Tag: San Diego Padres

San Francisco Giants hitter Matt Chapman (26) connects for a two run homer in the top of the ninth inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Fri Mar 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

Friday, March 29, 2024

Petco Park

San Diego, California

San Francisco Giants 8 (1-1)

San Diego Padres 3 (2-2)

Win: Kyle Harrison (1-0)

Loss: Joe Musgrove (0-1)

Time: 2:25

Attendance: 45,427

By Stephen Ruderman

Kyle Harrison pitched six strong innings, while allowing just two runs, and Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs to lead the Giants to their first win of the 2024 Season, as they beat the Padres 8-3 on a cool Friday night at Petco Park in San Diego.

The Giants dropped the opener yesterday after the Padres scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Giants did not seem to be too bothered by it, and looked to get their first win of the year tonight. 

With Blake Snell not yet ready to go, Kyle Harrison begins the season as the number-two starter in the Giants’ rotation, and thus he got the start tonight. Harrison was opposed by the right-hander, Joe Musgrove.

Jung-hoo Lee signled to lead off the game, but Jorge Soler hit into a 6-4-3 double play. It appeared as if it was going to be a quick and quiet top of the first inning for the Giants. However, LaMonte Wade Jr. singled to center, and Matt Chapman hit a two-run home run to right-center field . 

Wilmer Flores was then hit in the elbow with a pitch. Michael Conforto got Flores to third on the longest single of the year that hit off the bottom of the wall in right-center, and Thairo Estrada singled to left-center to score Flores to make it 3-0.

Kyle Harrison survived a two-out double by Jake Cronenworth in the bottom of the first, and  both pitchers threw 1-2-3 innings in the second. The Giants were unable to do anything with a leadoff single by Wade in the top of the third, and Harrison gave up a one-out single to Jose Azocar, but pitched a scoreless bottom of the third.

Patrick Bailey walked with one out in the top of the fourth, and Nick Ahmed was hit by a pitch immediately afterwards. That put runners at first and second with one out for Lee, who hit a ground ball up the middle and into center field for a base-hit that scored Bailey to make it 4-0 Giants.

Manny Machado hit a bomb into the front of the second deck out in left to put the Padres on the board with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Ha-seong Kim followed Machado’s home run by lining a single to left. Harrison was being tested for the first time tonight, but he got Jurickson Profar to fly out to center, and got Luis Campusano to pop out to second to end the inning.

Musgrove pitched a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, and Eugy Rosario led off the bottom of the fifth by hitting a high fly ball to right-center that was dropped by right-fielder LaMonte Wade, but Wade regrouped and threw the ball in to second-baseman Thairo Estrada, who made the relay throw to throw to nail Rosario. Harrison then kept his groove going, as he retired the next two batters he faced to end the inning.

Bailey singled with two outs in the top of the sixth to knock Musgrove out of the game, and Padres Manager Mike Shildt went to Stephen Kolek, who got Ahmed to ground out and end the inning.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run to left to lead off the bottom of the sixth, this one deeper than Machado’s, as it sailed to the back of the second deck. Tatis’ home run made it a 4-2 game, but Harrison retired the next three men he faced. 

“As soon as I gave it up, it was on to the next [guy],” said Harrison. [I’ve] given up too many now to look down on it, or carry it on to the next pitch.”

That would do it for Harrison, who threw 76 pitches and gave up just two runs over six innings of work. One of Harrison’s struggles last season was his control, but tonight, he was in command, as he struck out five and didn’t issue a single walk.

“I’d say [I’ve] just been able to pitch; I’ve [been] able to slow the game down, and trust myself and trust my execution,” Harrison said of his differences between this and last season. “[It] felt good to be able to be in control of the game. I think that’s the big difference I felt.”

Kolek was back out on the mound for the Padres in the top of the seventh. Lee grounded out to second to start the inning, but Soler, who had grounded into a pair of double plays, doubled to right-center. Chapman then came up, and hit a double into the gap in left-center to make it 5-2. 

“With runners in scoring position, “[I] try to remind [my]self not to do too much,” said Chapman. “I just tr[ied] to put a good swing on the ball.”

Flores then singled to center to score Chapman and make it 6-2, and the Giants had their four-run lead back.

Landen Roupp came in to make his major league debut in the bottom of the seventh. Roupp hoped to mirror Erik Webb’s big league debut yesterday, where Webb threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth, but Roupp gave up a one-out base-hit to Campusano. However, Roupp retired Tyler Wade and Jackson Merrill to end the inning.

Enyel De Los Santos, who came in for Kolek after Flores’ RBI single in the seventh, was back out for the eighth. Bailey singled to right with one out, and when Tatis booted the ball, Bailey was fully expecting it, and did not hesitate in going to second. The Giants were in business to add to their four-run lead, but De Los Santos got out of the jam unscathed.

Tyler Rogers came in to make his 2024 debut in the bottom of the eighth, and went from a 3-0 count, to a 3-2 count, to a groundout to third from Xander Bogaerts to start the inning. Tatis then hit a line-drive home run to left that went into an open door and into the Padres’ team store at the base of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building for his second home run of the night to make it a 6-3 game.

Rogers has been very successful in his four-plus years with the Giants, but he has had a tendency to have those innings where everything went south on him. Rogers hit Cronenworth, and got Machado to a 3-2 count, as it appeared this was going to be one of those innings. However, Rogers threw a sinker that Machado hit to second for a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Pedro Avila came in for San Diego to start the ninth, and walked Jorge Soler, who later advanced to second on a wild pitch. LaMonte Wade struck out, but Matt Chapman hit his second home run of the night, a bomb that sailed into the upper deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building to give the Giants their biggest lead of the night at 8-3.

Giants Closer Camilo Doval had been warming up in preparation for a potential save situation, but with Chapman’s second home run, Bob Melvin went to Ryan Walker, who relieved Luke Jackson in the Padres’ four-run bottom of the seventh in the opener yesterday. 

Walker did give up a leadoff base-hit to Kim, but he then got Profar to ground into the not-so-common 5-6-3 double play to get the first two outs. Luis Campusano then grounded out to second, and the Giants had their first win of the season.

“I think yesterday, we took great at-bats, and we [were] still battling at the end of the game,” said third-baseman Matt Chapman. “Mikie [Conforto] hit that homer, and we were able to have that momentum going into today…..It’s nice when we can jump on them in the first inning like that.”

With the Giants in the in column for the first time this season, they are now 1-1. This is not only the Giants’ first win of the season, but this is Bob Melvin’s first win as the Giants’ manager. In his postgame press conference, Melvin gave all the credit to the team, particularly to Matt Chapman. It was only fitting that Chapman, who played for Melvin in Oakland with the A’s, was a big part of it.

Kyle Harrison got his first win of the season, and Joe Musgrove took the loss.

“The plan for me to[night] was to really just get ahead of guys and limit the walks,” said Harrison. “I was still pissed about the two bombs. Obviously, you don’t want to give those up as a pitcher, but we got the win, so that’s all that matters.”

Harrison also said that Logan Webb, who Harrison worked out and trained with in the off-season, was the first guy to reach out to him after his start tonight. Harrison expressed how grateful he was to have Webb on his side.

Over the first two games of the season, the Giants have been playing small ball and manufacturing runs. It’s a big difference from the over-reliance the team had on home runs under Gabe Kapler over the last four years. 

The Giants did play their fair share of situational baseball during their run in June last season, but for whatever reason, went back to overly relying on home runs. If the Giants can stay consistent with not overly relying on one approach this season, it will carry them a long way.

Jordan Hicks is scheduled to make his Giants debut tomorrow in what will be his first start of his reliever-to-starter experiment. Hicks pitched five no-hit innings in the Giants’ exhibition game in Oakland against the A’s on Monday night. 

Tomorrow’s game is set to be nationally televised by FOX with the first pitch at 4:15 p.m., but with rain in the forecast in San Diego, there is no guarantee that tomorrow’s game will be played.

News and Notes:

• The Giants made two roster moves prior to tonight’s game. 

Luke Jackson was placed on the 15-day Injured List after tweaking his back in the Giants’ opener yesterday; and Mike Yastrzemski, whose wife is expected to give birth to the couple’s second child, has been placed on the paternity list. 

Luis Matos and Kei-Wei Teng were called up. Teng, a right-handed relief pitcher, was born in Taiwan, and if he appears in a game with the Giants, he will be the first taiwanese-born player in franchise history.

San Diego Padres Jurickson Profar (10) hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning at Petco Park in San Diego against the San Francisco Giants on Thu Mar 28, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Petco Park

San Diego, California

San Francisco Giants 4 (0-1)

San Diego Padres 6 (2-1)

Win: Yuki Matsui (1-0)

Loss: Luke Jackson (0-1)

Save: Robert Suarez (2)

Time: 2:34

Attendance: 44,953

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants sputtered late on Opening Day, as after what was mostly a seesaw battle, the Padres scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Giants ended up losing 6-4 to open the 2024 Regular Season.

Today was the start of a new season and a new era for the Giants. A whole number of people were making their Giants debut today, including most notably, Manager Bob Melvin. Melvin was returning to San Diego, where he managed the Padres to the National League Championship Series in 2022, but left for the Giants after an 82-80 season last year.

For the Padres, they were playing their third game of the season, as they opened the season by splitting two games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea.

Speaking of South Korea, their native son, Jung-hoo Lee, who was signed by the Giants over the off-season, led off the game to make his major league debut. Lee saw three pitches from Yu Darvish and struck out, as Darvish threw a 1-2-3 inning.

Darvish was opposed by Logan Webb, who was making his third-straight opening day start for the Giants. Webb also threw a 1-2-3 inning in the first, and both pitchers threw 1-2-3 innings again in the second.

Michael Conforto lined a double down the right-field line to start the top of the third. Patrick Bailey flew out to center-field, but Nick Ahmed took a high fastball from Darvish, and smoked it down the left-field line for a double to score Conforto, as the Giants struck first.

Webb threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the third, and set down the first nine men he faced. LaMonte Wade Jr. and Matt Chapman singled to start the fourth, but the Giants were unable to do anything with it. Xander Bogaerts hit a bloop single to center on the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth, but that was followed up by a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Fernendo Tatis Jr. Nick Cronenworth then grounded out to short, and Webb was cruising through four innings.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Lee lined his first big league hit to center, but he was immediately picked off by Darvish to end the inning.

“I did get my hit, but right after I got picked off by Darvish, so I never really got that time to feel that I actually got a hit,” said Lee through his interpreter, Justin Han. “The most memorable moment has to be the packed crowds. The level of baseball is way higher here in the major leagues. The level of fans is [at] a higher volume, also.”

Things got tough for Webb in the bottom of the fifth. Manny Machado walked to start the inning, and Ha-seong Kim singled Machado to third. Jurickson Profar then hit a weak ground ball in the vicinity of second base, but it found its way into right-center for a base-hit, as Machado scored to tie the game. Luis Campusano followed that up with a base-hit to load the bases.

The Padres had the bases loaded with nobody out and a run already in with Tylor Wade at the plate. Tylor Wade hit a little ground ball along the first-base line that was picked up by first-baseman LaMonte Wade, who applied a tag on Tylor Wade, but missed it according to First Base Umpire Adam Hamari. Kim scored to give the Padres their first lead of the game, but the umpires conferred, and determined that Wade had run outside the baseline, and thus Wade was called out.

The Giants had just caught a massive break, as the Padres sent in Jose Azocar to pinch-run for Profar at third. The Giants then played the infield in for Jackson Merrill, who hit a sharp ground ball to the right-side; second-baseman Thairo Estrada ranged to his right to grab it and fire a throw home to get Azocar at the plate for the second out. Bogaerts then popped up to shortstop Nick Ahmed on the first pitch to end the inning.

Jorge Soler walked to lead off the top of the sixth, and that knocked Darvish out of the game. Padres Manager Mike Shildt brought in the lefty, Tom Cosgrove. Melvin countered by pinch-hitting Wilmer Flores for LaMonte Wade, but Flores struck out swinging, and Cosgrove set down all three men he faced to end the inning.

Webb ran into trouble again in the bottom of the sixth. Tatis led off the inning with a base-hit to center, and very alertly went from first to third on a weak ground out between the pitcher’s mound and first off the bat of Jake Cronenworth. Webb got Machado to pop out to second, and then chose to put Kim on. Azocar then struck out swinging in his first plate appearance to end the inning.

That would do it for Webb, who threw 97 pitches over six innings. Webb set down the first nine men he faced, and faced the minimum through his first four innings. He gave up two runs in the fifth, but braved in there to go six.

“It was nice today to get out there and get the adrenaline going,” said Webb. “Even after I came out there were a lot of broken-bat base hits, not a lot of balls hit hard. That’s baseball, though. Sometimes baseball is cruel like that.”

The Padres brought in Johny Brito for the seventh. Estrada and Conforto singled to start the top of the seventh. Bailey then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over to second and third. That brought up Ahmed, who had the lone Giants’ RBI to this point, and Ahmed lined a single to left to score Estrada to tie the game.

Yuki Matsui, the left-hander whom the Padres had signed from Japan, was brought in to face Lee, who hit a sacrifice fly to center to knock in Conforto and put the Giants back ahead for his first major league RBI. However, Ahmed, who had advanced to second on a wild pitch by Matsui, got caught in a rundown between second and third after the throw from center-fielder Jackson Merrill was cut off, and was tagged out to end the inning.

Melvin brought in Luke Jackson for the bottom of the seventh, and Jackson gave up singles to Campusano and Wade to start the inning, which put runners on the corners with nobody out. With Merrill up, Wade took off for second, but Ahmed dropped the throw from Bailey, and the ball ricocheted into shallow left-center field, which allowed Campusano to score to tie the game and Wade to get to third. Jackson then walked Merrill, and left the game after he tweaked his back on the pitch.

Ryan Walker came in for Jackson, and the Padres kept going. Bogaerts singled to score Wade and give the Padres the lead. Tatis grounded out to third, but Cronenworth doubled to the wall in right to score two and extend the Padres’ lead to 6-3.

“Webby pitched his ass off. I wish we could’ve gotten him the [win],” said Jackson. “I felt great the whole outing and then, I think it was a fastball to Merrill, something happened. I tried to throw another pitch because it didn’t feel as bad as last year and had no idea where it was going. Other than that I felt fantastic. Nothing lingering from last year. Just one of those outings where I wish we could’ve gotten Webby the [win].”

Walker escaped the inning without any further damage, but the damage had been done, and the life was sucked out of the Giants, who went down 1-2-3 against Matsui in the top of the eighth.

Melvin then brought in the lefty Erik Miller for his major league debut. Miller pitched a 1-2-3 inning, and capped it off with a strike out of Eguy Roasario on a high fastball.

Robert Suarez came in for the ninth, and set down the first two men he faced. Conforto hit a home run to right-center to make it 6-4, but Bailey grounded out to second to end the game.

The Giants fall to 0-1, and while it is March 28, it always hurts to lose on Opening Day, because 1-0 looks a lot better than 0-1. This is the second-straight opening day loss for the Giants, and their fifth over the last six years.

The good news is that there are 161 of these things left, and Kyle Harrison will take the hill tomorrow night against Joe Musgrove. First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m.

News and Notes:

Despite a strong spring in which he hit .302, Luis Matos did not make the Opening Day roster. Less surprisingly, Marco Luciano, who had a rough spring, but turned things around during the final week of camp, did not make the roster either.

The Giants decided to carry three catchers, as Patrick Bailey, Tom Murphy and Joey Bart all made the Opening Day roster.

According to Alex Pavlovic, the Giants Beat Writer for NBC Sports Bay Area, Blake Snell was at Petco Park today for Opening Day, but will return to Scottsdale tomorrow to get work in, and could be ready to join the rotation as soon as the end of next week, when the Giants open the home part of their schedule against the Padres.

Jackson will undergo an MRI on his back. As of now, no roster move has been made.

Former San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin is expected to take the helm at the San Francisco Giants. A press conference is expected this week introducing Melvin to the San Francisco media at Oracle Park in San Franciso (AP file photo)

By Stephen Ruderman

The San Francisco Giants “are poised to announce” that they will hire San Diego Padres Manager Bob Melvin as their next manager, according to Andew Baggarly, the Giants Beat Writer for the Athletic.

The Giants were granted permission by the Padres to interview Melvin, and according to Barragrly, nothing in the process “dissuaded” the Giants from going through with Melvin.

Just over two and a half months ago on Aug. 4, the Giants were 12 games over .500 61-49; held the first wild card spot in the National League; and held a four-game lead over the Miami Marlins for a playoff spot. They then went 18-34 the rest of the way, finishing under .500 at 79-83.

Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi dismissed Manager Gabe Kapler on Sept. 29 prior to the team’s game against the Dodgers that night. Bench Coach Kai Correa managed the final three games against the Dodgers.

It was believed that Kapler had lost the clubhouse, as a sense of a lack of urgency, as well as Baggarly’s report that Outfielder Joc Pederson had the clubhouse enthralled in the filipino card game, ‘Pusoy.’

Melvin was hired by the Padres following the 2021 Season in almost the exact same situation he is set to be hired by the Giants. The Padres went 36-24 in the shortened 60-game COVID sprint season of 2020, and were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division series.

On Aug. 10, 2021, the Padres were 18 games over .500 at 67-49, and half a five-game lead for the second—in 2021, the final—wild card spot. They then collapsed, and went 12-34 the rest of the way, finishing at 79-83, the same record the Giants finished at this season. The Padres dismissed Manager Jayce Tingler, as the Padres had clubhouse issues in 2021, which was highlighted by a dugout spat between Fernando Tatis Jr., and Manny Machado on Sept. 18 in St. Louis.

Melvin was brought in, and the Padres had a much more solid clubhouse in 2022, as they went 89-73 to get the second wild card spot; upset the New York Mets in the National League Wild Card Series; and upset the 111-win Dodgers in the NLDS before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in the National League Championship Series.

The clubhouse issues returned in San Diego this season, but Melvin’s handling of the Padres’ clubhouse in 2022 shows that he can fix an uneasy clubhouse situation. He will be walking into a calmer situation, and he will have the immediate backing of clubhouse leaders, such as Logan Webb, Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada.

Melvin is also a former Giant, and was a prodigy under one of the greatest managers in Giants’ history, Roger Craig. Melvin played with the Giants from 1986 to 1988, and was a part of the 1987 Giants team that got within a win of the National League Pennant, but ultimately lost the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the NLCS.

After retiring as a player, Melvin was a coach under Bob Brenly on the 2001 World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks, and was hired by the Seattle Mariners to manage prior to the 2003 Season. The Mariners went 93-69 in 2003, and missed the sole American League Wild Card by just two games. After a disappointing 63-99 2004 Season, the Mariners let Melvin go.

Melvin was then hired to manage the Diamondbacks in 2005, and after a pair of subpar seasons in 2005 and 2006, he took Arizona to a 90-72 National League West division title in 2007, as they swept the Chicago Cubs in three games in the NLDS, before being swept in four games by the Colorado Rockies, who were on an historic 21-1 run, in the NLCS. The Diamondbacks went 82-80 in 2008, but after a slow start in 2009, Melvin was let go on May 8.

After falling short of the Houston Astros’ managerial opening, Melvin spent the 2010 Season as a scout for the Mets, and then returned to the Diamondbacks in a front office role in 2011, following unsuccessful interviews for the Mets’ and Milwaukee Brewers’ managerial openings.

On June 9, 2011, Melvin was hired to manage the Oakland Athletics, following their midseason dismissal of Bob Geren. In 2012, Melvin took the A’s to an improbable division title, but he ran into a buzzsaw in Justin Verlander, as they lost the American League Division Series in five games to the Detroit Tigers. The A’s ran into the same buzzsaw in Verlander, and lost the ALDS to the Tigers in five again in 2013.

The A’s led the American League West for most of 2014, but a midseason trade of Yoenis Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox, and a late-season collapse barely netted them the second wild card spot, as they ended up losing a thrilling American League Wild Card Game to the Royals in Kansas City.

The A’s traded away their talent, and suffered in the standings from 2015 to 2017, but they were back in the playoffs after another improbable run in 2018, which saw them get the second wild card spot with 97 wins. They lost the wild card game in both 2018 and 2019, and then lost the 2020 Wild Card Series to the Chicago White Sox.

Giants expected to hire Bob Melvin as next manager

The A’s contended with an 86-76 record in 2021, but there was every indication that season that the A’s would once again trade their talent following the end of the year, which they indeed did, and Melvin left for San Diego.

Melvin will not be the former Giant returning to the team. It is expected that Matt Williams, who has been a part of Melvin’s coaching staff in Oakland in San Diego, will join Melvin in San Francisco. Williams was a fan favorite in San Francisco, as he spent a decade with the Giants from 1987 to 1996, and would have had a chance to break Roger Maris’ single-season record of 61 home runs if it was not for the Strike in 1994. Williams hit 43 home runs through 115 games.

Former Giants, Pat Burrell and Ryan Vogelsong, are also rumored to be back in Giants’ uniforms on the coaching staff, with Burrell as the hitting coach, and Vogelsong as the pitching coach.

This is a developing story, and the Giants are expected to officially announce the hiring on Wednesday.

San Diego Padres’ Trent Grisham, left, runs toward Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) after scoring against the San Francisco Giants during the 10th inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Wed Sep 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

San Diego (79-80). 000 010 100 3. – 5. 10. 0

San Francisco (78-81). 010 100 000 0. – 2. 5. 3. 10 innings

Time: 2:52

Attendance: 32,151

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO—For Sean Manaea, the past may be the future. The veteran of eight years in the show, Manaea once was a mainstay of the A’s starting rotation; he no hit the powerful Red Sox in 20018, arguably his best season with Oakland, when he went 12-9, 3.59.

Traded to the Padres for the ’22 season, he was pretty much of a bust, going 7-8, 4.96. The Giants signed him as a free agent this year, and he was relegated to the bullpen and didn’t return to the rotation until September 12.

Manaea shut the Dodgers out on three over seven innings in his last outing and came to work tonight with an ERA of 2.00 in his three starts, which is in stark contrast to his overall mark of 7-6, 4.51. His fine performance didn’t prevent the Giants from falling apart in the tenth inning and losing, 5-2, to Manaea’s previous employers, the San Diego Padres.

Manaea completed his 1,000th inning as a big leaguer when he got Matthew Batten to pop out to first to end the fourth frame. In all, he hurled 6 + frames tonight, allowing only one run in the six but another in the plus. Both runs were earned, one coming on a home run.

Manaea faced 24 batters and threw them exactly 100 pitches, 67 for strike. He allowed seven hits and didn’t issue any walks. It was a satisfying performance, but Manaea had to settle for a no decision that reduced his ERA to 4.44.

The left handed veteran Manaea was opposed by the right handed rookie Matt Waldron, making his sixth major league start out of eight appearances. He was 1-3, 4.58. His ERA as a starter was 4.91; it’s 3.72 pitching out of the pen. Waldron also produced a credible performance. Over six innings he held the Giants to two runs on five hits and two walks. One of the hits was a four bagger.

Manaea threw 82 pitches, 54 for strikes. He, too, had to settle for a no decision and reduced his earned run average, which now stands at 4.35. Seth Barlow replaced him on the mound after the crowd of 32,151 had finished singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Thairo Estrada’s solo home run in the home second, his 14th round tripper of the season, put San Francisco ahead, 1-0. The 418 foot blast to left center came on a 73.9 mph knuckle ball that sailed off the Giants’ second baseman’s bat at 102 mph. The knuckler is Waldron’s favorite pitch; he throws it 27.2% of the time.

The Friars tied the score in the top of the fifth with a leadoff double by José Azocar, followed by a nubber in front of the plate that went as a single to Brett Sullivan and sent Azocar to third, from which he came home on Bogaerts’ sac fly to center.

The Giants came charging back in the bottom of the third with Michael Conforto’s leadoff double against the National Car Rental advertisement in left center field. With two outs, they foiled The Cure on Tyler Fitzgerald’s pop single to shallow right, and the orange and black was (were?) back in the lead, 2-1.

But not for long.Garrett Cooper ended Manaea’s night’s work with his 17th home run of the year, a leadoff blast that cleared the same National Car Rental ad against which Conforto had hit his two bagger. Ryan Walker entered the game as Manaea left to warm applause. Walker lived up to his name and allowed a walk and hit a batter, but that was all.

The submariner Tyler Rogers. set his ex teammates down in order in the eighth helped by Flores’s wonderful backhand stop and off balance throw to first on Machado’s bouncing ball down the third base line to end the inning.

Roberto Suárez kept it tied with a scoreless eighth.

The top of the ninth brought Camilo Doval to the mound for the home team. Kim, the first Padre he faced, lifted a foul fly to right on which Yastrzemski made a beautiful tumbling rollover catch for the first out. Cooper lined a double down the third base line.

Jurickson Profar pinch hit for Batten, and Eddie Roario was inserted as a pinch runner for Cooper. Doval fanned Profar, bringing Trent Grisham to the plate as a pinch hitter for Azocar. Doval got him out on a tricky bouncer to Estrada.

Josh Harder, who had earned the save in last night’s battle, walked Marco Luciano on four pitches to start the Giants’ ninth. Bailey, batting right handed — his strong side — for the first time tonight, struck out swinging, also went down swinging. Austin Slater pinch hit for Wade and forced Luciano out at second, 6-5, sending us into extra innings.

John Brebbia, yesterday’s unexpected opener, replaced Doval on the bump for the top of the 20th. He retired Bret Sullivan on a grounder to short, but zombie runner Grisham advanced to the third on the play and scored on Bogaerts’ sac fly to right. Tatís reached first on Luciano’s throwing error, and the Giants conceded a walk to Soto that put Tatís on second.

With Machado at bat, Bailey tried to pick Tatís off and threw the ball into center field, allowing both runners to advance a base. Both of them scored when the Manny you love to hate dumped a Texas League single into center.

Tom Cosgrove was chosen to protect the friars’ 5-2 lead in the bottom of the frame. Luis Matos pinch hit for Yaz and grounded out to short. Slater had to hold on at second, where he again had to remain when Flores bounced out to third. Héliot Ramos pinch hit for Pederson and grounded out to short to end the misery.

Brebbia, now 3-4, 3.55, was charged with the loss, even though a less porous defence might have resulted in him getting the win. Hader, the pitcher of record when the Padres forged ahead, got the win, making him 2-3, 1.16. Cosgrove got the save, his first.

The Giants will have a day off tomorrow to lick their wounds. They’ll play host to the Dodgers on Friday. No pitchers have been announced.

San Diego Padres pitcher Seth Lugo pitches the top of the first against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Sep 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

San Diego (78-80). 101 000 200. – 4. 7. 1

San Francisco (78-80). 000 000 000. – 0. 3. 1

Time: 2:19

Attendance: 28,183

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Giants were outplayed from beginning to end in Tuesday night’s 4-0 loss to the San Diego Padres.

San Francisco fans thought they would be given another chance to see the highly touted rookie Kyle Harrison acclimate himself to the rigors of major league baseball. The 22 year old righty from San José had been on the line up card that Gabe Kapler originally submitted and was featured prominently on the tenth page game Information notes that the Giants distributed to the press as well as in the pregame public address announcements.

Unfortunately, an illness, the nature of which was not disclosed, caused him to miss his start. It’s not known, or at least hasn’t been announced, if he’ll pitch again this season The lineup card that Sean Manaea delivered to home plate umpire Tripp Gibson listed opener John Brebbia as San Francisco’s starting pitcher.

The unforesen change did not work to the Giants’ benefit. Juan Soto smacked his 34th home run of the year, a two out solo shot to center that travelled 396 feet into the plaza area that divides the two halves of the bleachers.

Brebbia fanned Fernando Tatís, Jr. to retire the side and retired Garrett Cooper, the first batter he faced in the second, before giving way to Alex Wood, who stayed in the game and threw 82 pitches over 4-2/3 innings and allowed only one run, which was unearned, on four hits and three walks.

San Francisco almost got back the run that Brebbia had allowed when, in the bottom of the first, JD Davis lined a double off the brick wall in right field, where Tatís let it get away from him. Davis beat shortstop Xander Bogoaerts’ relay to third but overslid the bag and was tagged out to end the inning.

Poor defence cost San Francisco another run in the third. After Brettt Sullivan’s clean one out single to left, Bogaerts got a checked swing infield hit to second. Tairo Estrada’s throw not only failed to nab Sullivan, but it sailed past Wade and enabled Sullivan to move onto third. He scored on Ha-Seong Kim’s 6-3 ground out, short to first when Marco Luciano had a play in front of him at second, although it’s not clear that the Giants could have pulled off a double play.

Ryan Walker replaced Wood for the visitors’ seventh, and Soto did what he’d done to Brebbia, smack a four bagger. This one came with two outs and a runner on first. The 398 foot shot to left center came off a 95mph slider and left Soto’s bat at 108.4 mph. It brought his home run total to 35 and his RBI to 108.

Sean Hjelle, who has struggled mightily this year, hurled two scoreless innings to keep the Giants behind by only a 4-0 margin when they took their last licks. He even managed to be the sole Giant pitcher to retire Soto. managed to get through a scoreless top of the eighth.

The Padres got an outstanding performance from their starting pitcher, Seth Lugo. The right hander shut the orange and black out for 8-2/3 innings, limiting them to three hits and three walks. He threw 123 pitches 80 for strikes and struck out seven Giants. He was the winning pitcher, which improved his record to 8-7, 3.57. Josh Harder, who struck out a pinch hitting Wilmer Flores, earned his 32nd save.

Brebbia was charged with the loss. His balance sheet now reads, 3-3, 3.65.

Contrary to what I reported last night, the Padres have not yet been eliminated from the wild card race. Both the Giants and the Pads have a tragic number of one, and San Diego has a insurmountable advantage in the tie-breaking run differential figures.

The two rivals will play the rubber game match of this series, Wednesday, at 6:45pm PT. Matt Waldron (1-3,4.58) is scheduled to start for San Diego. Sean Manaea (7-6, 4.51) will return to his role as starter.

San Francisco Giants hitter Michael Conforto gets a two RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead on the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon Sep 25, 2023 (@SFGiants photo)

San Diego (77-80). 100 000 000. – 1. 9. 0

San Francisco (78-79). 000 000 02x – 2. 7. 0

Time: 2:23

Attendance: 28,557

Monday, September 25, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO—While no one was looking, the fast fading San Francisco Giants found themselves tied in the National League playoff standings with the until recently tail dragging San Diego Padres. That would have been exciting news a week ago when no team had a chance to catch the Dodgers for the division championship but the final playoff berth was up for grabs, but at game time this warm and somewhat humid Monday evening, both the friars and the hometown Giants had an tragic number of only two with six games to go. Not that it matters much, but the Padres enjoyed a tie breaking run differential of 91 to -16.

Monday night’s terrific, hard fought, come from behind 2-1 Giants win eliminated San Diego from. the wild card race, although it also reduced San Francisco’s elimination number to one with five games remaining to be played.

The Giants, 2-8 in their last ten encounters, sent their tough luck ace, Logan Webb (10-15, 3.35 for the first 156 games of the season; 1-2, 2.36 in September). He turned in a tremendous performance tonight, throwing a 110 pitch complete game victory, in which he gave up nine hits, two of them in a stressful ninth inning, and no walks. The one run scored against him was earned and came in the first frame. The win improved his record to 11-13, 3.25.

The Pads went with Blake Snell, 14-9, 2.33 for the heretofore underperforming San Diegans and leading the majors in ERA, opponents’ batting average, opponents’ slugging average, and hits allowed per nine innings. He threw six shutout frames, stymying the Giants, who left seven runners on base under his watch. Three of them, one in each of the first three frames, were in scoring position.

The Cy Young candidate faced 25 batters, threw them 100 pitches, of which only 35 were balls, and allowed them four hits and chalked up seven strikeouts while two walks. His no decision left him at 14-9 but reduced his already low ERA to 2.25.

Tom Cosgrove relieved him in the bottom of the seventh and, after getting two outs and suffering an infield single from Slater, turned the ball over to Robert Suárez, San Diego’s first right hander of the game, who retired the side on a hard bounder to Ji-man Choi at first.

In spite of that clutch out, the Giants’ eighth inning surge made Suárez the losing pitcher, with a record of 4-3, 4.21.

The visitors struck first with a game opening infield single by Xander Bogaerts, a line double to left by Fernando Tatís, Jr., and Manny Machado’s Texas League single to left. Webb escaped further damage when Luis Matos caught Ha-Seong Kim’s line drive to left and doubled up Tatís, trying to get back to second.

The Friars maintained that one run lead until the bottom of the eighth. With Suárez on the mound, a succession of left handed pinch hitters, with one right handed starter thrown into the mix, putSan Francisco ahead, 2-1.

LaMonte Wade, Jr., batting for JD Davis, walked. The starter, Marco Luciano, doubled to right, sending Wade to third. Joc Pedeson, batting for Mitch Haniger, received an intentional walk to load the bases.

Switch hitter Patrick Bailey’s grounder to first forced Wade out at the plate. And then Michael Conforto, pinch hitting for Héliot Ramos, whacked an opposite field single to left that brought in Luciano and Pederson with the tying and winning runs.

But that didn’t end the drama. Webb didn’t just breeze through the top of the ninth. Juan Soto greeted him with a leadoff single. The Manny you love to hate sent him to second with another safety to center. Both runners moved up 90 feet on Ha-Seongs’s ground out to third.

Wade, now playing first, fielded Ji-Man Choi’s hard shot and threw Soto out at home for the second out. And then Matt Baten grounded out to second.

The three game series will continue tomorrow, Tuesday, evening at 6:45. Bob Melvin’s crew will send Seth Lugo (7-7, 3.79) against the orange and black, who’ll entrust their fate to rookie Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.85)