Tampa Bay Rays’ Christian Bethancourt, right, is congratulated by third base coach Brady Williams (4) after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.(AP News photo)
Tampa Bay (72-49). 000 320 122. – 10. 18. 1
San Francisco (64-56). 000 010 010. – 2. 6. 1
Time: 2:45
Attendance: 25,748
By Lewis Rubman
SAN FRANCISCO–What league do the Giants play in, any way? Tonight’s humiliating 10-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays was the ninth consecutive game they’ve played against an American League opponent. They’ve now lost seven of them.
The Giants added two reinforcements before game time. They promoted Wade Meckler and Johan Camargo from Sacramento. Both started tonight’s game, Meckler in center field and batting second, Camargo at third base and batting ninth.
Meckler, the first of the Giants’ 2022 draft picks to reach the majors, went 0 for 3 but handled himself well at the hot corner. Camargo, a veteran of 416 games in six seasons in the show, where he posted a lifetime batting average of .255, went 1 for 4.
Tampa Bay made a newsworthy roster move of its own before game time. They placed infielder Wander Franco on the restricted list because of illicit behavior on the internet.
Southpaw pitcher Jacob López, who made his major league debut when he entered the game to pitch the bottom of the seventh, took Franco’s place on the roster. Stayed in the game, allowing one run, earned, on three hits in his three innings of work.
The orange and black went with an opener for the fourth time in six games. The choice was Ryan Walker , making his ninth start of the season as an opener.. His was a respectable 4-1, 2.40 before pitching his two scoreless innings and giving way to Tristan Beck.
The Rays, inventors of the bullpen game, went with a traditional starter, Tyler Glasnow. He had held the Yankees to one run in a seven inning start on July 31 but had to leave the game due to back spasms. This was his first appearance since then.
Glasnow brought a 5-3, 3.15 record (3-2, 2.11 in July) with him to the mound. Glasnow pitched a strong game, going six innings while holding the Giants to one run, which was earned, on three hits and three bases on balls. He threw 87 pitches, 58 for strikes, en route to his sixth win and bringing his ERA down to 3.01.
Beck pitched himself out of a two on, one out jam in the third, but he couldn’t wiggle out of the mess the Rays created in the fourth, Curtis Mead shot a one out single to center and moved up a notch on Christian Bethancourt’s safety to left.
Manuel Margot’s ground out to third offered a respite to the Ray attack, Oslleiivis Basabe singled both runners home, and Yandy Díaz capped the scoring with an RBI double to center. Tampa Bay was up, 3-0.
Beck coughed up another run in fifth. With two down and Harold Ramírez, who had led off with a single, on first, Mead hit a hard drive back to the mound. It escaped Beck’s grasp. He attempted a fancy back hand toss to first and threw the ball away.
Mead was safe at first on the single, and both he and Ramírez advanced another base on the error. Bethancourt sent a grounder through the second base hole, driving in Ramírez and sending Mead to third. Margot also smacked a single to right, bringing Mead home with the visitors’ fifth run.
San Francisco’s bats had been dormant ’til now, with Conforto’s second inning single their only hit. But they came alive in the bottom of the fifth, even if they only managed to produce one run. Pederson opened the frame with a single to right center. Conforto walked.
Thairo Estrada hit a single off shortstop Basabe’s glove and into left that brought Pederson home. With the exception of Blake Sabol’s fly to the left field warning track, that was the extent of the Giants’ offensive resurrection for the inning. They still trailed, only now it was by 5-1.
Luke Jackson replaced Beck for the sixth and held the Rays in check for a while, until Bethancourt planted a 3-2 slider half way up the left field bleachers, 407 feet deep, for his eighth home run and 24th RBI of the season and a 6-1 advantage for the team from St. Petersburg. A walk to Margot, and Jackson was gone, replaced by Scott Alexander, who notched the two outs to hold the damage at 6-1.
The home team loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh against the rookie López after Crawford reached first on an error, Camargo singled, and Wade was hit by a pitch. But Mecker went down swinging on a full count.
Tampa Bay added to its already comfortable lead in the eighth. Arozamena started it with a walk. Meckler made a beautiful play on Ramírez’s grounder to third, but the out call at first was reversed on. aooeal. Singles by Paredes and Siri, and it was 8-1, Rays.
A Conforto single to left and Estrada’s double to right gave the Giants a fig leaf second run in their half of the eighth.
Taylor Rogers allowed two more tallies in the Tampa Bay ninth on a single to Arozarena, a triple to Ramírez, and a wild pitch.
López set the Giants down in order in the ninth to complete the debacle.
Beck was charged with the loss, making him (3-2, 3.62)
The Giants will try to tie the series Tuesday, at 6:45. They’ll haven’t yet announced who they’ll send against Zack Littell (2-3, 4.10)
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