Tag: San Diego Padres

San Francisco Giants Darrin Ruf (33) gets congratulations from third base coach Ron Wotus (8) after hitting a first inning home run at Oracle Park in San Francisco against the visiting San Diego Padres on Fri Oct 1, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-With the chant of BEAT LA reverberating around Oracle Park, it is quite possible the San Francisco Giants players and coaching staff heard the chant.

Darin Ruf hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning and Mike Yastrzemski added a run-scoring single, helping the Giants to a 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres before an announced crowd of 33,975 at Oracle Park.

With the victory, the Giants have now won seven games in a row and this was their 106th win of the season, tying the 1904 New York Giants for the most wins in franchise history.

Also with the victory, the Giants lowered their magic number to win their first National League Western Division Championship since 2012 down to just one.

Anthony DeSclafani went the first five innings for the Giants, as he did not allow a run, scattered four hits, walking no one and struck out three on his way to his 13th win of the season.

It looked like the Giants might clinch the division on this night, especially when the NL Central Division Champion Milwaukee Brewers took an early 5-1 lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium; however, Chris Taylor hit a game-tying grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning and then the Dodgers took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Matt Beaty hit a pinch-hit home run off of former Giants reliever Jandel Gustave.

Mookie Betts was then hit by a pitch, Corey Seager then singled and then Gustave unleashed a wild pitch that sent Betts and Seager up an additional 90 feet.

With runners on second and third, Gustave intentionally walked and threw his second wild pitch that scored Betts from third base.

After Justin Turner grounded out for the second out of the inning, Max Muncy drove in the third and final run of the inning, when he hit an infield single that scored Seager.

Following the Ruf home run, after Buster Posey flew out to Wil Myers for the second out of the inning, Brandon Crawford reached on a fielding error by Ha-Seong Kim at third base, Wilmer Flores then walked and then Yastrzemski drove in Crawford with a single.

The defensive play of the game came in the top of the sixth inning, when it looked like the Padres would have the bases loaded with two outs or would have cut the Giants lead in half; however, neither one happened.

After Jose Alvarez retired the first two batters of the inning, Fernando Tatis, Jr., singled to right field and then Jake Cronenworth followed that up with an infield hit that sent Tatis to second base. Following the Cronenworth single, Eric Hosmer hit one of third base that bounced right to Evan Longoria, who saw that Tatis, Jr. rounded the third base bag and headed towards home plate, in which Longoria followed Tatis, Jr. and eventually tagged him out for the final out of the inning, thus ending the rally.

LaMonte Wade, Jr., gave the Giants a little breathing in the bottom of the sixth inning, when he hit a sacrifice fly to center field that was deep enough for Donovan Solano to score that all important third run of the game.

Solano doubled to lead off the inning off of Drew Stammen, who was able to get the next three out; however, that the sacrifice fly by Wade, Jr.

Alvarez pitched the sixth inning in relief of DeSclafani, as he allowed three hits, including that last one to Hosmer that saw Tatis get tagged out by Longoria to end the inning.

Yastrzemski saved what could have been a home run by Myers that ended up being a double that led off the top of the seventh inning off of Dominic Leone.

That would be the only blemish that Leone would allow in the inning, as he then retired Kim, Victor Cartini, as Myers went to third and Jurickson Profar popped out to Longoria to end the inning.

Tyler Rogers came on in the top of the eighth inning, as he allowed a double to Tatis, Jr., with two outs; however, he was then able to get out of the little jam, when Cronenworth struck out looking to end the inning.

Camilo Doval came on in the top of the ninth inning, and struck out the first two batters before Kim to ground out to Crawford to end the game that sent the Oracle Park crowd into a frenzy.

This was the third save in three opportunities for Doval, as he struck out two in his only inning of work.

NOTES: Wade, Jr., was named the winner of the Willie McCovey award, the most prestigious honor in the Giants organization.

Joining Wade, Jr., in the pregame ceremony on the field were past winners like Chris Speier, Dave Dravecky, Mike Felder, J.T. Snow, Andres Torres, Hunter Pence, Buster Posey (from the bullpen), Crawford, Yastrzemski and Mike Krukow (who was in the broadcast booth). Wade, Jr., received the award from Allison McCovey the daughter of McCovey, who passed away of October 31, 2018 at the age of 80.

Scott Kazmir was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain and Sammy Long was recalled from Sacramento to replace Kazmir on the roster.

The 106 victories by the Giants are the most by a team that finished the season under .500 in the previous year.

When the month of September came to a close on Thursday night, the Giants ended the month with a record of 21-5 (.778) was the best September ever since they moved to California in 1958 and their best September since they went 20-5 (.800) in 1951, the same year they came back from 13 games out to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers on Bobby Thomsons three-run home run off of Ralph Branca in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave then New York Giants a thrilling 5-4 victory to give the Giants the NL Pennant on October 3, 1951 at the Polo Grounds.

With the Giants game coming to a close early, the Giants allowed their fans to stay in the ballpark to watch the conclusion of the Dodgers versus Brewers game on the big screen in centerfield.

UP NEXT: Kevin Gausman heads to the mound, as he searches for his 15th win of the season for the Giants, while Joe Musgrove will take the mound for the Padres, as he goes for his 12th of the campaign.

Camilia Doval San Francisco Giants reliever reaches for the stars after getting the San Diego Padres Tommy Pham to ground into a top of the fifth inning double play at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Sep 22, 2021 (AP News photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

Torture is back!

The San Francisco Giants had a seven run lead late in the game and then hung on for dear life in a 8-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday evening at Petco Park.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco gained a game on their NL West rival and are now two games up on the Dodgers with 10 games left to play. In the process, the Giants reduced their magic number to clinching the division to nine.

Scott Kazmir made his first major league appearance since June 4th. The 2020 silver medalist for Team USA this past summer, pitched four strong innings before the wheels came off for him in the fifth inning.

He opened up the fifth inning with a walk, single (which was generously given by the official scorer as the ball hit by pinch hitter Jake Marisnick went under the glove of shortstop Brandon Crawford) and walk to load the bases. Buster Posey was called for catcher interference on a swing by Jake Cronenworth which resulted in the Padres scoring their first run.

Kazmir finished with 4+ innings pitched, allowing an unearned run on four hits while striking out three and walking three batters on 71 pitches.

Despite being a veteran with 12 years of major league experience, Kazmir admitted to having some butterflies before the game and being involved in a pennant race.

“For sure”, said Kazmir. “There’s always butterflies in any big league ballgame, especially in September. The (playoff type of) atmosphere was there. To be in a pennant race like that and to be able to perform like that, it’s a good feeling. Hopefully I can keep progressing and keep getting stronger.”

Camilo Doval, who has been a revelation for Giants manager Gabe Kapler since he’s been called up from Triple-A Sacramento, came in and struck out Manny Machado on three pitches. Then induced Tommy Pham into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

“Doval was the pivotal point of the game,” said Posey. “For him to come in, strike out (Manny) Machado and then induce (Pham to hit into a) double play gave us momentum going forward.”

San Diego went with a bullpen game and opened with Vince Velasquez, who came into the game having given up four runs in four innings in his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals in an 8-2 loss.

Kris Bryant opened up the scoring when hit a one-out bases loaded double that cleared the bases in the first inning to give the Giants a 3-0 lead. Velasquez only lasted one inning.

The Giants tacked on to their lead with two runs in the sixth inning. RBI singles by the Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski gave San Francisco a 5-1 lead. Crawford leads the team with 83 RBI on the season.

San Francisco padded their lead with three runs in the seventh inning. Catcher Buster Posey hit an RBI double down the right field line to score Tommy LaStella. Then Lamont Wade Jr. continued his clutch hitting with an two-run single to right field to score Brandon Belt and Posey and extended the Giants lead to 8-1.

Posey was in a zone as went 4-5 with an RBI and three runs scored as he was a nemesis to the Padres all night long. His fifth and final at bat he just missed a home run as he fly ball to right field was caught at the wall by Will Meyers.

“When he’s getting the ball in the air to the opposite field, on a line, Buster is at his best. Last ball he hit, he didn’t get rewarded for. That was an excellent swing off of a pitcher that’s difficult to get in the air. It’s good signals for Pose,” Kapler said.

San Diego chipped away at their deficit in their half of the seventh inning. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his National League leading 40th home run to spark a three-run innings off of reliever Jarlin Garcia. RBI-singles by Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer cut the Giants lead in half 8-4.

Hosmer finished the game 4-5 with an RBI and one run scored.

Tony Watson pitched a scoreless eight inning for San Francisco.

Tyler Rogers provided another dose of torture for Giants fan. He gave up two runs in the ninth inning with an RBI groundout from Todd Frazier and and RBI single by Trent Grisham. Tatis Jr. came to the plate as the game winning run with two man on and two out. However Rogers induced Tatis Jr. to fly out to left field to end the game.

GAME NOTES: San Francisco stranded six runners on base. San Diego left 11 runners on base.

The Giants are 9-6 in the season series with the Padres with one more left in San Diego. The Giants finish the regular season with hosting the final three game against the Padres at Oracle Park.

UP NEXT: The Giants close out the three-game series with the Padres on Thursday 9/23 at 1:00pm from Petco Park.

San Diego Padre Fernando Tatis Jr beats out a throw that has San Francisco Giant first baseman Brandon Belt stretching on Wed Sep 15, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–All good things come to an end which was the case for the San Francisco Giants (95-51) as their 51st loss of the season ended their nine game win streak at Oracle Park in San Francisco to the San Diego Padres 9-6.

The Padres managed to stay ahead of the Giants all game long and they can thank Pads hitters Fernando Tatis Jr who had four hits and Jurickson Profar who hit a home run to help the Padres end a five game losing skid. The Padres Adam Frazier also had four hits and third baseman Manny Machado doubled twice, scored a run and an RBI.

The Padre victory breathed some life into their NL Wild card hopes as they now trail the St Louis Cardinals by just one game for the second wild card position. The Giants who are battling to maintain first place in the NL West had their lead cut to 1.5 games as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night 5-3.

Had the Giants won on Wednesday night they would have tied the 2004 Giants for the best winning streak at ten games. The Giants did get their share of home run help in the bottom of the third inning from pinch hitter Thairo Estrada, in the bottom of the sixth from Kris Bryant and later in the bottom of the seventh from Steven Duggar and red hot hitter Brandon Belt all hit solo shots but it wasn’t enough to catch the Padres on this Wednesday night.

The Padres scored on Giants pitching starting with Giants starter Dominic Leone just couldn’t get out of the top of the first lasting only one out before being lifted and a pitching line of two hits, two earned runs, and one strike out, Giant reliever Zack Littell the third Giant reliever came in in the top of the second with one out and gave up two hits and a run and was lifted after getting one hitter out, the Giants sixth reliever Jose Quintana didn’t fare so well giving up three hits and two earned runs in the seventh and the final Giants pitcher Jose Alvarez came in the top of the eighth and in the ninth inning gave up three hits and two earned runs.

Thursday’s starters for the Padres to be announced and the Giants Kevin Gausman (14-5) Gausman has won five of his last starts. The Giants can take this series three games to one if they can pull off a win today at Oracle Park a 12:45 pm first pitch PDT

San Francisco Giants pitcher Anthony DeSclafani delivers against the San Diego Padres in the second inning of Tue Sep 14, 2021 game at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Even though they have clinched a berth in the playoffs, the San Francisco Giants are still playing for seeding in the upcoming playoffs.

Buster Posey hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, helping the Giants to a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres before a crowd of 22,192 at Oracle Park. With the victory, the Giants have won nine games in a row.

Once again, the Giants put up six or more runs in a game for the ninth game in a row, matching the longest streak since moving to California in 1958 and the team record in 15 that was set in 1929.

The Posey home run would have been a two-run home run; however, Tommy La Stella, who led off the inning with a single was thrown out on a double play after Jurickson Profar made a great catch and throw to Manny Machado, who in turn, threw to Eric Hosmer on the fly ball hit by Brandon Belt.

Anthony DeSclafani pitched a fantastic game, as he went the first 6.2 innings for the Giants, as he allowed just one run on three hits, walking one and striking out and he raised his record to 12-6 on the record.

The Padres tied the game up in the top of the third inning, when Profar doubled, went to third on a perfect sacrifice bunt by starting pitcher Jake Arrieta and then scored when Trent Grisham grounded out to La Stella, who in turn, threw to Posey and after he was unable to get Profar, Posey threw to Belt to get Grisham.

Posey scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the third inning, as he scored on a throwing error by Arrieta on a pickoff attempt to get LaMonte Wade, Jr., at first base with Brandon Crawford at the plate. After Belt made the first out of the inning, Posey singled for his second hit in as many at-bats, then Wade, Jr., followed him by singling Posey to third.

La Stella got some redemption for his base running snafu in the bottom of the first, as he singled in the bottom of the fourth inning that scored Steven Duggar.

Kris Bryant doubled off of Arrieta with one out in the bottom of the second inning with one out, it was the 200th double of his major-league career.

The Giants bullpen trio of Tony Watson, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval was outstanding, as they closed the game for the Giants without allowing a baserunner to reach base.

Darin Ruf hit a pinch-hit double in the bottom of the seventh inning to score Crawford, who doubled with one out in the inning.

Belt doubled in the bottom of the eighth inning that La Stella, who walked with one out in the inning and was then pinch ran for by Thairo Estrada, who scored in on the Belt double.

Posey then hit a ground ball to Manny Machado, who threw wildly to Hosmer at first for an error and Belt stopped at third; however, after a lengthy review, the review showed that the ball went on the netting and Belt was awarded home plate and Posey went to second.

NOTES: By clinching the playoff berth on Monday night, it was the earliest that the Giants have clinched a playoff berth in franchise history by one game over the 1912 New York Giants, this according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The 94 wins by the Giants are the third most by a team thru 144 games since 1969, trailing the 1975 Cincinnati Reds (won the World Series), who won 96 and the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals (lost the World Series, who won 95 (STATS, LLC). Both the Reds and Cardinals opponents in the World Series was the Boston Red Sox.

This is the first nine-game winning streak by the Giants since they won 10 in a row from May 20-31, 2004.

The nine-game winning streak by the Giants is the longest in the month of September since they won 14 in a row from September 4 thru September 16.

The streak began with a victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and ended on September 17 with a loss to the Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium.

When La Stella hit a home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning, it was the fifth home run of the season for La Stella and he is the 17th player on the Giants to have at least five home runs, breaking the record of 16 different players set by the 2019 Seattle Mariners.

Also, in their City Connect uniforms, the Giants are now 7-1.

UP NEXT: Joe Musgrove will take the mound for the Padres on Wednesday night, as he searches for his 11th win of the season, while the Giants will send Dominic Leone to the mound.