Headline Sports podcast Jessica Kwong: Marlins 8 game win streak need one more win for club record; Bucs Davis gets gamer to beat Cards 1-0; plus more news

Miami Marlins Kyle Stowers circles the bags and praises the good Lord after hitting a solo home run in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins on Tue Jul 1, 2025 at LoanDepot Park in Miami (AP News photo)

Headline Sports podcast Jessica Kwong:

#1 The Miami Marlins continued their winning streak on Tuesday night with a 2-0 shutout win over the Minnesota Twins. The Marlins picked up their eighth straight win and are on win away from the club record set in 2008 of nine straight wins.

#2 Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis knocked in the game’s only run on Tuesday night to defeat the St Louis Cardinals 1-0 and also defeated the Cardinals 5-0 on Wednesday night. Pirates starter Paul Skenes has not had a winning decision in six starts. Just the same Skenes and the Pirates will take the win.

#3 Cardinals have scratched first baseman Wilson Contreras and third baseman Nolan Areando from Wednesday’s game versus the Pirates. Contreras injured his left hand and is suffering a contusion when he got hit by Pirates starter Paul Skenes. Arenado was injured with jammed right middle finger and has missed two games in a row. Cards manager Oilver Marmol said he’s hopeful that Contreras and Areanado will be able to return on Friday.

#4 Former San Francisco Giant outfielder and Texas Ranger Kevin Pillar announced his retirement from MLB on the “Foul Territory” show. Pillar also spent the first of his seven years with the Toronto Blue Jays and last played with the Texas Rangers and was released back in late May.

#5 Houston Astro Yordan Alvarez is on the IL with a hand injury the right hand was broken on Tuesday and Alvarez is seeing a specialist to try to resolve the issue. Alvarez sat for two month and started working out in June and took swings at the Astros complex last Monday. Alvarez said he was suffering pain on Wednesday. Alvarez is hitting .210, 3 home runs, 18 RBIs, 21 hits.

Jessica Kwong does Headline Sports every other Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast Michael Villanueva: Giants best chance are against dead last White Sox

San Francisco Giants starter Landen Roupp gets the call against the Chicago White Sox on Fri Jun 27, 2025 to open a three game series at Rate Field in the Southside of Chicago (AP News file photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Michael Villanueva:

#1 Kyle Stowers and Agustin Ramirez both hit home runs as the Miami Marlins came back from behind to beat the San Francisco Giants on Thursday afternoon at Oracle Park in San Francisco 12-5 to sweep the Giants.

#2 Xavier Edwards hit for a two run double adding to the run total for the Marlins it’s their fourth straight win and they have now won five of six games and have won six straight wins on the road. The Marlins played with confidence and are using the small ball to beat teams on the road.

#3 The Giants Rafael Devers has found his groove despite the loss with three hits including a home run, a double. The home run was Devers 17th of the year and the second homer in nine games since he joined the Giants since last week.

#4 The Giants are in a bad slide, they got swept by the Marlins and have lost eight of their last 11 games.

#5 Giants open up a three game series with the Chicago White Sox Friday. For the Giants RHP Landen Roupp (5-5 ERA 3.67) opposes the White Sox RHP Aaron Civale (1-4 ERA 5.03) first pitch 4:40pm PDT.

Join Michael Villanueva for the Giants podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A wild buzzkill ends with Marlins’ 12-5 win and sweep of Giants at Oracle Park

San Francisco Giant Brett Wisely takes off after hitting a two run double in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Thu Jun 26, 2025 (AP News photo)

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Miami Marlins 12 (34-45)

San Francisco Giants 5 (44-37)

Win: Josh Simpson (1-0)

Loss: Hayden Birdsong (3-2)

Time: 2:48

Attendance: 33,804

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Thursday’s game was both a wild one and an absolute buzzkill, as tempers flared, and the Giants came back from down 5-0 to tie the game, but at the end, the Marlins smoked the Giants 12-5 to complete the three-game sweep at Oracle Park.

The Giants’ offense appeared to finally be back on track after their epic 9-5 win over the Red Sox on Sunday. However, the offense went stagnant again in the first two games of this three-game series against the Marlins. The Giants dropped both games against a young team that they should have beaten, and Friday, they faced the potential embarrassment of being swept by that team.

Hayden Birdsong got off to a great start after being added to the Giants’ rotation last month, but he was hit around by the Red Sox in his last start last Friday. Thursday, Birdsong would take the ball and hope to help the Giants avoid an embarrassing sweep. 

Some housecleaning notes. Three Giants were hit Wednesday night, and the last one hit Casey Schmitt on his left hand. Schmitt was in obvious pain and unable to play Thursday. The Giants were understandably sore about it. Birdsong retired the first two men he faced, but decided to hit Otto Lopez.

It was obvious what the intent was. Home Plate Umpire and Crew Chief Alfonso Marquez gathered his crew together, as has been the procedure for issuing warnings since 2020, and Marquez put out warnings. Predictably, Marlins Manager Clayton McCullogh came out to argue, and was promptly tossed.

The Giants wanted to send a message, but it would completely backfire. Agustin Ramirez lined a double down the right field line to put runners at second and third, and Kyle Stowers hit an absolute bomb more than half-way up the bleachers in right-center field.

I don’t know if I have ever seen a home run hit that deep to that part of this ballpark. Once thing was for sure though: the wind was blowing out, and the ball was certainly jumping today. Stowers’ blast would not be the last bomb hit Thursday.

Janson Junk took the ball for the Marlins, and with a name like that, you’d expect him to be a finesse guy who throws literal junk. Unfortunately, they’re really clamping down on that these days, and Junk is actually a fire-baller, whose fastball generally tops out at 96 miles per hour. Buzzkill!!! 

That was just the first buzzkill of the day. The Giants went down scoreless against Junk in the first two innings. Agustin Ramirez then hit a mammoth blast to the back of the bleachers in left in the top of the third to give the Marlins a 5-0 lead.

If you think about it, it seems like whenever the Giants trail 5-0 at home, they tend to come back. Especially if they’re on a losing streak, or on the verge of getting swept. 

The Giants came back from down 5-0 to beat the Reds on April 9 to avert a sweep. They then came back from down 5-0 to beat the Padres on the fourth of this very month when they were on the verge of being just four games over .500. 

With the Giants in danger of being swept by the Marlins and trailing 5-0 going to the bottom of the third, did the Giants have another comeback in them?

Well, Andrew Knizner led off the bottom of the third with a little fist job to right. Mike Yastrzemski struck out looking, but Rafael Devers put the Giants on the board with a home run to right-center, his second as a Giant, and it was 5-2.

Birdsong threw his first and only one two three inning of the day in the top of the fourth, and the Giants were ready to get to work in the bottom of the fourth. Jung Hoo Lee led off the inning with a triple, and Willy Adames got him in with a base-hit to make it 5-3. 

Christian Koss doubled to right to put runners at second and third. Up came Brett Wisely, who hit a double off the wall in right, and just like that, the game was tied.

The Giants were playing good fundamental baseball, but they had to be buzzkills. Koss was standing at second with nobody out, but the Giants were unable to get him in and take the lead.

Birdsong walked Jesus Sanchez and Otto Lopez to start the fifth, and he was done. Spencer Bivens came in and struck out the next two, and it looked like he would get out of the inning with the momentum still on the Giants’ side.

Unfortunately, Eric Wagaman doubled into the gap in left-center, and both runners scored to put the Marlins back ahead. Connor Norby followed that up with a base-hit to left to knock in Wagaman, and the Marlins bounced right back with a three-spot to take an 8-5 lead.

Though there was an entertaining end to the top of the fifth. Dane Meyers struck out swinging, and then he snapped his bat in half over his leg and slammed the handle of his bat and his helmet to the ground. To say the least, the crowd of 33,804 here at Oracle Park did not like it, and they let Mr. Meyers know it. Me? I found it entertaining.

The Giants’ offense of course went stagnant the rest of the way. The only drama was when Wilmer Flores got into it with Marlins’ pitcher Cade Gibson after he struck Wilmer out to end the bottom of the seventh. The benches cleared, and nobody was tossed, but Gibson must have done or said something that set Wilmer off.

A small little skirmish like that can fire up a team. Unfortunately, that team was the Marlins, who tagged Sean Hjelle for four runs in the top of the eighth to turn this game into a laugher. 

The Marlins went on to win 12-5, and the Giants suffered the greatest buzzkill of the day: being swept at home by the Marlins. I am not knocking on the Marlins, but this was a series the Giants had to take at least two out of three in, and getting swept by a team like the Marlins is never good.

Josh Simpson finished off the bottom of the fourth for the Marlins. Simpson only faced two guys, but since the Marlins scored three runs in the top of the fifth to take a lead that they would hold the rest of the game, the kid got his first big league win. Hayden Birdsong took the loss.

The Giants fall to 44-37, and they are now six and a half games back of the Dodgers in the National League West. Believe it or not, today was game number 81 for the Giants, which means they are exactly half-way through their regular season schedule.

However, the first half doesn’t officially end until the All-Star Break. That means the Giants have 97 games in the first half, and will have just 65 games in the second half. That’s how this works, folks!

I really jinxed it when I said on Sunday that the Giants playing the Marlins and White Sox was a treat. Now, the Giants really need to take at least two out of three when they go to the South Side of Chicago to take on the White Sox this weekend.

Friday’s game at Rate Field will also be the opener of a 10-game, three-city road trip. It will be three in Chicago, followed by four in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, and three against the A’s in Sacramento.

Another problem the Giants have is that their bullpen was taxed in this series against the Marlins, and today was just day three of 16-straight days of games. In fact, the Giants only have one day off between now and the All-Star Break. Dave Flemming hinted on Thursday’s radio broadcast on KNBR that the Giants may have to make some roster moves as a result.

Landen Roupp (5-5, 3.67 ERA) will take the ball in the series opener at Rate Field Friday night. Aaron Civale (1-4, 5.03 ERA) will take the ball for the South Siders.

First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m. in Chicago, 4:40 p.m in San Francisco.

Giants News and Notes:

  • There is no official word, but rumor has it that the x-rays on Casey Schmitt’s left hand were negative. A little piece of good news for the Giants on this rough afternoon, as Schmitt has been one of their hottest hitters as of late.

San Francisco Giants podcast Stephen Ruderman: Marlins rally for four runs in 10th to defeat Giants 8-5; Miami can sweep in Thursday matinee at Oracle Park

San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb rubs up the baseball in the top of the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 25, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Stephen, tough finish for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night bowing to the Miami Marlins in extra innings 8-5. It was San Francisco’s fourth loss in extra innings this season.

#2 The Giants have been involved in a number of one run games this season. In this one the 49 runs in the ninth inning or later is tied for fifth most in MLB.

#3 The Giants are getting assists from the outfield the were able to cut down the Miami run game it was San Francisco’s 17th assist from the outfield which ranks them third in the Majors. It’s the first time since May 11, 2024 against Cincinnati that the Giants had three outfield assists.

#4 The flood gates were opened up when closer Camilo Doval came in for relief in the top of the tenth inning allowing four runs and the Marlins surpassed the Giants 4-4 score for a 8-5 three run win. Doval took the loss and the blown save and is now 3-2, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing two hits, four runs, two walks, and no strikeouts.

#5 The Giants who have lost the first two games of the series will try to get at least a win before the Marlins leave town. The Marlins on Thursday afternoon will start RHP Janson Junk (2-0 ERA 2.60) he’ll be opposed by the Giants RHP Hayden Birdsong (3-1 ERA 3.25) first pitch 12:45pm PDT.

Stephen Ruderman is filling in for Morris Phillips for the Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Marlins score four in 10th after spirited Giants’ comeback for 8-5 win

San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin (left in black jacket) relieves closer Camilo Doval (right) in the top of the tenth against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Jun 25, 2025 (photo by Jay Choi-SF Bay News)

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Oracle Park

San Francisco, California

Miami Marlins 8 (33-45)

San Francisco Giants 5 (44-36)

Win: Calvin Faucher (3-2)

Loss: Camilo Doval (3-2)

Time: 2:57

Attendance: 31,712

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–Despite a spirited comeback by the Giants in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, the Marlins scored four runs off Camilo Doval in the top of the tenth to win it by a final of 8-5 on Wednesday night at Oracle Park.

The Giants were riding high coming off a big 9-5 win on Sunday when their offense finally woke up and played good fundamental baseball. They would then get a treat on the schedule, as they would host the Miami Marlins for three. However, after a day off on Monday, the Giants’ offense went cold again last night, and the Marlins grinded their way to a 4-2 win in the series opener.

That meant that Logan Webb once again had to be the stopper, and he and the Giants would get off to a good start Wednesday night. Webb got his night started with a one, two, three, top of the first inning. Mike Yastrzemski then led off the bottom of the first against Marlins’ starter Edward Cabrera, and tucked a home run just fair down the right field line.

Webb worked his way out of a jam in the top of the second, and then settled back down for a one, two, three, top of the third. However, Webb would find himself in trouble again in the top of the fourth.

Agustin Ramirez led off the top of the fourth with a base-hit to center-field. With one out, Kyle Stowers worked out a great at-bat and lined a double to right to put runners at second and third. Up came Otto Lopez, who doubled in both runs to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead.

Cabrera pitched through the second, third and fourth, but the Giants would mount a rally in the bottom of the fifth. Jung Hoo Lee walked to lead off the inning, and Willy Adames singled him over to second. Bob Melvin put on the bunt for Patrick Bailey, who sacrificed the runners over to second and third. Christian Koss came up, and he tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center.

Webb survived a two-out jam in the top of the sixth, and that ended his night. Webb went six innings, and gave up two runs and six hits. He walked three, and struck out six. However, as has been the case throughout Webb’s career, he’s a Matt Cain clone with a sinker, so that meant that he got very little run support.

Cabrera went five and a third innings for the Marlins. Like Webb, Cabrera walked three, and struck out six.

Randy Rodriguez threw a scoreless top of the seventh, and then Melvin turned to his reliable setup man, Tyler Rogers, in the top of the eighth. Unfortunately, this would be a rare off-night for Rogers.

Ramirez led off the top of the eighth with a base-hit, and Liam Hicks doubled him over to third. Rogers gained a bit of momentum when he struck Stowers out on three pitches and got Lopez to pop out.

Rogers was an out away from getting out of it unscathed with the game still tied. Up came Heriberto Hernandez, and he lined a base-hit to left-center field, which scored a pair to put the Marlins back ahead 4-2.

After going down one, two, three, in the bottom of the eighth, the Giants were up against Marlins’ closer Calvin Faucher in the bottom of the ninth. Dominic Smith led off the inning for the Giants, and he immediately fell behind 0-2. However, after taking a curveball in the dirt, he was hit on the foot by another curve.

Casey Schmitt was also hit, but he took a fastball to his left hand. Schmitt slammed his bat to the ground with his right hand, and was in obvious pain. Schmitt was the third Giant hit by a pitch tonight, but he truly took one for the team.

The Giants had runners at first and second with nobody out, and despite the pain Schmitt felt in his left hand, the Giants had the momentum. Lee then walked, and the bases were loaded for Adames.

Adames hit a high drive deep to left field that he thought was going to go out for a walk-off grand slam. Adames was watching his shot and preparing to celebrate, but he ended up flying out to the wall. Not the end of the world, though. Smith scored to make it 4-3, and the back runners moved up to second and third.

Up came Patrick Bailey, and he lined a base-hit off the end of the bat to left. Schmitt scored to tie the game, but despite the fact that the Marlins were playing their outfield in, Giants Third Base Coach Matt Williams sent Lee home. The throw from left-fielder Kyle Stowers was off-line, but catcher Nick Fortes had plenty of time to regroup and apply the tag to get Lee at the plate.

It was the second night in a row that Matt Williams made a questionable send, but this one made absolutely no sense. The game was tied, and Bailey was able to get into scoring position at second. However, Koss hit a bullet right into the glove of third-baseman Connor Norby, and we were headed for some Manfredball (ghost runners).

Camilo Doval came in for the tenth, and Fortes was the Manfred runner at second. Liam Hicks led off the inning and fell behind 0-2, but he turned the 0-2 count into a walk, and from there, things fell apart for the Giants.

Stowers flew out, which moved Fortes over to third, and Lopez lined a base-hit to center, which gave the Marlins a 5-4 lead. Miami wasn’t done. Hernandez doubled to left-center to knock in a pair, and advanced to third when the Giants tried to cut down Lopez at the plate. Norby got Hernandez in with a sacrifice fly, just like that, the Marlins had put up a big fat four-spot.

Tyler Phillips came in for the bottom of the 10th. Koss was the Giants’ ghost runner, and Heliot Ramos got him in on a base-hit to right with two outs. However, that would be it, and the Marlins won it 8-5.

Despite giving up two runs and blowing the save in the bottom of the ninth, Calvin Faucher got the win. Camilo Doval was tagged with the loss.

The Giants fall to 44-36, and they have now lost the first two games of a series to a team they should have beaten. Thursday afternoon, the Giants risk the embarrassment of being swept by a team that was swept by the Rockies just three weeks ago.

The Giants will turn to Hayden Birdsong (3-1, 3.25 ERA) as they look to avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon. Janson Junk (2-0, 2.60 ERA) will go for Miami.

First pitch will be at 12:45 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

After getting hit, Casey Schmitt kept nursing his left hand while he was standing at third base in the top of the tenth, and while he was in the dugout in the bottom of the tenth.

Schmitt’s condition is not yet known, but I imagine the Giants will have his hand x-rayed.

Giants can’t overcome Verlander’s early-game struggles, fall 4-2 to Marlins

SAN FRANCISCO – Justin Verlander was hopeful for his first win as a Giant, just coming off the paternity list on Tuesday night, but the San Francisco Giants offense couldn’t support his early-game struggles.

The last time the Giants faced Marlins starter Cal Quantrill (3-7, 5.56), they went 8-for-22, mashing two doubles, a triple, and a homerun off him at LoanDepot Park on May 30. In the series opener against Miami, the Giants offense only managed to score two runs, after exploding for nine runs on Sunday against the Boston Red Sox.

The orange and black came into Tuesday with a 44-34 record, 3.5 games behind the Dodgers in the National League West. Riding high off a series win over the Red Sox, the Giants dropped another game in the standings.

Verlander just returned from the paternity list on Tuesday after welcoming a baby boy to the world, Bellamy Brooks Verlander. In just his second start in the last month, it was the same old story–hard contact against the future Hall-of-Famer.

Although pitching well enough to keep the Giants in the game, Verlander has fallen to an 0-5 start through his first 12 starts, joining Ross Stripling (2023) and Slick Castleman (1936) as the only Giants pitchers to not win any of his first 11 or more starts of a season. 

It was a quick start for Verlander and the Giants defense in the top of the first inning as the Marlins went down in order. Giants second baseman Christian Koss made quite the play to end the inning, sliding into shallow center field with his back to the infield to rob Otto Lopez of the game’s first hit. 

After a quick first out in the top of the second inning, the marlins rallied for two runs. Kyle Stowers started the surge with a line-drive base hit to right field and eventually came around to score the game’s first run on an Eric Wagaman RBI-double. Two batters later, Connor Norby’s single to left brought home Wagaman to make it 2-0 Miami. The frame finally came to an end as Verlander struck out Dane Myers for his third K of the inning. 

The Giants looked to answer in the home fourth. Heliot Ramos became a lead-off base runner by getting plunked in the left bicep by a 92 mph Cal Quantrill heater. On the next pitch, Wilmer Flores grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to erase the progress.

A few pitches later, Jung Hoo Lee sent a hard groundball off the left ankle of Quantrill, who remained in the game, and reached base safely. He later advanced to second base after a failed pickoff attempt got by first baseman Eric Wagaman, however, the Giants bats with RISP continued to struggle. Willy Adames flew out to center field to put an end to the threat. 

Verlander set the Marlins down efficiently in the top of the fifth which allowed the offense to get right back up to the plate. Casey Schmitt got the fun started with a leadoff single to left. After a Patrick Bailey lineout, Christian Koss homered to left to bring the Giants to within one, 3-2. 

Koss got the start at second base following the demotion of Tyler Fitzgerald who had hit .128 in his last 15 games and struggled overall offensively the last month. Manager Bob Melvin mentioned pregame that the Giants were by no means giving up on Fitzgerald but wanted him to regain some confidence by taking some at bats with AAA Sacramento. There is currently no time table on his return to the big league club. 

The energy continued to build in the Oracle Park crowd as Mike Yastrzemski walked after the homerun. The next batter, Rafael Devers grounded to Miami second baseman Xavier Edwards but beat out the throw to first base to prevent the double play.

That was enough to send Marlins starter Cal Quantrill to the showers earlier than he would’ve liked, as he left the field visibly frustrated he couldn’t finish the inning. The Marlins new pitcher Anthony Bender was welcomed to the game with a Heliot Ramos double but the relay from left field was in time to nail Devers at the plate, keeping the Miami lead intact. 

Sean Hjelle replaced Verlander in the next inning as relief pitchers for both teams traded off scoreless halves in the sixth. Verlander finished with 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, and 5 K. He’ll have to wait at least another five days for his next start in Chicago to try and earn his first win as a Giant. 

The Marlins added one more to their total to extend their lead to two runs in the seventh and that would be all they needed to secure the win in game one. The Miami offense exploded for 11 hits while the Giants could only get five in the hit column, getting outhit by an opponent for the 45th time this season, going 0-for-4 with RISP. They are 6-for-50 (.120) with RISP thus far on the homestand. 

The Giants look to turn the page with ace Logan Webb taking the mound sporting a (7-5, 2.49 ERA) and two straight wins Wednesday night against the Marlins Edward Cabrera (2-2 ERA 3.81). 

First pitch for game two at 6:45 Wednesday night at Oracle Park.

San Francisco Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic: Ramos hitting long ball from any hole in the line up

Heliot Ramos outfielder for the San Francisco Giants can hit from any hole in the line up takes a hit himself in the elbow from Cleveland Guardians pitcher Slade Ceccone in the bottom of the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Jun 17, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 In spite of the early outfield error, how significant was Heliot Ramos’ comeback effort Sunday? With four RBIs, how would you rank his overall impact?
#2 What can we tell about Casey Schmitt’s growth at the plate from his 4-for-4 performance, and will he be able to maintain this level of performance in the lineup going forward?

#3 Marko, what caught your attention the most about the Giants’ explosive seventh inning, and how did Boston’s defensive errors change the course of the game?

#4 How important is Mike Yastrzemski’s experienced leadership at the moment, with a younger lineup surrounding him, given his homer and sac fly?
#5 Is there anyone who deserves the most credit for closing the door, and how confident are you in this bullpen going forward, given that the Giants bullpen kept things steady in the latter innings?

#6 The Giants begin their next series against the Marlins Tuesday night at 6:45pm at Oracle Park, how will the depth in the bullpen be useful?

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

San Francisco Giants podcast Marko Ukalovic Mon Jun 2, 2025: Matos hits game winning home run Sunday is demoted on Monday

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong works on the Miami Marlins lineup at Loan Depot Park on Sun Jun 1, 2025 (AP News photo)

SF Giants podcast Marko Ukavolic Jun 2, 2025:

#1 The San Francisco Giants took two of three games from the Miami Marlins over the weekend and have won four out of their last six games. The Giants have been playing around .500 ball.

#2 Taking a look at Sunday’s game the Giants got home run production from Luis Matos who hit a three run home run that helped beat the Miami Marlins 4-2 at LoanDepot Park in Miami.

#3 Matos home run was one to marvel he hit 390 feet to left center and it was enough to give the Giants a good front and a 4-0 lead.

#4 The Giants didn’t score after the Matos home run noting that the Giants have not scored in 14 games in a row after scoring four or more runs. They have been hurting for offense.

#5 The Giants open up a three game series starting tonight with the San Diego Padres RHP Stephen Kolek (3-1 ERA 4.11) the Giants will be starting RHP Landen Roupp (3-4 ERA 3.54) first pitch slated at 6:45pm PDT.

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

Anemic Offense Continues to Plague Giants Losing to Marlins In 1-0 Shutout

San Francisco Giants pitching coach JP Martinez (black hoodie) talks with starter Robbie Ray (glove in face) with catcher Sam Huff, Matt Chapman (behind Ray) and LaMonte Wade Jr (31) in the bottom of the second inning at Loan Depot Park in Miami on Sat May 31, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After winning game one of their series with the Miami Marlins (23-33) the San Francisco Giants (32-26) were looking for a win Saturday in game two assuring them of a series win but instead of getting the series win the Giants were shutout 1-0 by Marlins starter Ed Cabrera and the bullpen to tie the series at 1-1. Friday San Francisco did have 11 hits but left a lot of runners in scoring position stranded but got the win 2-0.

This is something that the Giants couldn’t clean up in Saturday’s game again no offense. They had a red-hot pitcher taking the mound in Robbie Ray who came into the game with a spotless 7-0 record but got the loss now dropping to 7-1.

The Marlins starter Edward Cabrera pitched 5.2 innings, allowed six hits, no runs, and struck out five for the win.

Temperatures were toasty Saturday much as Friday but fans were comfortable under the state-of-the-art retractable roof at loan-Depot Park.

Game recap: This game became a real pitcher’s duel. The Marlins scored a single run in the second inning. taking the early 1-0 lead. San Francisco pitcher Ray got the first two outs in the inning but went on to walk Dane Myers and Nick Fortes back to back.

Javier Sanojar singled Myers home and that would be the last run the Marlins would score going into the bottom of the sixth inning.

Going into the seventh inning there had not been a whole lot of hitting for either team although the Giants had six hits to the Marlins two. Cabrera had 5 2/3 solid innings giving up the six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

He was relieved by Ronny Henriquez who finished off the inning for Miami. Henriquez stayed on the mound to start the seventh inning. He got the first two outs but hit Heliot Ramos and the Giants had a runner at first.

When it looked as if Jung Hoo Lee had knocked the ball out of the park, the Miami defense made a second amazing catch in the outfield robbing the Giants of a lead in the game. They had made a similar catch in the second inning that also would have made a difference in the game. Those two amazing plays by the Marlins kept this game a one-run game.

The eighth inning rolled around and San Francisco was running out of game. Chapman had been on base three times in the game but the team was still looking for their first run. Willy Adames walked and San Francisco had two runners on base with one out.

Mike Yastrzemski sacrificed and Chapman advanced to third and the Giants had runners at the corners. Tyler Fitzgerald struck out and that was the inning.

The Giants again went quietly in the ninth inning and this team continues to struggle as a whole. The series is tied and the rubber match will finish off the series Saturday. San Francisco has been unable to figure out just what is going so wrong for the team.

The good news is that we are through the month of May and the team will be looking for much more in the month of June where they have typically played well. Is this getting into their heads? There is no way of knowing but they do have some serious issues to address. After the 1-0 Marlin win, Miami will be trying to walk away with the series Sunday.

Robbie Ray had a great game despite the loss. He got into a bit of trouble in the second inning with walks and of course the one run. He finished the game pitching for seven innings which was really needed after going through seven pitchers in Friday’s game.

He gave up two hits, one run, three walks with nine strikeouts. The Giants were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten runners stranded wiping out the great performance the team got from Ray. The disappointment continues with this team as they try to salvage the series in Sunday’s game.

First pitch for game three is scheduled for 10:40 AM. Hayden Birdsong (2-1 ERA 2.48) will take the mound for the Giants and the Marlins will start Ryan Weathers (1-0 ERA 1.15).

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez: Giants open 3 game series with Marlins Friday

San Francisco Giants starter Landen Roupp works on the Detroit Tigers line up in the bottom of the first inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wed May 28, 2025 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Giants podcast Lincoln Juarez:

#1 Despite a more productive offense, the San Francisco Giants (31-25) got swept by the Detroit Tigers (37-20) losing game three 4-3 on Wednesday.

#2 Giants Heliot Ramos had the only home run of the game which scored two runs. Taking a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Giants were looking pretty good.

#3 It all came crashing down when the Tigers put four runs up on the scoreboard in the fifth taking the 4-3 lead that would be the final.

#4 In the fifth inning as eight Detroit batters came to the plate. A couple of runs scored when Colt Keith doubled Jake Rogers and Kerry Carpenter home in a Detroit rally that was just getting started with no outs.

#5 The Giants have the day off Thursday but are back at it again in Miami on Friday. The Giants will start Kyle Harrison (0-1, ERA 3.86) and for the Marlins Cal Quantrill (3-4 ERA 6.09) first pitch 4:10pm PDT.

Lincoln Juarez filled in for Morris Phillips who does the San Francisco Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com