Tag: Arizona Diamondbacks

San Francisco Giants starter Blake Snell leaves for the dugout after being removed in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu Sep 5, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 2 (79-62)

San Francisco Giants 3 (69-72)

Win: Ryan Walker (9-3)

Loss: Kevin Ginkel (7-3)

Time: 2:35

Attendance: 27,871

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Blake Snell only lasted one inning, but the Giants snapped their four-game skid with a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks on a walk-off double by Patrick Bailey, who knocked in all three runs for the Giants Thursday.

The Diamondbacks beat the Giants again tonight, 6-4, to take the first two games of this series, as Hayden Birdsong had another outing cut short due to his command, and Zac Gallen threw six no-hit innings to hand the Giants their fourth-straight loss.

Prior to the game, the Giants announced the six-year extension of Matt Chapman through 2030. It is a $151-million deal, in which Chapman will make $25 million a year, as well as a $1-million signing bonus. Chapman sang the praises of the Giants’ organization and the City of San Francisco. He also said that players have called him expressing a desire to come to the Giants.

With Chapman’s extension official, the focus turned to the team on the field. The Giants came into Thursday losers of four-straight games after dropping the first two games of this series. Thursday, they looked to avoid the sweep, and they had the right man on the mound for it in Blake Snell.

However, Snell would have to labor through a long top of the first inning. Geraldo Perdomo lined a base-hit to left field to lead off the game, and Corbin Carroll walked to put runners at first and second with nobody out.

Josh Bell then hit a ground ball to Tyler Fitzgerald, who fielded it while going to his right. Fitzgerald’s momentum was taking him towards third base, where he had a sure out, but he instead threw against his momentum to second. The throw sailed past the second-baseman Brett Wisely, which allowed everyone to move up an extra base, and Perdomo scored.

Snell finally got the first two outs, though he got some help from the boys in the Replay Center in New York on the first one. However, he then walked Eugenio Suarez to load the bases for Jake McCarthy.

Snell fell behind McCarthy 3-0, and then Snell came back to make it 3-2. McCarthy swung and missed at the payoff pitch for strike three, a fastball just off the outside corner, but it was dropped by catcher Patrick Bailey. Bailey couldn’t throw it to first in time; everyone was safe; and the Diamondbacks now led it 2-0.

Merrill Kelly, who had missed four months due to a strained right shoulder, took the ball for Arizona, and he threw a scoreless inning in the bottom of the first.

Bob Melvin decided to lift Snell after just one inning, as the latter had thrown 42 pitches. Landen Roupp was brought in, and he threw a pair of one, two, three innings in the second and third, as well as a scoreless inning in the top of the fourth.

Kelly threw two scoreless innings in the second and third, and then the Giants would mount a rally against him in the bottom of the fourth.

Michael Conforto lined a base-hit to right to start the bottom of the fourth, and Chapman doubled to left to put runners at second at third with no one out. However, LaMonte Wade and Tyler Fitzgerald both struck out swinging, and it looked like the Giants were going to waste another golden opportunity.

Patrick Bailey then came up, and he floated a Texas Leaguer to shallow left to knock in a pair and tie the game.

Arizona then rallied against Roupp in the top of the fifth and put runners at second and third with one out, as they looked to get their lead back. Roupp retired the next two men he faced, and he got out of it without any damage.

Roupp saved the Giants’ bullpen just as Spencer Bivens did last night. Roupp gave up just one hit over four shutout innings. He walked two and struck out five.

Kelly threw a four-pitch one, two, three inning in the bottom of the fifth, and the Giants wasted a leadoff double from Conforto in the top of the sixth. Kelly then threw another one, two, three inning in the bottom of the seventh to cap off a strong start. He gave up six hits, but he didn’t walk anybody, and he struck out eight.

Erik Miller threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the sixth for the Giants, and Tyler Rogers followed that up with a scoreless top of the seventh. Camilo Doval then ran into eighth-inning trouble for the second day in a row.

Christian Walker doubled to right-center to start the inning, as center-fielder Grant McCray was unable to come up with a great catch. Jorge Barrosa bunted Walker over to third, and Doval fell behind Eugenio Suarez 3-1. Doval then came back to strike Suarez out looking, and then Melvin went to his closer, Ryan Walker, who struck out Jake McCarthy to end the inning.

The Giants put runners on first and second with one out against Joe Mantiply in the bottom of the eighth. Heliot Ramos doubled, and then he committed a base-running gaffe, which thanks to a bad throw by Mantiply on a comebacker to the mound, allowed Conforto to reach first. Torey Lovullo brought in Kevin Ginkel, and Ginkel got out of the inning without any damage.

The game was still tied 2-2 going to the ninth. Melvin sent Walker back out for the top of the ninth, and Luis Guillorme drew a leadoff walk, the worst possible thing that could happen for Walker and the Giants. However, Walker then retired the side in order to give the Giants a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.

Ginkel was back out for Arizona in the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Fizgerald led off the inning with a base-hit to center, and he stole second with Bailey at the plate.

Bailey, who knocked in the first two runs for the Giants with a Texas Leaguer in the bottom of the fourth, came through again, as he hit a ground-rule double to left-center to win it for the Giants. It was the Giants’ league-leading 11th walk-off win of the year.

Ryan Walker was rewarded with the win for his clutch late-inning performance. Kevin Ginkel took the loss for the Diamondbacks.

On Aug. 31, 2018, the Giants shut out the Mets 7-0 to improve to 68-68. The Giants then lost 11-straight games before finally winning their 69th game. It was the beginning of a brutal 5-21 finish to the 2018 Season for the Giants that cost then-General Manager Bobby Evans his job.

Fast forward six years later with Farhan Zaidi facing uncertainty over his future. The Giants beat the Miami Marlins 3-1 on Aug. 30 to improve to 68-68. The Giants then only lost four-straight to get that elusive 69th win.

During Matt Chapman’s press conference, Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi was asked about his future with the team. Zaidi declined to answer the question, and he deferred the topic of conversation back to that of Chapman’s extension.

Despite being signed to a contract extension through 2026, there has been speculation that Zaidi’s job could be in danger. Alex Pavlovic, the Giants Beat Writer for NBC Sports Bay Area, hinted on July 25 that people in the Giants’ front office needed them to make the playoffs this season.

With the fact that this season has not panned out like everyone had hoped, and that the Giants are wrapping up their third-straight season of mediocracy, Zaidi’s fate could come into the spotlight over the final three and a half weeks of the season.

The Giants improve to 69-72, and they will head down the coast to San Diego Friday for a three-game series against another powerful team in the Padres. The pitching matchup has yet to be decided. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m PT.

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen was dealing against the San Francisco Giants here he is pitching to Michael Conforto in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Sep 4, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Zac Gallen led the way for the Arizona Diamondbacks bringing a no hitter into the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants and after Gallen was lifted the Giants finally were able to get a hit.

#2 Gallen improved his record to 11-6 after pitching six innings, walking four and striking out eight batters. Michael no doubt about it he had a good mix of pitches working for him?

#3 The Diamondbacks got home run help from Eugenio Suárez and Pavin Smith and cut the lead on the NL West first place Los Angeles Dodgers trailing the Dodgers by five games.

#4 LeMonte Wade carried the load for San Francisco on Wednesday night with a home run and four RBIs but the Giants fell two runs short.

#5 The Giants are dueling with the Diamondbacks as we speak right now Arizona starter RHP Merrill Kelly (4-0, ERA 4.30) is matched up against Giants LHP Blake Snell (2-3, 3.56) first pitch at 12:45pm PT at Oracle Park.

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen shown throwing against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Sep 4, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 6 (79-61)

San Francisco Giants 4 (68-72)

Win: Zac Gallen (11-6)

Loss: Hayden Birdsong (3-5)

Time: 2:42

Attendance: 22,855

By Stephen Ruderman

The Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants again Wednesday night, 6-4, to take the first two games of this series, as Hayden Birdsong had another outing cut short due to his command, and Zac Gallen threw six no-hit innings to hand the Giants their fourth-straight loss.

After losing two of three to the Marlins of all teams at home, the Giants dropped their third-straight game in a wild and somewhat-emotional 8-7 loss to the Diamondbacks in the series opener Tuesday night. The Giants would look for Hayden Birdsong to turn the page on a brutal August.

Birdsong got off to a great start for the Giants after getting called up at the end of June, and his strong July earned him a spot on MLB.com’s top 100 prospect list. However, things were completely different for the young right-hander August.

Birdsong was lit up by the Washington Nationals for seven runs over just two innings in our nation’s capital on Aug. 6, and he got hammered for five more runs by the Detroit Tigers in his next start on Aug. 11. Birdsong went 0-4 with an 8.68 ERA in his five starts in August. What magnified his problems was that he struggled with his control as well.

Unfortunately, Birdsong’s control problems followed him into his first inning of September, as he walked the first two hitters of this game. Former Giant and D-Backs outfielder Joc Pederson struck out swinging for the first out, but Josh Bell grounded a base-hit into right-center field to knock in Geraldo Perdomo for the first run of the game.

Birdsong struggled again in the top of the second. Eugenio Suarez led off the inning with a home run to left field to make it 2-0. Birdsong then walked two more as the inning progressed, but he was able to escape without any further damage.

Diamondbacks’ starter Zac Gallen started his night with a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the first, but he ran into some trouble after he issued three-straight two-out walks to load the bases in the bottom of the second. However, with the Giants being the Giants, Curt Casali struck out after a lengthy eight-pitch at-bat to end the inning.

Birdsong pitched his first and only scoreless inning of the night in the top of the third, but it didn’t come without its drama. He was done after just three innings, as he walked five and threw 77 pitches.

Spencer Bivens picked up the fort and gave the Giants four innings. Pavin Smith hit a home run in the top of the fifth to make it, and The Diamondbacks manufactured a run in the top of the seventh to make it 4-0.

Meanwhile, Gallen retired ten straight, starting with his strikeout of Casali to end the bottom of the second. Mike Yastrzemski drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth to snap that streak, but Heliot Ramos grounded into a double play, and Michael Conforto struck out to end the inning.

Gallen also had a no-hitter going through six innings, and he had struck out eight. However, he threw 100 pitches, so Diamondbacks Manager Torey Lovullo opted to bring in Kevin Ginkel in the bottom of the seventh.

Earlier Wednesday night, Shota Imanaga, Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge combined to no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Diamondbacks were now nine outs away from throwing the second combined no-hitter of the night as this game went to the bottom of the seventh.

However, it would not come to be, as Tyler Fitzgerald grounded a base-hit up the middle for the Giants’ first hit to lead off the bottom of the seventh. LaMonte Wade then hit a home run to the water in right for splash hit number 104, and it was now 4-2.

The Giants were making a late comeback just as they did Tuesday night. The only question was whether they could complete it this time.

Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks got both runs back against Camilo Doval in the top of the eighth, and it was now 6-2. A.J. Puk then came in and threw a one, two three shutout inning in the bottom of the eighth.

Taylor Rogers, who finished the top of the eighth, came out to throw a scoreless inning in the top of the ninth. Luvollo then brought in Justin Martinez, who converted a four-out save Tuesday night, in a non-save situation in the bottom of the ninth.

Like Tuesday night, the Giants made a charge in the bottom of the ninth. Michael Conforto walked to lead off the inning, and Fitzgerald doubled to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Wade then grounded a base-hit to knock in a pair, and it was now 6-4. The tying run was now coming up to the plate in Luis Matos, but Martinez retired the side in order to close it out.

Zac Gallen got the win after his six no-hit innings, and Kyle Harrison took his fifth loss in his last six starts. Harrison’s last five decisions have all been loses.

The Giants fall to 68-72, and if anyone still cares, they are now eight and a half games back of the Braves for the third wild card with 22 games to go. Their tragic number is now 14.

The Giants can salvage a game in this series with a win on getaway day Thursday. The National League Pitcher of the Month for August, Blake Snell (2-3, 3.56 ERA), will make the start for the Giants. Merrill Kelly (4-0, 4.30 ERA), who recently came back after being out for four months, will take the ball for Arizona. First pitch will be at 12:45 p.m. PT.

After the game ended, the Giants and Matt Chapman agreed to a six-year $151-million extension. Chapman was scratched from the lineup Wednesday night, but his leadership and defense have been a big boost for the Giants this season.

San Francisco Giants starter Kyle Harrison leaves for the dugout after being lifted by Giants manager Bob Melvin in the top of the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Sep 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Arizona Diamondbacks 8 (78-61)

San Francisco Giants 7 (68-71)

Win: Ryne Nelson (10-6)

Loss: Kyle Harrison (7-7)

Save: Justin Martinez (8)

Time: 2:47

Attendance: 23,545

By Stephen Ruderman

The Diamondbacks torched Kyle Harrison for six runs in just two and two thirds innings and jumped out to a 7-1 lead, and even though the Giants made a late spirited comeback, Arizona ultimately held on to win a wild 8-7 series opener at Oracle Park on Tuesday night.

President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi had himself a solid off-season in which he signed Jung-hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler and Blake Snell. As a result, there was a lot of excitement surrounding the Giants at the beginning of the season. Expectations were high, and fans were showing up.

The Giants went through the usual ups and downs of the long 162-game grind. At three separate times this season, they looked like they were done only to get hot and play the kind of winning baseball we all have known they’re capable of.

However, things were never able to truly materialize. Now with the Giants now wrapping up their third-straight season of mediocrity, there was a very different vibe on the shores of McCovey Cove Tuesday night.

23,545 fans, the lowest crowd of the season, filled into Oracle Park to watch a Giants’ team six and a half games out of the third wild card spot with 24 games to go. There was a real sense that the patience of this fanbase had run out with the meritocracy of the last three years, and that feeling carried right into the game.

While the Giants were still barely hanging by a thread onto contention, everyone knew the reality that with the Diamondbacks in town, the Giants were really playing spoilers. They called up Marco Luciano and Luis Matos prior to the game, and it appears that the Giants have begun their transition to play-for-next-year mode.

Luciano would be at second base tonight. It was a new position for the Giants’ young phenom, who committed five errors in five games in his brief stint with the team in late May.

The Diamondbacks got to work right away against Giants’ starter Kyle Harrison in the top of the first inning. Geraldo Perdomo singled on a ground ball up the middle to start the game, and Corbin Carroll roped a double down the left field line.

I told ya the lack of vibes had carried over into the game. The Diamondbacks had runners at second and third with nobody out and had a chance for a crooked number right off the bat.

Josh Bell grounded out to short, which knocked in Perdomo to put Arizona on the board, but it was a big first out for Harrison. Harrison struck Christian Walker out for the second out, and he had a chance to limit the damage to just a run.

Harrison then got ahead of Randal Grichuk 1-2, but Grichuk fouled off four pitches with two strikes to work the count to 2-2. He then hit a home run to right-center field to give the Diamondbacks their crooked number.

Ryne Nelson took the ball for Arizona in the bottom of the first with an early 3-0 lead, but the Giants would have a response. Mike Yastrzemski drew a leadoff walk, and Tyler Fitzerald slashed a double off the end of his bat down the right field line to put runners at second and third with no one out. Sound familiar?

Like the Diamondbacks, the Giants got on the board via an out, as Heliot Ramos knocked in Yaz with a sacrifice fly to right. However, the Giants would not be able to add on.

Harrison hoped to settle down after his offense got him a run, but the Diamondbacks got that run right back in the top of the second. Nelson then threw a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the second, but Harrison wouldn’t be able to stay out of trouble.

Harrison set down the first men he faced, but the Diamondbacks were relentless, and they loaded the bases with two outs. That ended Harrison’s night after just two and two thirds innings.

Bob Melvin brought in Tristan Beck, and I’ll get the bad news out of the way. Kevin Newman came up, and he lined a base-hit up the middle to knick in a pair. The Diamondbacks had a 6-1 lead, and this was turning into an ugly night for the Giants.

The one shiny spot on the ugly start Tuesday night was the appearance of Beck. Beck was pitching just six months after having an aneurysm in his right arm that required surgery.

Beck was acquired from the Braves in the Mark Melancon Trade in 2019, and he had a solid rookie season when he finally made it to the big leagues last year. Beck was unable to pitch for most of this season, but he put in the hard work to find his way back to the Giants.

Beck threw three and a third innings, and he gave up a run in the top of the fifth. It was a big day for him, and he made clear after the game how thankful he was for the support following everything he went through this year.

Matt Chapman hit a line drive home run to left-center in the bottom of sixth to make it 7-2, but Nelson was dominant Tuesday night over six and two thirds. He gave up just two runs and four hits, and he struck out nine.

Despite the lows the Giants have suffered this season, they have never phoned it in. They have been a group of true fighters who have grinded out every out all season. Even at their lowest points, they never gave up. Tuesday night was no different.

Diamondbacks Manager Torrey Lovullo brought in Ryan Thompson for what was expected to be a quiet bottom of the eighth inning. However, the Giants had other plans with the top of the order up.

Yastrzemski led off the inning with a home run to left-center to make it 7-3, and the Giants put runners at first and second with two outs. Jerar Encarnacion and Patrick Bailey then knocked in runs with base-hits to cut the deficit to 7-5.

Lovullo brought in Justin Martinez to face Luciano. Luciano committed another error in his return to the big leagues tonight, but he had a chance for a big hit in the bottom of the eighth. On the first pitch, he took a slider right on the inside corner and fisted it the other way to right for a base-hit, and it was now 7-6 with the tying run just 90 feet away at third.

The Giants and the 23,545 fans at the ballpark tonight were making noise. Luis Matos came up, but he struck out on three pitches, and the Diamondbacks kept their lead going to the ninth.

Arizona would get a run back against Erik Miller in the top of the ninth to make it 8-6, but the Giants still kept it going against Martinez in the bottom of the ninth. Yastrzemski lined a base-hit to right to start the inning, and after Fitzgerald struck out for the first out, Heliot Ramos lined a double down the line in left to make it 8-7.

It was a one-run game again, and the Giants had the tying run in scoring position with one out. The Giants had a chance to once again pull off a big win and give themselves and their fans a faint glimmer of hope with their season all but done.

However, it was not meant to be. Chapman grounded out back to the mound, and after Lovullo elected to walk LaMonte Wade, Encarnacion struck out swinging to end the game.

Ryne Nelson picked up the win; Kyle Harrison took the loss; and Justin Martinez got his eighth save of the year. The Giants have now lost three-straight and fall to 68-71. They are now seven and a half games back of the Braves with 23 games to go, and their tragic number to be eliminated is 16.

Hayden Birdsong (3-4, 5.14 ERA) will try and bounce back after a rough August, and he will take the ball for the Giants in the second game of this series Wednesday night. Zac Gallen (10-6, 3.87 ERA) will make the start for the Diamondbacks. First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m PT.