San Francisco Giant Evan Longoria circles the bases after hitting a three run homer in the eighth inning to help defeat the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Sun May 29, 2022 (AP News photo)

Eighth Inning Surge Beats Reds 6-4

By Barbara Mason

It has been a tough start for the San Francisco Giants (25-21)on this most current road trip. Dropping two games in a row to the Cincinnati Reds (16-31) was a bit of a shocker to most. The Reds are simply not a good team: they are a club that the Giants should be able to handle.

The second game of this series was a tough loss for San Francisco with some curious decisions made in the ninth inning which may have cost them the game although they had numerous opportunities to come away with this contest. It was a team effort in this loss with 11 runners left stranded when all was said and done.

San Francisco took on the Reds in game three hoping to avoid the sweep. It was not looking good for the Giants until the eighth inning. The Reds again took the early lead in the second inning. Kyle Farmer scored off a Albert Almora Jr. single for the early 1-0 lead.

In the sixth inning the Reds extended their lead. Tyler Naquin doubled driving in Joey Votto for a 2-0 lead and this game was looking like more of the same.

The Giants broke this game wide open in the eighth inning. They saved the best for last. Tommy LaStella scored off a Pederson single followed by a home run by Evan Longoria driving in Wilmner Flores and Joc Pederson taking a 4-2 lead.

San Francisco was not finished: Luis Gonzalez would double driving in Thairo Estrada and Brandon Crawford for a 6-2 lead.

The Reds made some noise in the ninth inning when Albert Almora Jr. hit a home run and Farmer scored but that was it for the Reds and the Giants avoided the sweep. The Giants managed to win this game but again the Reds had more hits than San Francisco but the good new was that the Giants were back on the winning track.

Monday the Giants will take on the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Logan Webb (3-1, 3.54) will take the mound for San Francisco. For Philadelphia Kyle Gibson (3-2, 3.94) will get the nod. First Pitch is scheduled for 1:05 at Citizens Bank Ballpark.

The Cincinnati Reds Kyle Farmer (17) high fives teammate Tyler Stevenson after hitting a first inning three run home run at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Sat May 28, 2022 (AP News photo)

Giants Drop A Second Game to the Reds 3-2

By Barbara Mason

Saturday afternoon the San Francisco Giants (24-21) took on the Reds (16-30) in Cincinnati. After losing Friday’s game 5-1, the Giants were looking to bounce back against a team that quite frankly is not a very good one. They couldn’t pull it off losing by a run 3-2 at Great American Park in Cincinnati.

The Reds got on the board in the first inning when Kyle Farmer hit a home run driving in Brandon Drury and Tyler Stephenson for an early 3-0 lead.

The Giants loaded the bases in the second inning but came up empty. In the third inning Yastrzemski would score on a Joc Pederson double for their first run of the game.

San Francisco scored in the sixth inning when Evan Longoria hit a solo home run still trailing 3-2. The Giants had 12 hits to the Reds 5. They had many opportunities in this game but failed to capitalize. One of the most glaring downfalls for the team were the 11 runners on base that failed to score.

The most disappointing inning in this game was the ninth. Curt Casali singled and Yastrzemski walked. With two outs, Wilmer Flores singled and the Giants had the chance to load the bases yet again in this game. Pinch runner Joey Bart was waved home and thrown out at the plate and that was the ball game.

Right fielder Aristides Aquino made a magnificent throw to catcher Tyler Stephenson for the out and the win for Cincinnati in a surprising move by San Francisco.

Post game notes: Major League Baseball announced before Saturday’s game that the Reds outfielder Tommy Pham had been suspended three games Fri-Sun for slapping San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson in the face before Friday night’s game.

The slapping by Pham stemmed by a Fantasy Football League dispute in the off season. Pham took exception to what Pederson had wrote in explaining that he did not stash players while one of his players was on the IL.

Pham said that Pederson’s comments were disrespectful and there is a code to follow in Fantasy Football, “We had too much money on the line, so I look at it like there’s a code,” and that Pederson was “messing with my money.”

Pham who was with the San Diego Padres last season and Pederson who was with the Atlanta Braves showed a screen shot of what he sent to the Padres joking about the Padres struggle in the final months of the season.

Pham wrote to Pederson saying that Pederson did not know Pham that much to be joking about the Padres struggles like that. Pederson said he knew four or five of the guys on the Padres at the time and it was a joke and for laughs.

Pham however didn’t take it that way and confronted Pederson on Friday and slapped him in the face during batting practice. Pederson said it was a lighthearted joke he knew some of the guys over at the Padres and Pederson said he meant no harm.

But since the slap there might be some unspoken bad blood with Pederson’s teammates who didn’t appreciate Pham slapping their teammate before Friday’s game and they just might be waiting on Pham when the Reds come to San Francisco Jun 24-26 at Oracle Park.

Tomorrow the Giants will take on the Reds in game three of this series. They will try to avoid being swept in this final game. Alex Cobb (3-2, 6.25) will take the mound for San Francisco. For the Reds Tyler Mahle (2-5, 6.32) will get the nod. First pitch is 8:35 AM.

The Cincinnati Reds Tommy Pham (left) was taken out of the line up before Fri May 27, 2022 game at Great American Ball Park for slapping San Francisco Giants Joc Pederson (right) in the face during batting practice (file photos from TULANEFML)

By Daniel Dullum
Friday, May 27, 2022

All of the action in Cincinnati seemed to take place before the Reds hosted the San Francisco Giants on Friday.

After the game had been delayed for two hours due to inclement weather in the Cincinnati area, the lowly Reds eventually prevailed 5-1.

Joc Pederson, who was in the middle of a pregame dispute with Cincinnati’s Tommy Pham, drove in the only San Francisco run while going 1-for-3.

Giants starter Carlos Rodon (4-4) took his third straight loss, walking three and striking out two while giving up three earned runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Graham Ashcraft (1-0) got the win, while Art Warren earned his third save.

Off the field, Pederson got into a pregame disagreement with Pham, leaving Pham as a pregame scratch from the Cincinnati lineup. Pederson, meanwhile, remained in the Giants’ lineup.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that during pregame batting practice, Pham got into an argument with Pederson. The incident ran its course quickly, and Cincinnati manager David Bell stayed in the outfield to speak with Pham after both teams resumed their warmup activities.

Reportedly, according to The Athletic, Pham slapped Pederson over a disagreement involving their fantasy football league. Pham claims that Pederson was the instigator. The two players have never been teammates.

MLB is investigating the incident.

Before the game, Giants manager Gabe Kapler released a statement explaining his decision to discontinue participating on the field for the playing of the national anthem in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that claimed 21 lives.

Kapler said, in part, that he would only start coming out for the Star-Spangled Banner if he “felt better about the direction of our country.” He also criticized “police officers who had weapons and who receive nearly 40 percent of the city’s funding” for failing to stop the shooter for an hour after parents asked the police to intervene.

Kapler also criticized politicians for their suggestion that ‘locked doors and armed teachers’ would provide a solution. In his online blog, Kapler wrote, ‘Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I’m participating in a self-congratulatory glorification of the ONLY country where these mass shootings take place.

“On Wednesday, I walked out onto the field, I listened to the announcement as we honored the victims in Uvalde,” Kapler continued. “I bowed my head. I stood for the national anthem. My brain said drop to a knee, my body didn’t listen. I wanted to walk back inside; instead, I froze. I felt like a coward.”

Adding to the strangeness of the day, the Giants tried to bring in pitcher Jake McGee, who had just been activated from the injured list. But McGee wasn’t on the lineup card given to the Reds and the umpires. So, McGee wasn’t allowed to pitch, and Jose Alvarez came in to pitch instead, giving up two more runs.

Because of the nearly two-hour rain delay, the Reds held a pregame fireworks show to honor local noise ordinances.

On Saturday, Alex Wood (3-3, 4.82) starts for the Giants, while Vladimir Gutierrez (0-6, 8.70) is on the mound for Cincinnati. Game time is 12:10 PDT.

The San Francisco Giants Kevin Duggar goes yard for a grand slam in the top of the third inning at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati against the Cincinnati Reds Thu May 20, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

The San Francisco Giants wrapped up a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Thursday in blowout fashion — with a 19-4 victory that was the best offensive showing in MLB so far this season.

Steven Duggar hit a 427-foot grand slam, the first of his career, in the third inning. Brandon Crawford hit his 11th, the most within the team, and drove in six runs. Darin Ruf hit a two-run homer also in the third inning. The Giants lead 10-1 by the end of the third.

In the seventh inning, Evan Longoria had a two-run shot and San Francisco was up 18-2.

“It was just a contagious day today,” Duggar said. “It was a good day to be at the plate, for sure.”

The Reds scored two runs in the eighth inning but the Giants had a final run in the ninth and sealed the victory at 19-4.

“You don’t expect a 19-run outburst like this. It happens once once in a blue moon, but I do think it’s an indication that we’re having quality at-bats,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said.

He added of Duggar’s longest homer in his career: “He had a pretty magnetic smile as he came into the dugout.”

It was San Francisco’s first four-game sweep in Cincinnati since 1983 as well as their first sweep of the Reds since 1990.

The Giants finished the East Coast road trip with six wins in eight games against the Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. They improved to 28-16, the best record in the league, and strengthen their spot at the top of the NL West.

Kapler was very pleased but made clear the team is far from being comfortable.

“We’re staying humble and we’re staying hungry, because we’ve got a long way to go,” Kapler said. “We’re not going to ever be disappointed with a 6-2 road trip to the East Coast, it’s very encouraging, but we know that we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

But as it stands, the Giants are in exactly the position they want to be in ahead of their biggest series of the year.

San Francisco hosts the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park on Friday for the first of a three-game series. It is the first meeting of the season between the rivals. First pitch is at 6:45 p.m.

—