Tag: San Francisco Giants

Chapman’s three run double is a gamer as Giants rally in 8th to defeat Marlins 3-1

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San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman slugs a three run double to clear the bases in the bottom of the eighth against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park on Fri Aug 30, 2024 (AP News photo)

Miami (49-86) 000 000 100.  1. 4. 0

San Francisco (68-68) 000 000 03x.  3. 6. 1

Time: 2:21

Attendance: 33,606

Friday, August 30, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–In an unexpected pregame move, the  Giants outrighted valued veteran Thairo Estrada to Sacramento and recalled Brett Wisely to the big league club.  The outcome of the game was not unexpected, but the steps that led to it certainly were.

The floundering Marlins, 49-85 at game time, and  relying on the right arm of an undistinguished wannabe for six excellent innings, led the Giants, 1-0 after 7-1/2 frames before falling to their hosts, 3-1.

The come from behind triumph brought the home team back to its almost impenetrable glass ceiling of .500 at 68-68 and gave some hope that the orange and back might just sneak into the playoffs.

The Giants did not throw an undistinguished wannabe at the Marlins. They put Blake Snell on the mound to start the game. In spite of the defending Cy Young winner’s command problems in his last start, problems that him to leave that game after three innings, he had come out of the late-signing, injury induced first half ineffectiveness to earn a  2-0, 1.72 record in August when he threw his first pitch at 7:16 this pleasant Friday evening.

When he was through, Snell had thrown 96 pitches, 69 of which qualified as strikes, over seven innings, allowing only a single tally, on four hits and a walk. The only extra base hit off him was a first inning double to Jake Burger. Although the lefty had to settle for a no decision that kept his won-lost record  at 2-3, he reduced his ERA to 3.56.

Tyler Rogers relieved Snell to face the fish in the top of the eighth. He retired them in order, earning his third win against four losses and bringing his ERA down to 3.06. Ryan Walker earned his fifth safe by also setting the Marlins down one, two, three in the ninth.

The Marlins’ starter, Adam Oller, didn’t come to work with as impressive a resumé as Snell.He was 2-8, 6.30 in 2022 and 1-1, 10.07 for the departing Athletics last year. The Mariners claimed him on waivers in July and sent him to Tacoma,where he finished that season.

This year, he went to spring training as a non-roster invitee of the Cleveland Guardians. The Marlins signed him as a minor league free agent in July and sent him to their AAA farm team in Jacksonville before calling him up on the 18th of this month.

He pitched 10-1/3 in two starts since then and showed up at Third and King with a 1-1, 5.23 record. His work tonight was every bit as good as Snell’s. The rookie held the Giants to two hits and an equal number of walks over six frames.

One of those hits was an infield single by Mike Yastrzemski. The other was LaMonte Wade, Jr’s double in the third. He struck out eight of the 21 Giants he faced and, like Snell, chalked up a no decision. His ERA now is 3.31.

Mike Baumann, who followed Oller, was tagged with the loss and now stands at 3-1, 5.40. George Soriano, who allowed the three runners who were on base when he relieved Bauman in the eighth  to score, was charged with a blown save.

By the top of the seventh what had been a scoreless tie had evolved into a tense pitchers’ duel. The tension rose with Derek Hill’s leadoff single to right.

With Otto López at the plate, Hill stole his sixth base of the season, but he stayed when López flew out to Grant McCray deep into the right center field warning track. McCray made a good throw to third, which vindicated third base coach Griffin Benedict’s caution, especially after David Hensley smacked a line drive single to right to bring Hill home with the game’s first and Miami’s only run.

The Giants turned the game around in the home eighth.  Jerar Encarnación pinch hit for Casey Schmidt hit a lead off single to right center, McCray fanned, but Yaz drew a walk, sending Encarnación to second, where the newly returned Wisely pinch ran for him. Bauman fanned Michael Conforto for the second out.

It was at this point that Soriano replaced Baumann. He tagged Soriano’s sixth offering, an 85mph slider for a double to left center that cleared the bases and put the Giants ahead, 3-1

Mason Black (0-1, 8.79) will be recalled  from Sacramento to start Saturday, Saturday’s, game scheduled to begin at 6:05.  Edward Cabrera (2-6, 5.60) will be his opposite number for the Fish.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Marlins-Giants open series Friday night at Oracle

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San Francisco Giants starter Hayden Birdsong pitches to the Milwaukee Brewers line up at American Family Ballpark in Milwaukee on Thu Aug 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

On San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael the lost two out of three to the Milwaukee Brewers with the three game series ending on Thursday afternoon at American Family Park. The Giants ran into pitching problems in the second, third and fourth innings giving up six runs which stood up for the Brewers win 6-0.

#2 Giants pitcher Hayden Birdsong got the call and got shelled going 3.2 innings allowing four hits and five earned runs. Birdsong when he first joined the Giants had a couple good starts but it seems like teams are doing some serious study on his pitch location.

#3 Birdsong did have six strikeouts but just couldn’t settle down and struggled through his first three plus innings. Did it appeared that he was just taken out of his game mentally once the Brewers started getting around on his pitches?

#4 On the offensive side of things the Giants couldn’t get any offense going, the Giants got only two hits from Tyler Fitzgerald and Michael Conforto got a hit each but the line up just struggled against Brewers starter Aaron Civale.

#5 The Giants head home to Oracle Park on Friday night. The Marlins will start RHP Adam Oller (1-1, ERA 5.23) for the Giants LHP Blake Snell (2-3, ERA 3.76) first pitch 7:15pm PT.

Michael does the Giants podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants Birdsong touched for five runs, Brewers Civale blanks SF’s dead offense over seven shutout innings, as Brewers take series with 6-0 win

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Milwaukee Brewers starter Aaron Civale was dealing against the San Francisco Giants throwing a combined two hit shutout at American Family Park in Milwaukee on Thu Aug 29, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024

American Family Field

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

San Francisco Giants 0 (67-68)

Milwaukee Brewers 6 (77-56)

Win: Aaron Civale (5-8)

Loss: Hayden Birdsong (3-4)

Time: 2:14

Attendance: 30,920

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants’ offense went dead Thursday, as Aaron Civale pitched a two-hitter over seven innings, and the Brewers got to Hyden Birdsong for five runs in a 5-0 win in the series finale in Milwaukee.

After a big 5-4 seesaw win for the Giants in the series opener on Tuesday, the Brewers exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning Wednesday night for a 5-3 win to even the series. The Giants were knocked back to .500 at 67-67, as well as a season-high six and a half games back of the third wild card in the National League.

Thursday, the Giants had a chance to win this series on the road against a powerful Brewers’ team. The Giants had an opportunity to get on the board early against Brewers’ starter Aaron Civale in the top of the first inning.

A one-out walk to Tyler Fitzgerald and a two-out base-hit by Michael Conforto put runners at the corners for Matt Chapman. Civale struck Chapman out swinging at a cutter on the outside corner, and the Giants had already wasted a golden opportunity right off the bat.

Hayden Birdsong took the ball for the Giants in the bottom of the first, as he was coming off a start in Seattle on Friday, in which his lack of control knocked him out after four innings. Birdsong threw 80 pitches, and 41 of them were balls. Brice Turang led off the inning with a base-hit to left field, but Birdsong retired the side in order while striking out a pair to end the inning.

Civale threw a one, two, three inning in the top of the second, and then Birdsong would run into trouble in the bottom of the second. First, Grant McCray, who has been impressing with his defense since being called up, robbed Wily Adames of a base-hit with a diving catch in shallow center to start the inning.

Unfortunately, Garrett Mitchell followed that up with a home run to right-center. Birdsong was not out of the woods yet. A walk to Gary Sanchez and a double by Joey Ortiz put runners at second and third with one out, and Blake Perkins knocked Sanchez in with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Giants were unable to do anything with a two-out base-hit by Fitzgerald in the top of the third, and Birdsong ran into more trouble in the bottom of the third. William Contreras drew a walk with one out, Adames singled him over to third two batters later.

Mitchell came up to the plate with runners at the corners and two outs. With a 1-2 count, Birdsong threw a fastball up and away for ball two, and Adames took off for second. The throw from catcher Patrick Bailey, who was activated off the Injured List today, went to shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, and as Adames backed away and started retreating back towards first, Contreras took off for the plate. For whatever reason, Fitzgerald threw the ball to third, as Contreras scored to make it 3-0, and Adames retreated back to first.

Fitzgerald could have thrown home, but what he really should have done was start running towards Contreras to get him stuck in a rundown. Fitzgerald has been a great story for the Giants this season, but he made a mental mistake, something that has become far too common with analytics people running organizations and baseball people shoved out and unable to teach players basic fundamentals in their development.

Civale threw another one, two, three inning in the top of the fourth, and Birdsong just couldn’t stay out of trouble, as the Brewers rallied once again in the bottom of the fourth. Birdsong retired the first two men he faced, but walks to Perkins and Turang forced him out of the game.

Bob Melvin brought in Sean Hjelle, and he drew a rude welcome from Jackson Chourio, who lined a double off the end of the bat into the corner down the right field line to knock in a pair and make it 5-0. Contreras then singled on a ground ball that got through into left field, and Chourio scored to make it 6-0.

For Birdsong, his struggles with his control and just overall continued, as he gave up five runs and four hits over three and two thirds innings, while walking four and striking out six. He threw 92 pitches, and just 49 of them were strikes.

After a leadoff walk to Jerar Encarnacion to start the top of the fifth, Civale retired the side in order, and the Giants would not get another base-runner for the rest of the game.

Civale went seven shutout innings, as he gave up just two hits, walked two and struck out seven. Left-hander Aaron Ashby, the nephew of former right-handed starter Andy Ashby, then threw a pair of one, two, three innings in the eighth and ninth.

As for Giants’ pitchers today, Hjelle pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the fifth, and Landen Roupp pitched three shutout innings. The six and seventh were rocky for Roupp, as he got out of a pair of jams. However, he finished his day nicely with a one, two, three bottom of the eighth.

Aaron Civale got the win, and Hayden Birdsong took the loss.

The Giants have been knocked back under .500, as they fall to 67-68. The Giants are now seven games back of the Braves, who will begin a four-game series Thursday night in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

The Giants will now return home for a six-game homestand with three against the Miami Marlins, and three against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants will begin their series against the Marlins tomorrow.

Blake Snell (2-3, 3.76 ERA), who is coming off a rough start in Seattle on Saturday, will take the ball for the Giants, and he will be opposed by Adam Oller (1-1, 5.23 ERA) on Friday night at Oracle Park. First pitch will be at 7:15 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

Patrick Bailey went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his return from the IL.

To make room for Bailey on the 26-Man Roster, catcher Andrew Knapp was designated for assignment. Knapp had just been acquired last Friday, and he went 1-for-6 in three games for the Giants with a pait of strikeouts.

Matt Chapman played in his 1,000th-career game Thursday. However, it was nothing special, as like Bailey, Chapman went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Giants need change

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San Francisco Giants team president Farhan Zaidi how safe is his job? He most likely will be evaluated by season’s end based on how the Giants finish in September. (SF Chronicle file photo)

Giants need Change

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Although their home base is San Francisco, the Giants hopes for a postseason in 2024 are fading “faster than a New York minute.” They are the “forever”.500 team. The Giants traded Jorge Soler and right-handed reliever Luke Jackson in late July to the Atlanta Braves.

Soler was the only certified slugger the Giants had in their lineup. Their offense is as average as any team, but that is not enough to compete, as it ranks 16th among all 30 MLB teams. There is no tie in baseball; if you can’t score, you can’t win, even if you have the best pitching in the world, and if you want to win the tight games, you need a bullpen as good as the starting rotation, and they do not have that type of bullpen this year.

When they traded Jorge Soler and pitcher Alex Cobb in late July. This was your typical salary dump. Thursday, they put second-baseman Thairo Estrada and relievers Taylor Rogers and Tyler Mazek on waivers. They could not lure great profile players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Carlos Correa. The Giants were never in the class to compete in a division with three very good teams: the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks, and the Padres.

With 28 games left (including today in Milwaukee), the Giants are 6.5 behind the third Wild Card, the Atlanta Braves. On top of the Giants, on the way to catch the Braves also the Cubs and the Mets, and just 1/2 game behind the Giants, in that bunch, the St Louis Cardinals.

To navigate these numbers in their favor, the Giants need a sensational September charge, but that, for a .500 baseball team, 67-67 is very unlikely. They have not shown they have that team. Even with a strong starting rotation, they will have to deal with Robbie Ray out for 15 days IL. Bob Melvin is one of the best managers in the game, but he is not a magician. The best Jockey in the world cannot win the race if his horse is limping.

Giants need change. Changes should be on the way. One thing is certain, The president of Baseball Operations, Mr. Farhan Zaidi, will soon seek a new job.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play voice on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network at 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sportstalk podcast remote from Firefish Grill in Santa Cruz: 49ers, Warriors, Giants talk plus what’s on the menu

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Sportstalk broadcast team at Firefish Grill in Santa Cruz: left bottom and up Firefish general manager Lance Haggard, Kelly Duca (SF Giants), Daisy Amaya (advertising), Lee Leonard (producer), right top and down, Tony the Tiger Hayes (He was a Giant feature writer), Michael Duca (mlb.com and host), Morris Phillips (Cal Bears beat writer) and Marko Ukalovic (San Jose Earthquakes beat writer) (photo by Firefish Grill)

Sportstalk podcast remote from Firefish Grill in Santa Cruz with Michael Duca (host), Marko Ukalovic (San Jose Earthquakes beat writer), Morris Phillips (Cal Bears beat writer) and Tony the Tiger Hayes (Is He A Giant? feature writer)

Our thanks to our hosts at Firefish Grill Owner and chef Mark Gilbert and general manager Lance Haggard. Firefish Grill with Fresh Seafood, Full Bar, and Exceptional Views located at 25 Municipal Pier at the Santa Cruz Wharf near the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Call 831-423-5200 or visit http://www.firefishgrill.net

Brewers rock Harrison for 5 runs in bottom of fifth, Giants fall short in 5-3 loss, drop 6.5 back of 3rd in NL Wild Card with 28 games left

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Milwaukee Brewers Jackson Chourio reaction after hitting a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at American Family Park in Milwaukee on Tue Aug 27, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024

American Family Field

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

San Francisco Giants 3 (67-67)

Milwaukee Brewers 5 (76-56)

Win: Freddy Peralta (9-7)

Loss: Kyle Harrison (6-7)

Save: Devin Williams (6)

Time: 2:43

Attendance: 23,247

By Stephen Ruderman

A five-run bottom of the fifth inning for the Brewers did Kyle Harrison and the Giants in, as despite the offense scoring three runs late, they ultimately fell 5-3 in Milwaukee to fall to six and a half games back of the third wild card with 28 games to go.

So far this road trip has been loss-win-loss-win. After losing two out of three to the Mariners in Seattle over the weekend, the Giants hit three home runs and a manufactured run enroute to a big 5-4 win in the series opener at American Family Field Tuesday night.

The Giants came into Wednesday night a game over .500 at 67-66, and five and a half games back of the Braves for the third wild card spot in the National League. That means win-loss-win-loss would not cut it. They had to start stringing together as many wins as possible, and they really had to start consistently hitting with runners and scoring position.

The Giants would be up against Freddy Peralta, who made the start for the Brewers Wednesday night. LaMonte Wade led off the game with a walk, but two batters later, Michael Conforto grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Kyle Harrison took the ball for the Giants, as he made his first start since his six-inning performance against the Chicago White Sox last Monday. Harrison started his outing tonight with a scoreless bottom of the first inning.

The game went along smoothly over the first four and a half innings, as Peralta set 14 of the first 17 hitters he faced, and Harrison gave up just one hit retired 12 of the first 14 men he faced. Harrison was also helped out by an incredible play by shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald in the bottom of the second, as well as a great catch by Michael Conforto in the bottom of the third.

Harrison made it 13 out of 15 when struck Rhys Hoskins out looking on a slurve to start the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Monasterio walked and stole second base, but Harrison struck Joey Ortiz out swinging for the second out.

Harrison was cruising, but all of the sudden out of nowhere, he just fell apart. Sal Frelick walked, and Jackson Chourio broke the ice with a base-hit the other way to right field, which knocked in Monasterio to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

Blake Perkins knocked in a pair with a double off the bottom of the wall in left to make it 3-0. William Contreras then hit a home run to left-center, and the Brewers had suddenly gotten to Harrison for five runs on three-straight hits to knock him out of the game.

Harrison was dealing through four and two thirds innings, as he struck out seven, but the sudden onslaught of three-straight hits and five runs made his start a completely different story. Sean Hjelle then came in and got Wily Adames to fly out to end the inning.

Peralta came back out for the sixth and retired the first two men he faced. The Giants then made some noise with two outs when Fitzgerald hit an opposite-field single to right and Conforto walked. However, Heliot Ramos struck out to end the inning, and the Giants wasted another opportunity.

Peralta threw six shutout innings and struck out eight. He retired 17 of the 22 batters he faced.

Austin Warren made his Giants’ debut with a scoreless bottom of the sixth inning, and the Giants would finally have some luck against Trevor Megill in the top of the seventh.

Matt Chapman led off the top of the seventh with a double and advanced to third on a ground out by Mike Yastrzemski. Thairo Estrada finally got the Giants’ first RBI hit with a runner in scoring position since Saturday with an infield hit deep into the hole at third, and Chapman scored to put the Giants on the board.

Warren came back out to throw a scoreless inning in the bottom of the seventh, and Brewers Manager Pat Murphy summoned Jared Koeing for the top of the eighth. Koeing struck out the first two guys he faced, and then the Giants would put a two-out rally together.

Fitzgerald lined a base-hit to center, and Conforto hit an opposite-field double that bounced off the wall in left to knock Fitzgerald in and make it 5-2. Ramos then lined a base-hit to left-center, and suddenly, it was a 5-3 game.

Despite their struggles with runners in scoring position, you still have to give the Giants’ offense credit. They have been resilient and have grinded it out all season. They have never believed they were out of a game, and they were in a good position to pull off a big comeback Wednesday night.

Spencer Bivens got out of a jam in scoreless bottom of the eighth, but Devin Williams thwarted any hopes of a Giants’ comeback with a one, two, three top of the ninth, and the Brewers won 5-3.

Freddy Peralta got the win; Kyle Harrison got saddled with what truly was a sudden loss; and Devin Williams got his sixth save of the year.

The Giants fall back to .500 at 67-67, and with the Braves’ 5-1 win over the Twins in Minneapolis, the Giants are now a season-high six and a half games out of the nearest playoff spot with 28 games to go.

Time is truly now running out for the Giants, and if they want to have any hope of making a last-minute run in September, they need to start winning now.

The Giants can still take the series with a win Thursday. Hayden Birdsong (3-3, 4.57 ERA) will look to be the stopper, and he will be opposed by Aaron Civale (4-8, 4.84 ERA), who will take the ball for the Brewers. First pitch will be at 1:10 p.m. in Milwaukee, and 11:10 a.m. back home in San Francisco.

Giants News and Notes:

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Prior the Giants placed Thairo Estrada, Taylor Rogers and Tyler Matzek on waivers prior to the game. They will be available to any team that wants to pay the remainder of their 2024 salaries.

Giants hit three home runs and bullpen holds on through wild seesaw game for 5-4 win over Brewers in Milwaukee

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San Francisco Giants Mike Yastrzemski (right) watches the flight of his two run home run in the top of the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Ballpark in Milwaukee on Tue Aug 27, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024

American Family Field

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

San Francisco Giants 5 (67-66)

Milwaukee Brewers 4 (75-56)

Win: Camilo Doval (5-1)

Loss: Joel Payamps (3-6)

Save: Ryan Walker (4)

Time: 2:52

Attendance: 24,354

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants began their toughest stretch of the schedule this season with a big 5-4 win over the Brewers Tuesday night in Milwaukee, as Logan Webb braved through five innings; the offense hit three home runs; and the bullpen came through in a wild seesaw game on Tuesday night.

The Giants are coming off a tough series loss in Seattle, and after having a day off Monday in Milwaukee to think about it, they were back at it against one of the best teams in Baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers.

It was the first time the Giants faced the Brewers this season. The Brewers have been one of the most successful teams in Baseball over the last eight years with six winning seasons and five playoff appearances.

With Brewers’ longtime manager Craig Counsell leaving for the Cubs, there were questions on how well they would do this season. However, the leadership of Manager Pat Murphy, as well as their pitching and defense has carried them to another great season. They came into tonight 75-55, and 10 games up on the Cubs for first place in the National League Central.

There was a lot of severe weather throughout the midwest Tuesday. The game between the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers just 96 and a half miles down the road in the South Side of Chicago was suspended just four pitches into the game.

The good news is that there is a roof at American Family Field. The storms would not even reach Milwaukee, so they were able to play the game Tuesday night with the rood open. However, it was 85 degrees and quite humid.

Tobias Meyers made the start for Milwaukee, and he began the game with a one, two three top of the first inning. Logan Webb once again had to be the stopper, as he took the ball for the Giants. An error and a walk put runners on first and second with one out for the Brewers in the bottom of the first, but Webb was able to get out of it thanks to a pair of ground balls.

The Giants wasted a leadoff double by Heliot Ramos in the top of the second, and Webb threw a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the second.

The Giants wasted a leadoff double by Heliot Ramos in the top of the second, and they would have a runner at second with nobody out again in the top of the third. Grant McCray walked to lead off the inning and stole second.

Curt Casali struck out looking, but McCray advanced to third on a balk with LaMonte Wade at the plate. Wade then grounded out to second, and McCray scored to put the Giants on the board.

After throwing a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the second, the Brewers got to Webb in the bottom of the third. Brice Turang lined a base-hit to left field, and then Jackson Chourio hit a towering home run to left-center to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead.

The Giants struck back with two outs in the top of the fourth, as Matt Chapman hit a solo shot to right-center, his 21st of the year, to tie the game 2-2. With that home run, Chapman reclaims the team lead in home runs.

After Webb pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the fourth, Thairo Estrada nearly led off the top of the fifth with a home run to left-center, but Brewers’ center-fielder Blake Perkins leapt over the wall to take the home run away from Estrada. Not to worry, though; Grant McCray immediately followed it up with an absolute bomb to left to put the Giants back ahead.

Webb pitched a one, two, three shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth. Surprisingly, Wevv had thrown 97 pitches through five innings, which is quite unusual for him Tobias Myers was done after five innings, and Bryan Hudson came in for the Brewers to throw a one, two, three inning in the top of the sixth.

Bob Melvin had Webb go back out for the bottom of the sixth despite his high pitch count. It would be a move that came back to bite Melvin and the Giants, as Jake Bauers walked and stole second, and Wily Adames hit a long home run to left-center to put the Brewers ahead 4-3.

It was the fourth home run hit in Tuesday night’s game. Three of them were absolute bombs. It also ended the night for Webb.

In five-plus innings, Webb gave up four runs and four hits, while walking three and striking out four. Perhaps, pitching in the humidity in the cheap paper towel jersey he was forced to wear made things more difficult, but to Webb’s credit, he hung in there and still gave the Giants a solid outing.

Melvin brought in Camilo Doval, who struck out the first two hitters he faced. Sal Frelick then doubled with two outs, and Doval walked Joey Ortiz and Turang to load the bases. That brought up Chourio, as the Brewers had a chance to open this game up against Doval, who was once again in a jam. Doval was able to get out of it, as Chourio flew out to center to end the inning.

Murphy brought in Joel Payamps in the top of the seventh, and Matt Chapman led off the inning with a base-hit to left. That brought up Mike Yastrzemski, who hit a home run to right-center, and the Giants re-took the lead.

The Giants led 5-4, as Landen Roupp, who was brought back up prior to the game, was brought in for the bottom of the seventh. Roupp got into trouble thanks to a pair of walks, and Melvin lifted him for Tyler Rogers. Rhys Hoskins stepped up, and he hit a fly ball to deep left-center, but center-fielder Grant McCray made the catch at the warning track to end the inning.

Joe Ross pitched a one, two, three top of the eighth for Milwaukee, and Rogers was back out for the bottom of the eighth. Sal Frelick lined a base-hit to right to start the inning, and Ortiz struck out on a foul tip for the first out.

Turang was up at the plate, and he hit a ground ball to first. When first-baseman Mark Canha threw to second to try to initiate a double play, the throw veered off to the left, but shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald dove to his right to catch it, and he was able to keep his foot on the bag with full control of the ball in his glove.

It was an incredible play by Fitzgerald for the second out, and he very well may have saved the Giants from a complete disaster. With two outs and a runner at first, Chourio struck out to end the inning.

Ross threw a scoreless inning in the top of the ninth, and Melvin brought in his closer, Ryan Walker for the bottom of the ninth. Even with Doval back, Walker will most likely remain the closer for the rest of the season, and he was in Tuesday night to try and notch down his fourth save.

Walker set down the first two men he faced, but Adames lined a two-out base-hit to left. That brought up Blake Perkins, who hit a fly ball deep to right-center, but right-fielder Mike Yastrzemski made the catch at the base of the track to end the game.

Camilo Doval got the win; Joel Payamps got the loss; and Ryan Walker got the save.

The Giants are still overly relying on home runs and wasting opportunities with runners in scoring position. However, they are still playing hard, and they fully believe they can make a run over the final five weeks of the Regular Season to get into the Playoffs. They demonstrated that with a truly-spirited effort Tuesday night.

The Giants are once again back over .500 at 67-66, and they remain five and a half games back of the Braves, who beat the Twins 8-6 in Minneapolis Tuesday night. The Braves gained a half game on the Giants with a 10-6 win in Minnesota Monday.

Kyle Harrison (7-5, 4.00 ERA) will be back on the mound Wednesday night to make his first start for the Giants in nine days. Freddy Peralta (8-7, 3.86 ERA) will take the ball for the Brewers. First pitch will be at 7:10 p.m. in Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. back home in San Francisco.

Giants News and Notes:

Robbie Ray was placed on the Injured List with a strained left hamstring, and Jordan Hicks was also placed on the IL due to inflammation in his right shoulder. Landen Roupp has been called back up from Sacramento. Right-handed pitcher Austin Warren, who the Giants signed in February, was also called up from Sacramento.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants fall short on run production in Seattle; SF opens series with Reds Tuesday

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San Francisco Giants starter Robbie Ray was checked on regarding his hamstring by the trainer in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T Mobile Park in Seattle on Sun Aug 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

SF Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 The Giants jumped to a 2-1 lead in first inning against the Seattle Mariners. The Giants in the top of the first when Heliot Ramos hit a two run home run that had Tyler Fitzgerald score ahead of him.

#2 The Mariners came right back scoring a run in the bottom of the first when Cal Raleigh hit a single that scored Dylan Moore for a 2-1 score.

#3 With the scored tied 2-2 in the last of the sixth the Mariners and former Giant Mitch Haniger grounded into a double play that scored Randy Arozarena and the M’s never looked back taking a 3-2 lead.

#4 Giants Robbie Ray didn’t have as much luck against his former teammates the M’s. Ray pitched three innings giving up one hit and one earned run.

#5 The Giants head to Milwaukee to open a three game series against the Brewers on Tuesday night at 5:10pm PT. Starting pitcher for the Giants Logan Webb (11-8, 3.13) and Milwaukee will start RHP Tobias Myers (6-5, 2.87).

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Wasted opportunities burn Giants in 4-3 loss to Mariners in series finale in Seattle

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San Francisco Giants Grant McCray jogs the bases after hitting a top of the eighth inning home run against the Seattle Mariners at T Mobile Park in Seattle on Sun Aug 25, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024

T-Mobile Park

Seattle, Washington

San Francisco Giants 3 (66-66)

Seattle Mariners 4 (66-65)

Win: Bryan Woo (6-2)

Loss: Sean Hjelle (3-4)

Save: Andres Munoz (19)

Time: 2:39

Attendance: 35,062

By Stephen Ruderman

SEATTLE–Wasted opportunities once again came back to bite the Giants, as Robbie Ray left with left hamstring tightness after just three innings, and the Mariners edged out the Giants for a 4-3 win to take the series in Seattle.

Sunday was the rubber match of a series between two similarly-built teams in the similar spot of being around .500 and on the fringes of contention. The Mariners came back from down 5-1 to hand the Giants their worst loss of the season on Friday night. Saturday, the Giants bounced back in a real team effort for a much-needed 4-3 win

The weather had finally cleared after a pair of cold and rainy days, as the sun was out, and the roof was open on this beautiful partly-cloudy day for the series finale Sunday afternoon in Seattle. This would be the 2,000th game in the history of T-Mobile Park, which originally opened in July 1999 as Safeco Field.

Bryan Woo made the start for Seattle, and Tyler Fitzgerald stepped in to lead off the ballgame. Fitzgerald reached on a throwing error by third-baseman Josh Rojas. Two batters later, Heliot Ramos hit a two-run home run to left to put the Giants on the board.

It was Ramos’ 20th home run of the season, and he became the youngest Giant to have a 20-home run season since Pablo Sandoval hit 23 in 2011.

Making the start for the Giants would be Robbie Ray, who pitched for the Mariners the last two seasons. Ray walked Dylan Moore to start the bottom of the first inning, and Moore advanced to third base on a wild pitch with one out. Cal Raleigh then lined a base-hit to left, which scored Moore to put the Mariners on the board.

Woo pitched a one, two, three inning in the top of the second, and Ray pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the second. As the inning went along, Ray started grunting with each pitch, as he could be heard all the way up here in the press box.

Woo threw another one, two, three inning in the top of the third, and Ray escaped a jam in the bottom of the third. The Mariners had gotten a runner into scoring position in each of the first three innings against Ray.

After Woo pitched a scoreless top of the fourth, Ray came back out for the bottom of the fourth. Justin Turner led off the inning, and the second pitch of the at-bat was fouled back just a bit off to the right, as the ball was dropped by a fan in the suite level, before bouncing off the broadcast booths and eventually landing in the first deck.

That wasn’t the biggest story of that foul ball, however. Bob Melvin, Pitching Coach Bryan Price and the trainer all came out to check on Ray, who was in clear discomfort. After a conversation at the mound, Ray left the game with tightness in his left hamstring.

Sean Hjelle came in and ended up allowing a leadoff base-hit to Turner. Hjelle then ended up pitching a scoreless inning.

Ray ended up pitching three innings, while allowing just a hit in a run. He walked three and struck out four. Hjelle was saddled with Turner’s base-hit.

Woo pitched another scoreless inning in the top of the fifth, and the Mariners rallied against Hjelle in the bottom of the fifth. Josh Rojas led off the inning with a base-hit to right, and Leo Rivas sacrificed him over to second. Dylan Moore then hit a sharp ground ball to short that took a nasty hop and skipped off the glove of shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald, and Moore was aboard.

The Mariners had runners at the corners with one out for Julio Rodriguez. J-Rod hit a ground ball to first that LaMonte Wade threw to second for the second out of the inning, but Rodriguez beat out the backend with Hjelle covering at first. That allowed Rojas to score, which tied the game.

Woo threw a shutdown one, two, three inning in the top of the sixth. Woo was helped by right-fiedler Mitch Haniger, who made a great running catch on a flyball off the bat of Wade to right-center. Haniger’s catch almost certainly took away extra bases from Wade.

The Mariners loaded the bases with nobody out off Hjelle, who was back out for his third inning of work in the bottom of the sixth. Hjelle hit two guys and allowed a base-hit to Turner.

Following his great catch in the top of the inning, Haniger grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Arozarena scored to give the Mariners their first lead of the day. Bob Melvin pulled Hjelle for left-hander Taylor Rogers, and Rojas singled on a ground ball to right-center to knock in Turner and make it 4-2.

Woo came back out for the seventh, and he threw his sixth-straight scoreless inning to cap off a great afternoon for him. Mariners’ fans serenaded him with a long chant of “WOOOOOOOOOOO” as he headed back to the dugout.

Woo gave up just two runs and four hits over seven strong innings. He didn’t walk anybody, and he struck out seven.

Taylor Rogers came back out to throw a one, two, three bottom of the seventh, and that gave the Giants a little bit of a boost going into the eighth.

Mariners’ Interim Manager Dan Wilson brought in Friday night’s winning pitcher, Collin Snider, in for the top of the eighth. Grant McCray stepped in to lead off the inning, and he hooked a home run that hit off the facing of the second deck in right to make it a 4-3 game.

Mark Canha then pinch-hit and walked, and the Giants had the tying run aboard at first with nobody out for the top of the order. Wade walked with one out to put runners at first and second, but Ramos struck out swinging, and Michael Conforto grounded out to first, so the Giants of course wasted it.

Tyler Rogers came in for the bottom of the eighth. It was his first appearance since his disastrous eighth inning on Friday night, and he ran into trouble, as the Mariners put runners at the corners with two outs. However, Rogers struck Rojas out on a foul tip to complete a scoreless inning.

Mariners’ Closer Andres Munoz came in for the top of the ninth much to the excitement of this raucous crowd in Seattle. Matt Chapman walked to lead off the inning, but Mike Yastrzemski struck out for the first out. Thairo Estrada grounded out in front of the plate for the second out, but that did get the tying run in Chapman into scoring position.

It was now up to McCray, who homered his last time up to lead off the eighth. McCray worked the count full to 3-2, as Chapman advanced to third on defensive indifference. McCray walked to keep the game going for Canha, but Canha struck out to end it, and the Mariners held on to win it 4-3.

Bryan Woo got the win; Sean Hjelle took the loss; and Andrews Munoz got the save. The Giants fall to 66-66, but they remain five games back of the Braves, who lost Sunday, for the third wild card.

The Giants will now head to Milwaukee, where after a day off Monday, they will begin a three-game series against the powerful Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday. Logan Webb (11-8, 3.13 ERA) will be on the mound for the Giants, and he will be opposed by Tobias Myers (6-5, 2.87 ERA).

First pitch will be at 7:10 p.m. in Milwaukee, 5:10 p.m. back home in San Francisco.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Diamondbacks 75-56 +4.5
  2. Padres 74-58 +3.0
  3. Braves 70-60 —

Mets 68-63 2.5

GIANTS 66-66 5.0

Cardinals 65-65 5.0

Cubs 65-66 5.5

Giants News and Notes:

The Giants have received infielder Nate Furman from the Cleveland Guardians as the player to be named later for Alex Cobb.

Major League Baseball News and Notes:

With the Chicago White Sox’s 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, they have become the second-fastest team to lose 100 games in the Modern Era of National League and American League Baseball.

The fastest team to lose 100 games was the 1916 Philadelphia A’s. While the 1962 New York Mets finished with the most losses in a single season in the Modern Era at 40-120 in the first season the National League had a 162-game schedule, the 1936’s finished with the worst record in Modern History at 36-117 with a .2352 winning percentage.

To finish with the worst record in Modern NL/AL History, the White Sox would have to finish at 38-124, which would amount to a .2345 winning percentage. Even though the White Sox’ current winning percentage is .2366, they are currently on pace to lose 124 games, and have the worst season in Modern NL/AL History.

Giants bounce back from brutal loss with massive team effort in 4-3 win in Seattle

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San Francisco Giants Mike Yastrzemski (5) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the seventh inning at T Mobile Park in Seattle on Sat Aug 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024

T-Mobile Park

Seattle, Washington

San Francisco Giants 4 (66-65)

Seattle Mariners 3 (65-65)

Win: Spencer Bivens (3-1)

Loss: George Kirby (9-10)

Save: Ryan Walker (3)

Time: 3:04

Attendance: 38,027

By Stephen Ruderman

SEATTLE–After blowing a 5-1 lead to suffer their worst loss of the season Saturday night, the Giants bounced back today with a 4-3 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

The roof was closed again on another cold and rainy day in the Pacific Northwest, as the Giants looked to bounce back from their worst loss of the season Friday night. Friday night, the Giants had a 5-1 lead going to the bottom of the eighth inning, but Tyler Rogers imploded, and the Mariners scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie it. The Mariners then won the game in the 10th inning.

It was the kind of loss that will truly test the resilience of a team. The 2024 Giants have been a very streaky team with a lot of ups and downs, but last night’s game took the cake. They came into Saturday, 65-65, and five games back of the Braves for the third wild card with 32 games left to play. How they would respond today could be a real indicator of what this team is all about.

The Giants responded nicely against Mariners’ starter George Kirby in the top of the first inning. Tyler Fitzgerald led off the ballgame with a bunt single past the mound on the third base side. LaMonte Wade swung out swinging, but Heliot Ramos was hit by a pitch, and Michael Conforto walked to load the bases.

Matt Chapman was up, and he lined a slider from Kirby down the left field line, but Mariners’ left-fielder Randy Arozarena ran and dove to his right to make a tremendous diving catch to rob Chapman of a base-hit. Chapman still got an RBI though, as Fitzgerald scored, and it ended up being a sacrifice fly.

Arozarena hurt himself on the play, and he was down for a couple of minutes. However, being the gamer that he is, he stayed in the game.

Blake Snell made the start for the Giants, and the Giants hoped he could continue his historic stretch with another strong start Sunday. The first man Snell would face would be Victor Robles, and Robles appeared to be hit on one of his hands and fell to the ground.

Unlike Arozarena, Robles would have to leave the game. Not only that, but Home Plate Umpire Tripp Gibson ruled it a foul ball, so it proved to be one of the most painful strikes in the history of the game. Luke Raley pinch-hit and flew out to left field.

Snell pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the first, and the Giants would rally again in the top of the second. Thairo Estrada and Grant McCray started the inning with back-to-back singles. Curt Casali struck out, but Tyler Fitzgerald lined a base-hit down the left field line, which knocked in Thairo to make it 2-0.

The Giants were unable to add on in the top of the second, and it would prove quite costly when Snell completely lost his command in the bottom of the second. Snell walked five guys in the bottom of the second, which gave the Mariners two runs to tie the game. Talk about a rally for free.

Hayden Birdsong had a hard time throwing strikes last night, and the same thing was happening to Snell today, as he had issued six walks in his first two innings of work. Was there something wrong with the mound at T-Mobile Park? Who knows, but Snell’s second inning just came out of the blue.

“It’s why the game is beautiful,” said Snell. “There’s always something to work on; something to learn; [and] something I could have told myself to make the inning quicker.”

The Giants wasted an opportunity in the top of the third, and Snell bounced back with a one, two, three inning in the bottom of the third. Snell had thrown 74 pitches, and he was done after three no-hit innings. Snell gave up two runs and struck out six.

“You know what, a lot of innings here kinda recently added up for him,” said Bob Melvin. “Obviously, he didn’t have his command in the second, so [we] called it a day a little bit early for him and gave him a little bit of a break. He’s been pitching deep in games [and] throwing a ton of pitches. [He] just felt pretty sluggish from the start today, as far as his body goes, so that’s why we did that.”

“[I] gotta make adjustments quicker to allow myself to get deeper into games,” added Snell. “Just a weird [start], but [I’ll] learn from it [and] get better.”

Kirby pitched a scoreless inning in the top of the fourth, and Melvin went to Spencer Bivens in the bottom of the fourth. Bivens gave up a two-out single, but pitched a scoreless inning.

Kirby retired the first two men he faced in the top of the fifth, but Mike Yastrzemski doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Thairo then came up and lined a base-hit down the left field line to knock in Yaz, and the Giants were back ahead 3-2.

Bivens pitched another scoreless inning in the bottom of the fifth, and JT Chargois, who came in for Kirby in the top of the fifth, pitched a scoreless top of the sixth. Bivens returned for his third inning of work in the bottom of the sixth, and he threw a one, two, three inning.

“Bivens all the sudden [made] a three-inning start out of Blake a six-inning start,” said Melvin. “It was almost like Blake pitched six innings today.”

It was not expected for Snell to only last three innings, and after Bob Melvin used six pitchers out of the bullpen last night, Bivens gave his team a huge performance.

Austin Voth came in for Seattle in the top of the seventh. After Voth retired the first two hitters he faced, Yaz came up and hit a line-drive home run to the first row in right to make it 4-2.

Aaron Hicks, who hurt himself warming up in the bullpen Friday night, was summoned for the bottom of the seventh. Hicks walked Raley with one out, and Julio Rodriguez hit a ground-rule double to right-center to put runners at second and third. Justin Turner then walked to load the bases for the always-dangerous Randy Arozarena.

Arozarena hit a ground ball to short and was originally called out on the backend of a double play by First Base Umpire Brock Ballou to end the inning. However, the Mariners challenged the call, and it was overturned. Raley scored to make it 4-3, and the inning was still alive.

Melvin then brought in Camilo Doval, who was brought back up from Sacramento after five games, in which he went 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA. Doval made his return to the majors in the ballpark where he pitched in the All-Star Game last season.

Doval immediately fell behind 3-0 to the first hitter he faced, Jorge Polanco. Arozarena then stole second, and Melved elected to put Polanco on to load the bases for former Giant Mitch Haniger, who grounded out to third to end the inning.

The Giants still had the lead going to the eighth, as Trent Thornton came in for the Mariners. McCray lined a base-hit into center field, and Curt Casali bunted him over to second. However, the Giants were unable to come through.

Melvin let Doval go back out for the bottom of the eighth, and Doval did not disappoint, as he threw a one, two, three inning, striking out the final two.

Tayler Saucedo then pitched a one, two, three top of the ninth for the Mariners.

Ryan Walker was originally not supposed to pitch today after his dominant two-inning performance last night. However, Walker really wanted to pitch, and got his wish, as he came in and retired the first two hitters in the bottom of the ninth.

Justin Turner kept the game going with a base-hit to center to bring up Arozarena as the potential winning run. Of course it had to be a little scary, but Arozarena grounded out to short to end it, and the Giants were able to hold on for a desperately-needed 4-3 win.

Spencer Bivens got the win with his three-inning performance; George Kirby took the loss; and Ryan Walker picked up his third save.

“[Walker] volunteered today,” said Melvin. “[That] allowed us to do things a little bit differently earlier in the game. [If he didn’t volunteer], you wouldn’t have seen Doval or Hicks in the innings that they pitched.”

“He’s our workhorse down there,” added Yaz. “You can throw him into any role, and he’s gonna say ‘yes.’ He’s not gonna put up a stink; he’s gonna do what needs to be done for the team and do it well…..I’m glad I don’t have to face him right now.”

Thairo and Fitzgerald both went 2-for-4, but the guy who really came through today was Yastrzemski, who went 3-for-5.

The Giants are back over .500, as they improve to 66-65. However, they remain five games back of the Braves, who beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 in Atlanta.

The Giants can take the series with a win Sunday. Robbie Ray (3-2, 4.88 ERA) will make the start for the Giants, and Bryan Woo (5-2, 2.12 ERA) will take the ball for Seattle. First pitch will be at 1:10 p.m.

National League Wild Card Standings:

  1. Diamondbacks 74-56 +3.5
  2. Padres 73-58 +2.0
  3. Braves 70-59 —

Mets 68-62 2.5

GIANTS 66-65 5.0

Cubs 65-65 5.5

Cardinals 64-65 6.0

Giants News and Notes:

Camilo Doval had a lot of help from Ryan Vogelsong and Johnny Cueto in his brief stint in Sacramento. Doval had a conversation with Cueto, a former Giant who was pitching for the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees.

Cueto has shown throughout his career that he possesses a lot of pitching knowledge, and he very well could be a pitching coach after he retires.

With Doval back up, Landed Roupp, who pitched for the first time in nine days last night, was sent back to Sacramento.

Even with Doval back, Walker will remain the closer.