Category: San Francisco Giants

Giants lose Bay Bridge Series opener 5-2 after perplexing trade deadline; A’s have won ten of last 14

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Oakland A’s starter JP Sears threw seven innings of shutout ball against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in what will be the A’s last Bay Bridge Series appearance as an Oakland team at Oracle Park on Tue Jul 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Oakland Athletics 5 (45-64)

San Francisco Giants 2 (53-56)

Win: JP Sears (8-8)

Loss: Robbie Ray (1-1)

Time: 2:40

Attendance: 37,885

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–After an interesting trade deadline in which the Giants sold to dump some salary, they went up and lost 5-2 to the Oakland A’s, who hit four home runs, in the first game of this short two-game set.

After a brutal 2-5 road trip to start the second half, the Giants swept the Colorado Rockies in four games over the weekend at Oracle Park to get back up to 53-55 and just three and a half games back of the third wild card spot. That prompted President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi to somewhat go for it.

Now, the A’s came into town for the first leg of the 2024 Bay Bridge Series. Well, this may have looked like an easy schedule for the Giants on paper, the A’s came into Tuesday night’s game winners of nine of their last 13 games.

This would be Bob Melvin’s first game managing on the other side of the Bay Bridge Series. Melvin managed the A’s from June 2011 through the end of the 2021 Season. Melvin took the A’s to the playoffs six times in his ten full seasons at the helm. Melvin won 853 games with the A’s, the most for the A’s in Oakland, and an extremely-distant second-most in franchise history next to the legendary Connie Mack’s 3,582 games.

Left-hander Robbie Ray made his second start of the season. Ray made his long-awaited Giants’ debut on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, giving up just a run and striking out eight over five no-hit innings. Ray got the lone win for the Giants in their four-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Ray started off his night with a scoreless top of the first inning. The Giants then came to bat against A’s left-hander JP Sears in the bottom of the first. Heliot Ramos lined a two-out base-hit to center field with two outs, but he was caught trying to steal second base to end the inning.

Daz Cameron led off the top of the second with a home run to right to put the A’s on the board. After Sears threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second, Lawrence Butler hit a home run to center with one out in the top of the third to make it 2-0.

Sears pitched a scoreless bottom of the third, and a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth. As for Ray, escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth, but he surrendered a two-run home run to Brent Rooker with one out in the top of the fifth.

That would do it for Ray, whose outing Tuesday night was a lot different than his outing last Wednesday in Los Angeles, as he gave up four runs and seven hits.

Spencer Bivens came in and escaped a jam to finish the top of the fifth, but he did throw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth. He then threw a scoreless top of the seventh, as he did eat up two and two thirds innings.

Sears remained in complete control, and he ended up giving up just three hits, walking just one and striking out nine over seven shutout innings. The Giants wasted a couple of opportunities, but you have to tip your cap to Sears, who was on Tuesday night.

JJ Bleday homered to right off left-hander Taylor Rogers in the top of the eighth to make it 5-0. For the A’s, it was their fourth home run of the night, and it was surprising considering that they have depended on the long ball during this stretch.

Mark Kotsay brought in former Giant Scott Alexander in the bottom of the eighth. Marco Luciano, who was called back up Tuesday, doubled to center to lead off the inning. Luciano advanced to third on a wild pitch with one out, and after David Villar walked, Derek Hill got Luciano in on a ground out to second.

Austin Adams struck Tyler Fitzerald out to end the bottom of the eighth, and Ryan Walker came in for the Giants to throw a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

Tyler Ferguson came in for Oakland in the bottom of the ninth. The Giants got their second run of the game when Patrick Bailey knocked in Michael Conforto with one out. That would be all they would get, and the A’s won it 5-2.

JP Sears got the win, and Robbie Ray took his first loss of the season. The Giants fall to 53-56, and now five games back of the Padres for the third wild card.

The Giants and A’s will be back at it Wednesday night. Logan Webb (7-8, 3.72 ERA) will be on the mound for the Giants, and he will be opposed by former Giant Ross Stripling (2-9, 6.02 ERA).

Giants News and Notes:

Tuesday of course was the Trade Deadline in Baseball, and the Giants, well, I don’t know what to make of their moves.

Last night, Farhan Zaidi traded Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson back to the Braves for right-handed reliever Tyler Matzek and minor league infielder Sabin Ceballos.

Tuesday morning, Zaidi dealt Alex Cobb, who is just about to come off the Injured List, but has been held back by a blister, to the Cleveland Guardians for left-handed pitching prospect Jason Bresnahan. Cobb was was all-star for the Giants last season, but has yet to pitch in a major league game this season due to hip surgery.

Don’t worry, the Giants got a bat. Zaidi acquired outfielder Mark Canha for minor league reliever Eric Silva.

Most importantly, the Giants did not trade Blake Snell, as Zaidi apparently felt that they needed to go with it after sweeping the Rockies, one of the worst teams in baseball, in four games over the weekend.

So, you can say the main goal of the deadline for Zaidi and the Giants was dumping salary, and somewhat going for it with the kids.

The Giants of course called Marco Luciano prior to the game. Luciano was swinging the bat quite well, as he hit .375 in ten games. However, his defense was a whole nother story, as he committed five errors in five games.

Blake Sabol was also called up prior to the game.

The Giants and Baseball suffered a tragedy over the weekend. Former Giants’ reliever Reyes Moronta was killed in a motorcycle accident in his native Dominican Republic Sunday.

The Giants called Moronta up in September 2017, and he pitched in seven games. In 69 games in 2018, he was a big part of a solid Giants’ bullpen that season, as he went 5-2 with a 2.49 ERA. In 2019, he was solid again, positing a 2.86 ERA.

Moronta was very much in the future plans for the Giants, and was even setting himself up to be the team’s closer. However, he tore his labrum in an outing against the San Diego Padres on Aug. 31, 2019, and he was never the same afterwards.

Moronta missed the COVID-shortened 60-game sprint season of 2020, and then only appeared in four games for the Giants in 2021. He then split time with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022, posting a 4.30 ERA, and then he struggled with the Los Angeles Angels last season with an ERA of 6.75.

This season Moronta moved to the Mexican League and signed with the Bravos de León, posting an 8.69 ERA. He was then released on July 25, just three days prior to his death.

The Giants honored Moronta prior to the game with a moment of silence.

Final Thoughts:

I really have no clue what Farhan Zaidi has in mind here. Okay, so he’s somewhat going for it with the kids, but he’s selling to dump some salary.

He’s supposedly going for it, but he traded Jorge Soler, who was popular in the clubhouse, and who had finally been swinging the bat well after a rough start to his season. Then the best he can do is get Mark Canha from the Tigers, which, granted, was a better move than the trade for A.J. Pollock at the deadline last season, but really?

The worst part was that the Giants passed on a potential golden opportunity to trade Blake Snell to a contender for a top prospect, because they swept just a godawful Rockies’ team to get to within three and a half games, which gave them some “hope.” Snell is most likely not even going to be back next season

I’m not saying that they should kick the tires to next season. That’s why I wanted to buy AND sell. In fact, this is the first time in a long time that I was open to trading prospects. But still, you just can not pass up on an opportunity to add a top prospect. Especially since, despite the fact that I predicted that the Giants would get off to a frustrating start over the first two to four months, then get it together, I have pretty much lost hope for this season.

I’m not saying it’s over, hence the buy and sell, but it’s very unlikely to result in anything special at this point. Why? Farhan Zaidi. I’ll give credit to Farhan, he is a supremely intelligent man, and he has made some sneaky good moves in almost-six seasons with the Giants. He made some clever moves to help the Giants get back into contention in 2019; the Giants almost made the playoffs in 2020; and of course, they had their 107-win impossible dream season in 2021.

However, since 2022, it has been mostly downhill. These last three seasons have all pretty much been the same. Farhan signs some guys, and there’s hope and expectations coming into the season, as well as a good clubhouse. They have their ups and downs, but they really can’t truly get it together. Farhan then struggles to show his team that he believes in them, and then they collapse.

It happened at the end of June 2022, and it happened again after A.J. Pollock was the best player Farhan could add at the Trade Deadline last year. What I suspect did it this year was when he went on KNBR after the Giants’ 5-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 11.

After a run in which the Giants won eight out of 11, the Giants lost the final two games of their three game series in Cleveland against the Guardians, the third-best team in Baseball, and then they lost two of three to the Blue Jays at home. They lost four out of five, it happens.

But then after the loss to Toronto to close out the series, Farhan went on KNBR to tell Tom Tolbert and Adam Copeland, “We’re 4 games under .500. Overall it’s been a real disappointment. We pushed a lot of chips in with this team. We need the players to show what the right direction is for us. If we keep playing like we did for the last 5 days, we’re going to have to think about selling and seeing some younger players.”

The 2024 San Francisco Giants are a good team. They have talent, but they are also a young team with some growing pains. They have battled hard all season, and for Farhan to go on KNBR and dump all over them, that has to be demoralizing in the clubhouse.

Now, one of two things can happen. Either they can use that as motivation to stick it to Farhan, or they can let it get to them and implode. Sadly, it’s the latter. You’re going to get that with a young team, but it also shows that now is the time for new leadership. Perhaps someone with less of an analytical background, and more of a real baseball background. Somebody who knows and understands the game, and has a real feel for the game. Someone who knows how to deal with players.

Farhan has built a nice young core here in the 2020s, but while he has some good plans, he is not exactly the best at executing it. He has also shown that he has a hard time managing the day-to-day operations of a baseball front office. From the almost-daily roster changes to the PR blunders he’s had, Farhan has shown that he really struggles to deal with his players.

But this is what you get with analytical guys. They may love the game, but they just believe in numbers and really don’t have a feel for the game. They are bland, robotic and sterile, and they just view players as robots and mere objects instead of what they are, HUMAN BEINGS.

Players are real people, and they are working tirelessly every day over the course of the long grind of a major league baseball season. You have to treat them with the respect that they deserve, and most importantly, you have to show that you believe in them. Farhan has failed to do that. All Farhan has done is throw his players and city under the bus, and this can not continue.

Farhan has played his role, but it is time to move on, and it is time to hire a real baseball person to run the front office. Farhan has built a nice young core, but the Giants need to let someone with a real feel and understanding of our great game take the reins from here.

As for the Giants’ analytics department, they can stay. There is a place for the analytical people in baseball: being a small part of the overall art of baseball, and assisting the baseball people who are in charge with valuable statistics that they can take into account.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants beat Rockies for 12th straight time at Oracle

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Derrick Hill (48) declares Jorge Soler (left) safe at home after scoring on the Colorado Rockies in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Jul 28, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 After sweeping Saturday’s doubleheader the San Francisco Giants took Sunday’s game 5-4 to finish off the four-game series sweep with a win in the finale against the Colorado Rockies. 

#2 The last time SF swept a four-game series at home was June 14-17, 2021 vs. Arizona. It’s been four years but after the wait the Giants have to have some satisfaction in getting a four game sweep.

#3 Talk about Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler stepping up and getting three hits apiece to help on offense in the Giants 5-4 win for the sweep.

#4 The Giants win represents the 12th straight home win in a row and the most loses for the Rockies in an opposing ballpark.

#5 The Giants host the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night at Oracle park to open a brief two game series at 6:40pm PT. JP Sears starts for the A’s (7-8, ERA 4.81) and for the Giants Robbie Ray (1-0, ERA 1.80).

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

San Francisco Giants 4 game Sweep The Colorado Rockies With A 5-4 Win at Oracle

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Sunday, July 28th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Francisco, CA – After sweeping Saturday’s doubleheader the San Francisco Giants took Sunday’s game 5-4 to finish off the four-game series sweep with a win in the finale against the Colorado Rockies. Last time SF swept any team in a four-game series was September 19-22, 2022, also against Colorado at Coors Field. The last time SF swept a four-game series at home was June 14-17, 2021 vs. Arizona. 

Erik Miller (3-3, 3.47) opened Sunday’s game for the Giants on the mound against Austin Gomber (2-6, 4.70). SF is 5-4 in games Miller has opened this season, with Miller posting a 0.93 ERA (1er, 9.2ip) with nine strikeouts as an opener.

With Saturday night’s win, the Giants improved to 26-5 vs. the Rockies here at Oracle Park since the beginning of the 2021 season, outscoring Colorado 181-86 (+95). The 26-5 mark is the best home record by any team vs. a divisional opponent since 2021. 

Tyler Fitzgeral continued his push for NL Player of the Week with another home run yesterday. Since Monday, Fitzgerald is batting .407 with nine runs, a double, a triple, five home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.074 slugging percentage. 

The first run of the game was a big one as Casey Schmitt hit a solo home run, his third of the season and the Giants went up early 1-0. 

Randu Rodriguez replaced Erik Miller in the second inning on the mound for SF. 

The Giants kept the pressure on the Rockies in the very next inning. Michael Conforto hit a two out double and then Derek Hill followed him up with a triple in triple’s alley that scored Conforto, 2-0 Giants. Right after that with a crowd still on their feet, Jorge Soler followed up Hill with a ground rule double that scored Hill and the Giants ended the inning up 3-0 and the momentum heavily in their favor. 

The Rockies finally got on the board in the fourth inning. A lead off double from Ezequiel Tovar got the battery in Colorado, but then Tovar scored after Charlie Blackmon hit a laser of a single, 3-1. 

In the sixth inning, Hunter Goodman scored Tovar on an RBI single which cut SF’s lead to 1, 3-2. 

SF responded with a rally of their own in the sixth. Hill and Soler got on base each with singles, then bases loaded after Fitzgerald got on base with an error. This set up a big two run RBI single from Matt Chapman that scored Hill and Soler, Giants take a 5-2 lead and the Giants fans see their chances growing. 

Michael Toglia attempted a rally with a big solo HR that silenced the crowd, but Jordan Hicks got the Giants out of the inning seemingly unscathed. Giants still up, 5-3. 

Camillo Doval came in for the save opportunity and started off rocky, giving up back to back singles.Jacob Stallings grounded out, but that scored Toglia and the gap was closed to 5-4. With the tying run on second base, Doval struck out Sam Hilliard and then with a full count, Tovar grounded out and the Giants won. 

The Giants improve to 53-55 and Randy Rodriguez gets the W, he’s now 3-1. Austin Gomber records a loss, his record becomes 2-7 and Doval secures his 20th save this season. 

It’s an off day for the Giants on Monday and then they are back in Oracle Park for the Battle of the Bay against the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night. Neither Oakland or San Francisco has announced a starter.

Troy Ewers is a staff writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Big Giant Sale

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Farhan Zaidi San Francisco Giants team president might need to be a buyer before the trade deadline as the Giants needs some wins to be competitive to get into the Wild Card race. (KNBR file photo)

Big Giant Sale

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

2024 was not the year Giants management envisioned; if anything, they had a dream of the postseason, at least as a wild-card team. But, today, they will have to pass the Reds, Cardinals, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Pirates, and that is only for a wild-card spot.

The division is out of reach for the Giants, as it looks like only the Padres and Diamondbacks might have a chance at catching the Dodgers. The Dodgers, who always have a great farm system and have been holding to first place for ‘dear life’ with serious injuries to Mookie Betts and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among others, are also looking for starting pitching, very seriously.

Giants Pitcher Blake Snell, on his first year of a $32 million contract, with a player option for next year, is now the talk of at least a half-dozen contending teams, teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, and others with bottomless checkbooks, ready to trade for him.

The two-time Cy Young winner has been pitching just like during his good years, but for the Giants it is “thanks Blake, but too late”. To be honest Blake Snell has been besieged by injuries

However, the Giants have more on the showcase window for teams, with just a couple of days until the trade deadline this Wednesday, July 31. Players like Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores (Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum player of the year in 2023), and Michael Conforto, who looks the Mets want back today, they might soon go Adiós San Francisco.

For the last few years, during off-season months, the San Francisco Giants have been trying to lure a superstar to the city, guys like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, and such, but have failed. As we get closer to this trade deadline, President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi is glued to the telephone, trying to deal with and improve this team in a last-minute effort, not only for the team and fans sake, but also for his job.

Good luck to the Giants the rest of 2024.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead radio voice for the Oakland A’s Spanish network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Snell makes history with six-inning 15-strikeout performance, as Giants beat Rockies 4-1 in first game of doubleheader

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell delivers against the Colorado Rockies in the top if the sixth of the first game of the doubleheader in shutter speed resulting in a 3-D image photo at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Jul 27, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, July 27, 2024 Game 1

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Colorado Rockies 1 (38-67)

San Francisco Giants 4 (51-55)

Win: Ryan Walker (7-3)

Loss: Justin Lawrence (3-4)

Save: Camilo Doval (19)

Time: 2:25

Attendance: N/A (won’t be announced until second game)

By Stephen Ruderman

We saw history at Oracle Park Saturday, as Blake Snell became the first player in Modern National League/American League History to strike out 15 in the first six innings of a game, and the Giants beat the Rockies in the first game of this doubleheader 4-1.

The Giants’ offense exploded for an 11-4 win over the lowly Rockies last night, and Saturday, the two teams were to play a rare scheduled single-admission doubleheader. It was cold and gloomy, but serene here at Oracle Park this afternoon, as the Giants looked to win back-to-back games for the first time in over three weeks.

Blake Snell was set to take the mound in possibly the most scouted outing in Baseball this season. Why is that, you ask? Because even though it’s only been two starts, Snell seems to be back to his old self. With the Giants on the verge of falling out of contention, they are rumored to be sellers at the Trade Deadline on Tuesday, and a lot of teams are interested in Snell.

Snell got off to a bit of a rocky start—no pun intended—in the top of the first inning. Snell struck out Ezequiel Tovar to begin the game, but Brenton Doyle hit a line drive right to Heliot Ramos in centerfield that Ramos broke in on, and it sailed over his head, which allowed Doyle to go into second base with a double.

Snell then walked Brendan Rodgers to put runners at first and second with one out for Kris Bryant. The Rockies were in prime position to pounce against Snell. However, Snell calmed down, and he retired the next two to end the inning.

Ryan Feltner made the start for Colorado, and he also ran into trouble right away. Jorge Soler and LaMonte Wade both walked to start the bottom of the first. Heliot Ramos got the runners over to second and third with a swinging bunt for a ground out back to Feltner.

The Giants had runners at second and third with one out for Patrick Bailey. However, Bailey and Tyler Fitzgerald both struck out swinging, and both teams ended up wasting their opportunities.

Snell threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, as he struck out a pair. Matt Chapman put the Giants on the board with one out in the bottom of the second when he hit a high, towering home run to left. For Chapman, it was his 15th home run of the season.

Tovar doubled with one out in the top of the third, and he got to third on a wild pitch by Snell. However, Tovar did not score, as Snell ended up striking out the side.

The Giants went down scoreless in the bottom of the third, and Snell threw a 1-2-3 inning and struck out the side in the top of the fourth. Suddenly, Snell had ten strikeouts through four innings. It did take a toll on his pitch count, as he threw 72 pitches, but make no mistake, he was in complete command.

The Giants had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but they predictably wasted it when Soler grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Snell threw another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, striking out the final two, and he was now up to 12 strikeouts through five innings. Feltner, meanwhile, threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth.

Snell came back out for the top of the sixth and walked Tovar on seven pitches to start the inning. Snell then struck out Doyle on seven pitches for his 13th strikeout of the game. As his pitch count began to approach triple digits, Bob Melvin got the bullpen going, and it was apparent that despite the chance at history, that this was going to be Snell’s final inning.

Brendan Rogers struck out looking for strikeout number 14, and that brought up former Giant Kris Bryant. Bryant struck out on a curve in the dirt, and Snell became the first man in Modern National League/American League History (since 1901) to strike out 15 over the first six innings of a game.

Snell had thrown 103 pitches, so he was obviously done, but he came off the mound to a loud ovation from the Giants’ faithful. Snell also became the first Giant since Tim Lincecum exactly 15 years ago today, July 27, 2009, to strike out 15. For those of you wondering, 15 of the 18 guys Snell retired were set down by way of the strikeout.

“He was ready for anything today,” said Manager Bob Melvin. “He was ready to go over 100 pitches no matter where he was in the game. Could he have gone seven [innings] after 100 pitches? No, but if it was condensed a little bit, he was willing to do anything we needed today (Saturday).”

Many scouts were here, including from the Philadelphia Phillies; the Texas Rangers; the Arizona Diamondbacks; and the San Diego Padres—all teams that are in the playoff hunt—were here to see it. Safe to say that Snell didn’t disappoint. Before I forget, he also gave up just two hits over six shutout innings.

“We just gotta win,” said Snell. “We win, [and] I ain’t going anywhere.”

Feltner, meanwhile, pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth to end his day. Ryan Walker came in for the seventh, and while Elias Diaz flew out to center to start the inning, Michael Toglia tied the game with a solo home run to right.

It was 1-1 going to the bottom of the seventh, and Rockies Manager Bud Black brought in Justin Lawrence. With one out, Jorge Soler hit a ground ball to short that was bobbled by Ezequiel Tovar. Soler, who was jogging out of the box, began to pick up speed, and the throw from Tovar to first was missed by first-baseball Michael Toglia and went into the dugout. Soler was awarded second base.

Wade was then hit by a pitch, and that brought up Ramos, who grounded out to short to move the runner over to second and third. Patrick Bailey poked the first pitch he saw off the end of the bat and into left-center field for a base-hit to knock in a pair and put the Giants back ahead, and he took a chance and legged out a double.

That was all the Giants would score in the bottom of the seventh, and everyone’s favorite punching bag, Tyler Rogers, came in for the eighth to throw a 1-2-3 inning. I guess that’s too bad for everyone who wants to dump on him.

It was off to the bottom of the eighth, and Peter Lambert came in for the Rockies. Chapman doubled to center with one out, and he advanced to third when Lambert tried to pick him off at second and the throw went into center field. Then Lambert threw a wild pitch to make it 4-1.

Camilo Doval came in for ninth, and of course he had to make it dramatic, because he’s been totally snakebit since his blown save in Pittsburgh on May 21. The Rockies had runners at second and third with one out, and the tying run at the plate in Toglia, who homered his last time up.

Toglia hit a ground ball to third, and Chapman stepped on the bag at third before throwing to first, but Toglia was called safe by First Base Umpire Brock Ballou. Toglia did appear out, and when the Giants challenged the play, the call was indeed overturned and the Giants won it 4-1.

The one unfortunate thing about this game was the fact that Michael Toglia’s home run in the seventh robbed Blake Snell of his first win as a Giant. That’s right, folks, he’s still winless as a Giant. Ryan Walker got the win; Justin Lawrence got the loss; and Camilo Doval picked up the save.

The Giants have now won back-to-back games for the first time in 22 days, as they improve to 51-55, and five games back of the Mets for the third wild card.

The second game of the doubleheader will get underway at 7:18 p.m. Michael Birdsong (2-0, 3.55 ERA), who was called back up to be the 27th man on the roster for this doubleheader, will make the start, and he will be opposed by Tanner Gordon (0-2, 10.61 ERA).

Birdsong strong again, as Giants sweep doubleheader with 5-0 night cap win over Rockies

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz gets the put out on San Francisco Giants Brett Wisely at home plate in the bottom of the second inning in the second game of the doubleheader at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sat Jul 27, 2024

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Game 2

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Colorado Rockies 0 (38-68)

San Francisco Giants 5 (52-55)

Win: Hayen Birdsong (3-0)

Loss: Tanner Gordon (0-3)

Time: 2:11

Attendance: 34,543 (attendance for both games of single-admission doubleheader)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants swept the doubleheader over the Rockies with a 5-0 win this evening, as Hayden Birdsong was solid again, and the Giants have won three in a row for the first time in just over a month.

Just a mere 45 minutes after the first game, in which Blake Snell made history by being the first man in Modern National League/American League History to strike out 15 in the first six innings of a game, the two teams were right back at it for the second game of this rare scheduled traditional doubleheader.

It was a cold and foggy night at Oracle Park, which cast a comforting scene of calm, peace and serenity.

Hayden Birdsong, whom the Giants sent down after his 12-strikeout performance in Denver last Sunday, was back up to make the start as the 27th man on the roster. Birdsong started the evening with a scoreless top of the first inning, and the Giants were ready to get to work against Rockies’ starter Tanner Gordon in the bottom of the first.

Well, the Giants had better be. Gordon was making his third big league start, and he had gotten hammered in each of his previous two, so the Giants’ had to take advantage of this.

The Giants were indeed ready to go against Gordon. Jorge Soler lined a base-hit the other way to right field to start the inning, and Mike Yastrzemski hit a triple off the wall in right to score Soler.

Hey, the Giants were indeed able to take advantage of going up against the young pitcher. Still, this was the Giants, and in typical Giants’ fashion, Yastrzemski never scored after standing at third base with nobody out.

Not to worry, though. Birdsong pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the second, and the Giants were poised to pounce again in the bottom of the second. Matt Chapman, who hit a home run in the bottom of the second of the first game, led off the bottom of the second of the nightcap with a double to left.

Brett Wisely lined an opposite-field double to left to make it 2-0, and David Villar singled Wisely over to third. So, runners at the corners and nobody out, and you guessed it, the Giants didn’t score.

Wisely was out at the plate on a slow chopper back to the mound—though Wisely was originally ruled safe—but the call was overturned upon review. Soler then grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Birdsong pitched a scoreless top of the third, and Gordon threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the third. Both teams went down scoreless in the fourth, and Birdsong pitched another scoreless inning in the top of the fifth.

The Giants got another rally going in the bottom of the fifth. Catcher Curt Casali grounded a base-hit to left, and Soler doubled to put runners at second and third with nobody out.

Yastrzemski got Casali home with a sacrifice fly to right, and Heliot Ramos knocked in Soler with a bloop single to right to make it 4-0. Michael Conforto grounded into a double play to end the inning, but hey, the Giants scored two to jump out to a 4-0 lead, so it was all good.

Birdsong was done after five shutout innings, as he threw 106 pitches, but he was solid, as he gave up just three hits, walked three and struck out eight.

Sean Hjelle was the new pitcher for the Giants in the top of the sixth, and he threw a 1-2-3, as did Gordon. Weird, Birdsong was solid and only went five innings, but Gordon got rocked and went sixth. Baseball’s an interesting game.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers came in for the top of the seventh to pitch a 1-2-3 inning, and Jake Bird threw a scoreless bottom of the seventh. Left-handed flamethrower Erik Miller then threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eighth.

John Curtiss was the new pitcher for Colorado in the bottom of the eighth, and with two outs, the white-hot Tyler Fitzgerald did it again and hit a home run to left-center field. For Fitzgerald, it was his seventh home run in ten games.

Spencer Bivens came in for the top of the ninth, and he threw a scoreless inning to end it.

Hayden Birdsong got the win; he’s 3-0. Tanner Gordon got the loss; he’s 0-3. Kinda funny how that works.

The Giants improve to 52-55, and are now four and a half games back of the Mets for the third wild card. They can now sweep the entire four-game series with a win Sunday. They can tie their season-high four-game winning streak, which they’ve done twice this season, the last time being May 22 through May 26.

Jordan Hicks (4-7, 4.01 ERA) will get at least one more start Sunday, and he will be opposed by left-hander Austin Gomber (2-6, 4.70 ERA). First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m.

Fitzgerald homers twice as Giants rout Rockies 11-4

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Tyler Fitzgerald (49) gives thanks to the good Lord after belting a two run home run waiting at the plate teammate Jorge Soler (2) in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Fri Jul 26, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Friday, July 26, 2024

San Francisco’s quest to remain on the NL West race took a positive step Friday at Oracle Park, as the Giants rolled past Colorado 11-4. It was a needed win for the Giants, who have lost five of their last seven games since the All-Star break.

The Giants (50-55) led 6-1 after four innings, while Kyle Harrison (6-4) gave
Dan Francisco a quality start, striking out 11 while giving up a run on one hit and two walks.

Tyler Fitzgerald delivered a pair of two-run home runs for the Giants – the first one in the fourth and the second one came in the bottom of the sixth, his seventh and eighth home runs of the season.

Fitzgerald was 3-for-5 with four runs batted in while continuing his recent power surge. He’s the first San Francisco player to hit seven home runs in an eight-game stretch since Barry Bonds did it in 2004.

Jorge Soler, batting leadoff as the DH, opened the scoring with a solo home run to left center in the bottom of the first inning. Soler added RB( singles in the second and fourth innings while going 3-for-3, scoring four runs and driving in three.

Heliot Ramos added a three-run shot for San Francisco in the bottom of the eighth off Rockies reliever Ty Bloch, his 15th of the season to go with 52 RBI. Ramos and Mike Yastrzemski each had two hits,

The Rockies (38-66) cut the San Francisco lead to 3-1 I the third on a sacrifice fly by Ezequiel Tovar. Colorado scored again in the eighth on a two-run triple by Brenton Doyle and picked up a run in the ninth on an infield ground out by Elias Diaz.

Most of the Giants’ damage came early against Rockies starter Kyle Freehand (2-4), who surrendered six earned runs on eight hits and s walk. He also struck out eight.

The San Francisco bullpen of Luke Jackson, Mike Baumann, Ryan Walker and Camilo Doral gave up three runs on a combined four hits in the last 2 1/3 innings.

Off the field, Giants right-hander Keaton Winn is scheduled to undergo season-ending elbow surgery next week. Also, infielder Thairo Estrada (wrist) was placed on the 10-day injured list, and infielder Casey Schmitt recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

The Rockies and Giants have a scheduled doubleheader on Saturday. In the first game, San Francisco goes with left-hander Blake Snell (0-3, 5.83) against Colorado right-hander Ryan Feltner (1-10, 5.19). Starters for the second game had yet to be announced.

Giants finish brutal road trip with late 6-4 loss to Dodgers, as season hangs in balance

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants Jorge Soler swings for a single in the top of the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Thu Jul 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles, California

San Francisco Giants 4 (49-55)

Los Angeles Dodgers 6 (62-42)

Win: Blake Treinen (5-2)

Loss: Tyler Rogers (1-4)

Save: Brent Honeywell (1)

Time: 2:38

Attendance: 52,291

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants dropped the finale to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium 6-4 to end this brutal road trip on Thursday afternoon, as back-to-back home runs by Nick Ahmed and Shohei Ohtani did the Giants in in the bottom of the eighth inning, and things are starting to become grim for the 2024 San Francisco Giants.

The Giants picked up a much-needed win Wednesday night, and they were hoping to salvage not just a split in this series, but a decent end to what has been a rough road trip to open the second half. Incredibly, here on July 25, this would be the final game between the Giants and the Dodgers this season.

This would also be a massive game for the Giants, who came into Thursday 49-54, and four and a half games back of the Cardinals for the third wild card spot. With the Trade Deadline coming up in five days, this would be a game that could potentially seal what Farhan Zaidi decides to do at the Trade Deadline next Tuesday.

The two rivals played a rare afternoon day game at Dodger Stadium, and Clayton Kershaw, one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in Dodgers History, would make his season debut. Kershaw and the Giants have had a lot of history since he first came up in 2008, and the Giants would once again be up against him in a big game.

Kershaw retired the first two men he faced to begin the game. Heliot Ramos doubled to center field, and Matt Chapman walked, but like the Giants have done throughout this road trip, they wasted this opportunity when Patrick Bailey struck out swinging to end the inning.

Giants’ ace Logan Webb took the ball in the bottom of the third. Webb gave up three runs in the bottom of the third inning at the All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas last Tuesday, and he labored through a rough outing in Denver on Saturday.

Thursday, Webb made his biggest start of the season in a rivalry game that could very well determine the fate of the team. He got off to a good start, as he walked Shohei Ohtani to start the bottom of the first, but retired the side in order afterwards.

Kershaw pitched a scoreless top of the second, and the Dodgers struck first in the bottom of the second. Gavin Lux walked to lead off the inning and advanced to second base on a ground out by Jason Heyward. With one out, Kiké Hernandez singled the other way to right to knock in Lux.

The Dodgers were preparing to do more, as Austin Barnes singled to right to put runners at first and second with one out. However, Webb settled down and retired the next two hitters to end the inning.

The Giants would then strike in the top of the third. Jorge Soler lined a base-hit to left to lead off the inning, and the suddenly-red-hot Tyler Fitzgerland lined a triple into the corner down the left field line to tie the game. Ramos hit a bullet off Kershaw, which reflected over to second base for a base-hit, and Fitzgerald scored to give the Giants the lead.

Matt Chapman lined a base-hit to center to move Ramos over to second. The Giants were looking to do more, but that was of course too much to ask from them, and Kershaw retired the next three to end the inning.

Webb pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the third, and Kershaw threw a scoreless top of the fourth. The Dodgers retook the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kiké Hernandez doubled in Gavin Lux, who walked to start the inning, and Austin Barnes singled in Hernandez.

Shohei Ohtani doubled Hernandez over to third, and Teoscar Hernandez walked, but Freddie Freeman popped out to third to end the inning. Being unable to add on had become an interesting theme in this game.

Joe Kelly came in for Kershaw in the top of the fifth, because Dave Roberts—or whatever nerd is managing the game in the Dodgers’ front office—obviously wasn’t going to stretch Kershaw in his first start back. Kershaw threw 72 pitches in his four innings Thursday.

The Giants wasted a shot against Kelly in the top of the fifth, and the Dodgers made them pay for it in the bottom of the inning. Andy Pages and Gavin Lux each singled to put runners at the corners with one out, and Pages scored when Jason Heyward grounded into a double play to make it 4-2.

Of course, Heyward did not get an RBI, as a player cannot get credited with an RBI if they ground into a double play. As for Webb, he was done after five, and it was another rough outing for him, as he gave up four runs and nine hits.

Daniel Hudson came in for Los Angeles and threw a scoreless top of the sixth. The Dodgers threatened to blow it open when they loaded the bases against Sean Hjelle with one out in the bottom of the sixth. For Hjelle, he was able to get Andy Pages to ground into a double play, and it remained 4-2 going to the late innings.

Evan Phillips threw a 1-2-3 top of the seventh inning, and Luke Jackson struck out the side in a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh.

The Giants showed that they still had some fight in them in the top of the eighth. David Villar doubled off left-hander Alex Vesia to start the inning, but Brett Wisely and Mike Yastrzemski both struck out. Michael Conforto hit a double off the bottom of the wall out in right-center to make it 4-3, and Roberts brought in Blake Treinen.

Jorge Soler came up, and he lined a base-hit to left to knock in Conforto and tie the game. The Giants indeed still had some fight in them, and they even had a chance to retake the league after Soler stole second. Though the Giants scored two runs to tie it, it was still too much of an ask for even the red-hot Fitzgerald to give them the lead, as he struck out to end the inning.

Submariner Tyler Rogers came in for the bottom of the eighth, and with one out, former Giant Nick Ahmed came to the plate. Ahmed and Ohtani may have put the dagger in the heart of the Giants’ season with back-to-back home runs to put the Dodgers back ahead 6-4. Brent Honeywell then threw a scoreless top of the ninth.

Blake Treinen got the win; Tyler Rogers took the loss; and Brent Honeywell picked up his first-career save.

The Giants end up going 2-5 on the road trip, as they fall back down to six games under .500 at 49-55, and they are now five and a half games back of the San Diego Padres for that third wild card spot in the National League.

The Giants end up going 4-9 against the Dodgers this season, and 1-6 at Dodger Stadium.

The Giants have the talent, and they’ve shown their potential at various times throughout the season. However, with the 2-5 start to the second half; the fact that they are now five and a half games back of the nearest playoff spot; and the frustration clearly mounting with the team, it is very possible that Farhan Zaidi could decide to sell at the Trade Deadline next Tuesday.

The one thing the Giants have going for them is that they are going to have the easiest schedule in Baseball over the next month. That will start when the Giants return home to face the Colorado Rockies in the first game of a four-game series Friday night.

Friday’s game will be a matchup of two left-handed Kyles. Kyle Harrison (5-4, 3.86 ERA) will make the start for the Giants, and Kyle Freeland (2-3, 5.63 ERA) will take the ball for Colorado. First pitch will be at 7:15 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

The Giants signed Derek Hill, who was activated Wednesday. He got the start in left-field today and went 0-for-2.

Some interesting facts about Hill, who comes from a baseball family. His father, Orsinom, was a scout for the Dodgers, the Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks. His cousin is Darryl Strawberry, and he was teammates with J.D. Davis and Rowdy Tellez at Elk Grove High School.

With Hill and Robbie Ray’s addition to the roster Wednesday, Luis Matos and Randy Rodriguez were sent back to Triple-A Sacramento.

According to Alex Pavlovic, the Giants’ beat writer for NBC Sports Bay Area, Jordan Hicks, who got off to a great start in April and May, after he was brought over by Farhan Zaidi and converted from a reliever into a starter but has struggled as of late, could be heading back to the bullpen.

Hicks was originally expected to start Sunday, but after saying his body felt “worn down,” he could be moved to the bullpen as early as this weekend.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Ray takes no hitter into fifth in Giants 8-3 win over Dodgers

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray makes first season appearance on Wed Jul 23, 2024 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray looked like he never missed a step throwing five innings of no hit ball against the Mighty Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine for a 8-3 win. Ray had been recovering from Tommy John surgery and this was his first appearance of the season.

#2 The Giants Matt Chapman slugged his 14th home run of season helping the Giants in getting a five run win over the Dodgers in the third game of this four game series.

#3 Ray coming back from surgery after rehabbing was in the Giants plans to make his first appearance of the season in July but no one expected him to out baffle, keep the hitters off balance and help keep the Dodgers run count down.

#4 Ray after loading the bases in the first inning allowed just one bases loaded walk and no hit the Dodgers for his first five innings.

#5 The Giants will start RHP Logan Webb (7-8, ERA 3.59) and the Dodgers will start LHP Clayton Kershaw (0-0, ERA 0.00) Kershaw is making his first appearance of the 2024 season after having shoulder surgery. This game will conclude the four game series.

Join Michael Duca on the San Francisco Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Robbie Ray throws five no-hit innings in long-awaited Giants’ debut, and offense explodes late for much needed 8-3 win at Dodger Stadium

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

second from left San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray talks with Giants pitching coach Brian Price second from right in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wed Jul 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles, California

San Francisco Giants 8 (49-54)

Los Angeles Dodgers 3 (61-42)

Win: Robbie Ray (1-0)

Loss: Tyler Glasnow (8-6)

Time: 2:51

Attendance: 54,070

By Stephen Ruderman

Robbie Ray pitched five no-hit innings in his long-awaited Giants’ debut, and the Giants’ offense finally came to life and exploded in six-run top of the eighth inning enroute to a desperately-needed 8-3 over the Dodgers Wednesday night at Chavez Ravine.

There’s no sugar coating any of this. The Giants have been off to a horrendous start here in the second half. The offense has gone dead again, and they have dropped four of their first five.

The Giants were in need of a spark, and perhaps with left-hander Robbie Ray making his long-awaited Giants’ debut after signing with the team over the off-season, Wednesday night was the night they would get it.

The Dodgers also started a man tonight who was coming off the Injured List in Tyler Glasnow. Granted, he last pitched on July 5, and he’s been having himself a solid season, as he came into Wednesday night 8-5 with a 3.47 ERA. What his injury did was prevent him from pitching in his first all-star game.

Jorge Soler walked to lead off the game, and Matt Chapman drew a two-out walk three batters later. However, the Giants were unable to come though off Glasnow in the top of the first inning, as Michael Conforto struck out on a curveball in the dirt to end the inning.

We finally got to see Robbie Ray in the bottom of the first. Ray first came up with the Detroit Tigers in 2014, and then was traded over to the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he spent the next five and a half years.

Ray was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Toronto Blue Jays in the middle of the 60-game COVID-shortened sprint season of 2020. Ray had his best season with the Blue Jays in 2021, when he went 13-7 with a 2.84 ERA and struck out 248. Ray had another solid season with the Seattle Mariners in 2022, going 12-12 with a 3.71 ERA and 212 strikeouts.

Ray made his first start of last season on March 31, when he allowed five runs, three of them earned, to the Cleveland Guardians in three and a third innings. Ray ended up injuring himself, and had to have Tommy John surgery, which ended his season.

When the Giants signed him over the off-season, it was with the explicit understanding that he would not pitch until the middle of the season. The Giants had hoped to have him back sooner, but now was better than never.

Ray’s first inning back would be a long one. Shohei Ohtani flew out to deep left to begin the bottom of the first, but Ray hit Will Smith and then threw a wild pitch to Freddie Freeman, which moved Smith over to second base.

Freeman walked, and both runners advanced to second and third on another wild pitch by Ray. Just like Tuesday night, the Giants’ starting pitcher threw wild pitchers in the bottom of the first inning. Teoscar Hernandez was hit to load the bases, and Andy Pages walked to knock in a run. Ray then settled down and minimized the damage to one run.

Glasnow pitched a scoreless top of the second, and Ray a 1-2-3 bottom of the second. Brett Wisely singled and stole second to start the third, and Soler walked, but Heliot Ramos grounded into an inning-ending double play, as the Giants’ offense wasted another opportunity. Ray pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third, as he had settled down to retire eight-straight.

Matt Chapman led off the fourth with a home run just to the right of straight away center field to tie the game. Later in the inning, Tyler Fitzgerald, who had homered in five-straight games coming in, doubled. Mike Yastrzemski then grounded a base-hit up the middle into right-center to knock in Fitzgerald to give the Giants the lead. It was a much-needed RBI hit with runners in scoring position for the Giants.

Ray pitched two more 1-2-3 innings in the bottom of the fourth and fifth, and that would do it for him after five no-hit innings. His control was all over the place, when he gave up a run after walking two and hitting two, but he settled down to retire the final 14 men he faced, and he ended up striking out eight. With his pitch count at 86 in his first start in a year and a half, there was no way he was going any longer, but it was still a much-needed spark for the team.

Glasnow, meanwhile, threw a 1-2-3 top of the fifth to end his night. Anthony Banda came in for Los Angeles in the top of the sixth, and after striking out Chapman and Michael Conforto, he walked Fitzgerald and hit Yastrzemski. However, Curt Casali struck out swinging to end the inning.

Ryan Walker came in for the Giants and threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth, and Banda and Yohan Ramirez combined for a scoreless top of the seventh. Submariner Tyler Rogers came in and allowed a two-out double to Chris Taylor, who injured himself and had to leave the game. Rogers then got Kiké Hernández to fly out to end the inning, so no problem.

Ramirez was back out for the top of the eighth, and the Giants finally exploded. Chapman walked to start the inning; Conforto singled to right to put runners at the corners; and Fitzgerald walked to load the bases. Yastrzemski fisted a base-hit to right to score Chapman to make it 3-1, and Patrick Bailey pinch-hit for Casali and made it 4-1 with a base-hit to right.

The Giants were keeping the line moving, as Dave Roberts lifted Ramirez for veteran right-hander Joe Kelly. Brett Wisely flew out to left for the first out of the inning, and Soler knocked in Fitzgerald on a ground out to short to make it 5-1.

Kelly intentionally walked LaMonte Wade, which loaded the bases for Ramos. Ramos singled the other way to right to knock in a pair and open it up to 7-1. Matt Chapman knocked in Wade with a base-hit up the middle to make it 8-1, and the Giants’ offense had finally shown what they were capable of with a six-run top of the eighth.

Freddie Freeman doubled in Nick Ahmed—yes, that Nick Ahmed, who started the season with the Giants; was released; signed this very morning with the Dodgers; and made the start Wednesday night—off Erik Miller in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-2.

Ryan Yarbrough pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, and the Dodgers got to left-hander Taylor Rogers in the bottom of the ninth, but it was for moot, as the Giants won it 8-3.

Robbie Ray got the win in his first big league start in a year and a half, and Tyler Glasnow took the loss. The Giants improve to 49-54, and they are now four and a half games back of the St. Louis Cardinals, who have slipped into the third wild card spot. The Giants are also now 5-0 when they are a season-high six games under .500.

Anyway, the Giants can salvage a split on getaway day Wednesday. Giants’ ace Logan Webb (7-8, 3.59 ERA) will try to bounce back from his rough all-star game appearance and rocky start in Denver Saturday. Clayton Kershaw of all people will come off the IL Thursday to make his 2024 debut for the Dodgers. First pitch will be at 1:10 p.m.