottom of the seventh, and Luke Jackson threw a scoreless bottom of the eighth. For the Rangers, Jose Leclerc pitched a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, and Kirby Yates did the same in the top of the ninth to end the game. Rangers’ pitching ended up retiring 10-straight Giants to end it.

Nathan Eovaldi got the win, and Keaton Winn took the loss. The Giants were unable to back up to .500, as they fall back to 32-34.

The Giants will return home to San Francisco for an all-interleague six-game homestand against the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels. The Astros will come to Oracle Park for a three-game series Monday night. Kyle Harrison (4-3, ERA 4.18) will return to the rotation after his start was pushed back two days, and he will be opposed by Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (3-5, ERA 5.79). First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

With Keaton Winn activated off the Injured List, utility man Tyler Fitzgerald was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Heliot does all the heavy lifting for Giants

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San Francisco Giants Heliot Ramos gets back in the dugout after hitting a two run home run in the top of the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Field on Sat Jun 8, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Stephen, talk about the job that Heliot Ramos has done for San Francisco knocking in all the Giants runs for a 3-1 win over the Texas Ranges on Saturday at Globe Life Field.

#2 How shocking is it for you that the Giants have won the last two games against former Giants manager Bruce Bochy who having such a successful year himself.

#3 Austin Slater who was on mat in the hole 0-2 got up and walked and that brought up Ramos who belted a double to score Slater.

#4 In the third inning Slater singled and that brought up Ramos who hit a home run for his sixth home run of the season.

#5 The Giants concluded their three game series with the Texas Rangers which resulted in a 7-2 loss. The Rangers avoided getting swept at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sunday as the Giants took the first two games of the series.

Stephen Ruderman is a MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Ramos stays white-hot and Spencer Howard stays hot as Giants beat Rangers 3-1 for third-straight win

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Heliot Ramos salutes after hitting a two run home run against the Texas Rangers in the top of the third inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Sat Jun 8, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, June 8, 2024

Globe Life Field

Arlington, Texas

San Francisco Giants 3 (32-33)

Texas Rangers 1 (30-34)

Win: Erik Miller (1-2)

Loss: Andrew Heaney (2-7)

Save: Camilo Doval (11)

Time: 2:33

Attendance: 34,843

By Stephen Ruderman

Heliot Ramos stayed on fire, as he went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run and knocked in all three runs for the Giants, while Spencer Howard was solid in four and two thirds innings, as they led the Giants to their third-straight win, 3-1 over the Rangers in Arlington, Texas.

The Giants snapped their six-game losing streak on Wednesday, and have since won two-straight. Saturday, they looked to make it three in a row against the Rangers and their left-hander, Andrew Heaney.

The Giants got things going right away against Heaney in the top of the first inning. Austin Slater walked to start the game, and that brought up the white-hot Heliot Ramos, who lined a double into the gap in left-center field to score Slater and put the Giants on the board early.

The Giants were looking to go big in the first inning, but in typical fashion with this frustrating Giants’ offense, the next three guys all went down, and Ramos was left hanging at second base.

Saturday was Kyle Harrison’s turn in the rotation, and it was assumed by this writer that he would make the start Saturday, but I was wrong. Bob Melvin decided to go with right-handler and former Ranger Spencer Howard instead. Howard gave up two runs but pitched well over four and two thirds innings in relief on Monday in Arizona, which gave his skipper the confidence to give him the start Saturday.

Howard got himself in trouble, however, in the bottom of the first. Marcus Semien and Josh Smith both walked to start the inning, and Semien got to third when Adolis Garcia flew out to right for the first out. Nathaniel Lowe then knocked in Semien with a sacrifice fly to right to tie the game. Howard gave up a run, pretty much for free, as he didn’t give up a hit.

Heaney threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and he settled down to retire six-straight following Ramos’ double. Howard gave up a one-out single to Travis Jankowski in the bottom of the second, but he pitched a scoreless inning regardless.

Tyler Fitzgerald popped out to start the top of the third, but Slater did his thing and lined an opposite-field base-hit to right. That brought up Ramos, who hit a two-run home run to left, his sixth of the year, to put the Giants back ahead.

The Giants gave Howard a 3-1 lead to work with, and it appeared he was going to need it. Smith singled with one out in the bottom of the third, and Garcia walked to put runners at first and second. Howard then got Lowe to ground into a 6-3 double play to end the inning without any damage.

The game then started to roll along a bit, as Heaney pitched 1-2-3 innings in both the top of the fourth and fifth, and Howard pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth. Leody Tavares originally reached on an infield hit to start on the bottom of the fifth, but upon review, Tavares was out on a putout to first. Semien flew out, and Melvin pulled Howard after four and two thirds for left-handed Erik Miller, who struck out Smith to end the inning.

Melvin’s confidence in Howard definitely paid off. While Howard struggled a bit early on with his control, he pitched more smoothly in the middle innings. All in all, he gave up two runs on three hits and three walks.

Ramos flew out to center to start the top of the sixth, but Wilmer Flores and Matt Chapman singled to put runners at first and second with one out. Michael Conforto struck out looking for the second, and Bruce Bochy then went to the veteran right-hander Jon Gray. Jorge Soler was at the plate, and his struggles in key RBI situations continued once again, as he struck out swinging to end the inning.

Miller and Ryan Walker combined to throw a scoreless bottom of the sixth. Fitzgerald singled, and Mike Yastrzemski walked with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Ramos struck out swinging to end the inning and another wasted opportunity for the Giants.

Walker pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, and Gray did the same in the top of the eighth. Tyler Rogers came in for the bottom of the eighth, and he, you guessed it, pitched a 1-2-3 inning.

Jesus Tinoco came in for Texas in the top of the ninth, and he retired the first two men he faced. Patrick Bailey pinch-hit and drew a two-out walk, as did Fitzgerald. It was another opportunity for the Giants to put some much-needed padding on their lead. Bochy pulled Tinoco for Jacob Latz, who struck Yastrzemski out to end the inning, and the Giants yet again wasted a golden opportunity.

Closer Camilo Doval came in for the bottom of the ninth. Doval pitched a much-needed 1-2-3 inning for his 10th save Friday night in what was his first appearance since his disastrous blown save against the Yankees on Sunday.

Saturday, Doval would struggle, and would once again make things tense for the Giants and their fans. Lowe walked to lead off the inning, and Ezequiel Duran flew out to right. Jonah Heim beat out an infield hit, and Jankowski grounded out to first for the second out to move the runners to second and third.

The Giants led 3-1 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but the Rangers had the tying runs at second and third for Leody Taveras. Taveras then engaged Doval in a long and grueling battle. On a 2-2 pitch, Taveras hit a bullet down the right field line that went just foul and allowed Giants fans to make a massive sigh of relief. Taveras then flew out to right to end the game, and the Giants held on to win it 3-1.

Erik Miller got the win, as he was the one who came in for Spencer Howard, who was one out away from the win, in the bottom of the fifth; Andrew Heaney took the loss; and Camilo Doval picked up his 11th save.

Ramos led the way with his 2-for-4 day, and he is on fire. However, while the Giants have hit seven home runs in their last three games, they are still struggling in key RBI situations, and if they get too home run happy, it’s going to get them in trouble. Still, it is undeniable that this has been a completely different team since Melvin aired them out after Tuesday night’s loss.

It is unfortunate that Howard didn’t get the win, because it would have capped off the most perfect week for him. He started the road trip by being able to sleep in his own bed in Arizona, and then he got his world series ring Friday. Howard pitched for the Rangers at the beginning of last season, which made him eligible for a ring. Still, it was quite an unforgettable week for Howard, who truly put himself on the map for the Giants with his two solid performances.

Keaton Winn (3-6, ERA 6.17) will come off the Injured List to make the start Sunday, as the Giants will try to complete the sweep over the Rangers at Globe Life Field. The Rangers will start RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, ERA 2.70) First pitch will be at 12:05 p.m. in Arlington, and 10:05 a.m. for morning baseball in San Francisco.

Webb and home runs carry Giants to 5-2 over Rangers in series opener in Texas

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San Francisco Giants Michael Conforto circles the bases after connecting for a two run home run in the top of the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington on Fri Jun 7, 2024 (AP News photo)

Friday, June 7, 2024

Globe Life Field

Arlington, Texas

San Francisco Giants 5 (31-33)

Texas Rangers 2 (30-33)

Win: Logan Webb (5-5)

Loss: David Robertson (2-3)

Save: Camilo Doval (10)

Time: 2:37

Attendance: 35,868

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants have won two-straight, as a strong start from Logan Webb, three home runs—two from Wilmer Flores—and a three-hit day from Heliot Ramos carried the Giants to a series-opening 5-2 win over old pal Bruce Brochy and the defending world champion Texas Rangers.

The Giants left the hot desert in Arizona for the hot and flat prairie lands of Arlington, Texas to start the second leg of this all-2023 World Series road trip. The Giants enjoyed a day off in Arlington yesterday after they snapped their unfortunate six-game losing streak on Wednesday in Arizona. Friday night, they looked to build on that against Bochy and the Rangers.

The Giants sent their ace, Logan Webb, to the hill, to open the series. The Rangers went with the veteran right-hander, Michael Lorenzen. Both pitchers pitched scoreless innings out of the gate, and Webb pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of first.

Wilmer Flores, who hit a grand slam in the third inning on Wednesday in Arizona, kept his power going, as he hit a home run to left-center field with one out in the top of the second. Webb then pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second.

Heliot Ramos led off the top of the third with a base-hit, and Matt Chapman walked with one out. However, Michael Conforto flew out to center, and Jorge Soler’s struggles in key RBI situations continued, as he grounded into a force play to end the inning.

With one out in the bottom of the third, Ezequiel Duran singled on a ground ball up the middle for the Rangers’ first hit of the game. However, Webb pitched another scoreless inning regardless.

Flores led off the top of the fourth with his second home run of the game, as he now had three home runs in two games.

“When Flo gets hot, he gets hot,” said Webb. “He hasn’t changed one bit since I’ve met him. Everyday, he does the same exact thing. I think when you’re pretty consistent in what you do, I think good things happen…I feel like the same thing’s happened since he’s been here. He maybe doesn’t play as much early on, then [as] he starts to play more, and the ‘Flo’ comes out. He’s just a professional hitter. I think pitchers that have faced him before will probably say the exact same thing. He lets me know about the one time I faced him, which I think he went 3-for-3 off me [in] my debut.”

Webb pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth.

Ramos led off the fifth by lining a base-hit the other way to right. Patrick Bailey flew out, but Matt Chapman singled on a ground ball to right, and Conforto walked to load the bases with one out.

Bochy pulled Lorenzen for Jonathan Hernandez. Soler and Flores both struck out swinging with the bases loaded, and the Giants wasted yet another opportunity.

Webb had kept the Rangers at bay over the first four innings, but the bottom of the fifth would be very different. Nathaniel Lowe led off the inning with a single to left, and Wyatt Langford hit a double to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Robbie Grossman put the Rangers on the board with a sacrifice fly to just shy of the warning track out to Mike Yastrzemski in right-center, which scored Lowe and moved Langford over to third.

Bob Melvin then did something very uncommon, and had the Giants’ infield play in to keep the tying run from scoring. It backfired, however, as Duran singled on a ground ball to left-center that very well could have been fielded by Brett Wisely at short had the infield been playing at normal depth.

The game was now tied 2-2. Leody Tavares to left, but Marcus Semien singled Duran over to third. With the Rangers 90 feet away from their first lead of the day, Webb was able to get Josh Smith to end the inning.

Yastrzemski drew a walk to start the top of the sixth, but Hernandez retired the side in order afterwards. Webb then settled back down to throw a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth.

Right-hanger David Robertson, now one of the longest-tenured players in Baseball, came in to pitch for the Rangers in the top of the seventh. Bailey grounded out to third to start the inning, but Chapman walked, and Conforto hit a two-run home run out to right-center to put the Giants back ahead.

“Earlier in the at-bat, I think I just took a bad swing on a cutter…..I just had a feeling [Robertson] was going to go back to it, and I took a better swing late in the at-bat,” said Conforto. “[I] always have to try and remember less is more, especially with cutter guys.

Logan Webb ended his night with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh. Webb is an innings eater, which made it a bit surprising that he didn’t go out for one more inning, but he did appear to have a grimace on his face as he walked off the field.

“I think he [was] just kinda off balanced [when he threw his last pitch],” said Melvin. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. Hopefully, it’s just a little bit of a stinger.”

Webb gave up four runs in what was still a mostly-solid outing against the Yankees last Saturday. While the numbers didn’t reflect that in his last start, the numbers were undeniable in his start Friday night. Two runs and five hits over seven innings with six strikeouts and not a single walk, not bad.

“I thought to start the game, that was probably the best stuff I’ve had all year,” said Webb. “The days you get the mechanics and the feel, usually good things happen, and today was one of those days where I felt good. I thought my mechanics were better…..I kinda got away from it [in the fifth], and then I felt like I got to it towards the end.”

Grant Anderson, who finished the top of the seventh for Texas, was back out for the top of the eighth. Thairo Estrada lined a base-hit up the middle to start the inning, and Wisely walked. Ramos then came up and grounded a base-hit up the middle into center field for his third hit of the game to knock in Estrada and make it 5-2.

Bochy pulled Anderson for Jesus Tinoco, who retired the side in order to end the inning. Submariner Tyler Rogers followed that up with a shutdown 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.

Gerson Garabito pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth for the Rangers, and Melvin brought in his closer, Camilo Doval, for the first duke since the latter gave up four runs on a career-high four hits in what was a brutal blown save and loss on Sunday. It was a big outing for Doval, and responded nicely by shutting down the Rangers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to close it out.

Logan Webb got the win; David Robertson took the loss; and Camilo Doval picked up his 10th save of the year.

The Giants improve to 31-33, and they’ll try and make it three in a row in a late-afternoon affair Saturday. Left-hander Kyle Harrison (4-3, ERA 4.18) will go for San Francisco for Texas Andrew Heaney (2-6, ERA 3.99). First pitch will be at 3:05 p.m. in Arlington, 1:05 p.m in San Francisco