4th inning: 10-8

 1st inning: 13-5

2nd inning: 9-9

3rd inning: 9-9

4th inning: 10-8

The Giants had a nice little seven-game win streak and that got them back in the race with the Dodgers and the Padres for the NL West title. The 41-31 (.569) Giants are two games behind LA and one game ahead of SD.

The pitching has been stellar. By any measure (8.2 WAR, 10th; 3.46 FIP, 3rd; 3.30 ERA, 3rd) the Giants have suppressed run-scoring at a better-than-average rate. It's a big reason they have 41 wins (8th-most in MLB). The bullpen has been particularly good, especially Randy Rodriguez, Camilo Doval, Erik Miller, and the always-underappreciated Tyler Rogers. Two starters have put up All-Star work so far, and that would be Logan Webb (2.8 fWAR, 1.9 bWAR) and Robbie Ray (1.8 fWAR, 2.0 bWAR). With Kyle Harrison now on the Red Sox AAA squad in Worcester, the team will have to get big performances from Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong. Justin Verlander comes off the IL and pitches on Wednesday.

The offense has been barely competent. They are 20th in WAR (7.2) and 21st in wOBA (.305). They've scored 309 runs (the league average is 308) for a 4.3 rpg mark. Their .232 BA is 24th, their .311 OBA is 21st, and their .377 SLG is 23rd.

I think we can see why Buster Posey took a "big swing" and got Rafael Devers to bolster the lineup. Ray goes tomorrow night against Cleveland at home (6:45 PT) with Verlander on Wednesday night and Webb going Thursday afternoon (1:05). Boston comes to town for the weekend and we'll see Birdsong, Roupp, and Ray. That should be interesting!

--M.C.

The Devers Trade

The 2025 Giants are (mostly) Farhan Zaidi's team. Buster Posey added Willy Adames in the off-season, a big move to be sure, but also a move that was a near-consensus prediction by baseball's punditry. In other words it wasn't shocking or surprising. It was actually the safe, non-controversial play, perfect for a rookie at the helm.

Trading for Rafael Devers in mid-season is something else entirely. This is Buster Posey donning his Superman cape! Just kidding, but it is more like something A.J. Preller of the Padres would do. It's what the scribes like to call a "blockbuster."

But this is life in the NL West. Look at the Diamondbacks—they signed Corbin Burnes in the off-season to a mega-deal and now he needs Tommy John surgery. But it was the right move at the time. They needed to beef up their rotation if they wanted to stay competitive. The Giants have to beef up their lineup if they want to stay competitive.

Buster and the Giants send four players to Boston: Kyle Harrison (who was supposed to start tonight), Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs (A+, OF/1B), and Jose Bello (Rk, RHP). Devers will be 29 in October. He's a legit star. He came up as a third baseman but when the Red Sox got Alex Bregman Devers moved to DH. He'll likely DH with the Giants. He's a lefty slugger with a career .279/.349/.509 slash line in 1052 G (4545 PA). He's tallied 273 doubles and 214 homers in his nine seasons (he debuted as a 20-year old in 2017).

Devers signed a huge deal (10 yrs, $313 M) before the 2023 season that covers the 2024-2033 seasons. The Giants are taking on the whole enchilada. I've been saying for years that the team can afford this stuff so it is OK with me if they want to spend some of those gigantic piles of moolah they've been sitting on. Funny that the Red Sox are parting ways with a guy who signed a "face of the franchise" kind of contract. But that's baseball—it's a business, after all.

Devers comes with a media tagline of "disgruntled star" because he wanted to play third base and not move to DH. But then he was fine and accepted the role and has hit well this year (.271/.400/.494). When the Red Sox talked about him playing first base, he balked. So, he got the "disgruntled" label. As long as he disgruntles to the tune of 30 HR and 100 RBI or something along those lines I'll be happy.

Anyway, it's a big price to pay for a big bat, and it is a big commitment. But Buster Posey is not just a ballplayer and a PoBO, he's a finance major. He understands all that accounting rigamarole. I'm sure the books will be balanced and they'll have more heaping piles of moolah to spend later. That is, this is MLB. Stud players cost money. If the Giants want to be a playoff-caliber team, then "spend money on quality players" is a really good plan.

This trade is possible because (1) the Giants are doing well in the standings and (2) they have a bit of a surplus in the pitching department. It's too bad they have to give up on Harrison, him being a local boy and all that, signed out of HS, etc. But you have to take risks and give up talent to get talent. The two prospects traded included the Giants #1 pick last year (Tibbs) and a flame-throwing 20-year old (Bello).

The Giants needed hitting and the Red Sox needed pitching. Let's hope it works out!

And by the way the Giants lost 5-4 tonight in LA.

Off-day tomorrow, then home for three with Cleveland and then Boston on the weekend.

--M.C.

Webb and Schmitt lead the way

SF 6  LA 2

Logan Webb kicked ass tonight in Los Angeles and subdued the Dodgers with seven innings of two-hit ball. He got a big lift in the 3rd when Casey Schmitt hit a grand slam. Yoshinobu Yamamoto walked three batters—Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, and Wilmer Flores—and with two outs Schmitt blasted one deep into the left field bleachers. THAT was a big hit!

Tyler Rogers had an easy 8th and with Camilo Doval unavailable Ryan Walker got the call for the 9th. He walked Mookie Betts to open the frame but got the next three outs to nail down the save. The Giants got a huge win to open the series and shove themselves into a tie for first place in the NL West.

It was a good night for baseball.

Tomorrow night's game is also at 7:10 Pacific. Landen Roupp gets the start against Clayton Kershaw.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

10-spot subdues Rockies

SF 10   COL 7 

It was a Coors Field kind of game—both teams had 13 hits including a homer and a triple, scored runs in four different innings, grounded into a double play, and committed an error. The Giants were 4-for-10 with RISP, the Rockies were 3-for-11. The Giants left 7 on base, the Rockies 8. Once again a late outburst against the Colorado bullpen, this time in the 8th, decided the outcome. The Giants were trailing 6-3 when they got four runs in the 8th to take the lead. They added three in the 9th as well. Willy Adames is finally hitting the ball: tonight he was 3-for-4 with 3 R and 3 RBI.

Robbie Ray labored and barely made it through four frames. Tristan Beck gave up two runs in three innings and Camilo Doval gave up a run in the 9th. Only Tyler Rogers in the 8th was unscored upon. Tonight the lineup made it academic with a seven-run explosion in the final two frames.

The Giants get their 40th win and stay within a half-game of LA. Tomorrow's game is at 12:10 and Hayden Birdsong takes the hill.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Six in a row

SF 6  COL 5 

The Giants looked absolutely feeble for eight innings and I remember getting really frustrated with their lack of hitting. Then the Rockies young closer walked three in the 9th and it escalated from there. Four runs later the Giants had a one-run lead. Camilo Doval made it exciting in the bottom half but managed to nail down the save.

It was an amazing comeback win in a season of crazy finishes. The Rockies are historically bad (12-54, .182) and a team with post-season dreams needs to whup on bad teams.

Casey Schmitt is the new third baseman as Matt Chapman hits the IL with a forearm injury. He had two hits including a homer. Willy Adames had a homer, a walk, and a sac fly.

Tomorrow's game is  at 5:40 PT and Robbie Ray gets the ball.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants hang on to sweep Braves

SF 4  ATL 3

A gutsy performance from Landen Roupp kept the Braves potent lineup in check and the bullpen did their thing and suddenly the Giants have won five in a row. That keeps them a game behind the LA. Today Mike Yastrzemski, who struggled mightily in May, got the big hit (two-out, two-run double) in the 4th to put the team ahead for good. Yaz also plated the Giants first run with a sac fly in the 2nd. The bullpen took over for Roupp after six. Ryan Walker (7th), Randy Rodriguez (8th), and Camilo Doval (9th) each struck out two batters in their inning of work.

It's a travel day tomorrow. They go to Colorado for three starting Tuesday night (5:40 PT) and follow that with three in Los Angeles on the weekend. This is the first time they will face the Dodgers this season.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Looks like LaMonte Wade, Jr. went to the Angels for a PTBNL and/or "cash considerations." Giants GM Zack Minasian is the brother of LAA GM Perry Minasian.

Back-to-back walk-offs

SF 5  ATL 4 (10)

SF 3  ATL 2

The Giants went to extras on Friday night and won when Braves reliever Pierce Johnson uncorked a wild pitch and Tyler Fitzgerald scooted home. The Giants won this afternoon when Pierce Johnson uncorked a gopher ball to Matt Chapman who parked it over the fence with Heliot Ramos aboard.

On Friday, Hayden Birdsong ran out of gas after being staked to 3-0 lead in the 1st. Ryan Walker gave up the tying runs in the 7th but the rest of the bullpen held firm. The Braves, it seems, are even worse than the Giants at scoring an automatic runner.

Today Logan Webb was great (6 IP, 2 R, 10 K) but Braves starter Bryce Elder was just a bit better (8 IP, 1 R, 12 K). Fortunately for the home fans the team rallied in the 9th off Johnson. Ramos singled with one out and after two were out Chapman homered on a 1-1 pitch. The bullpen of course delivered three scoreless.

With four wins in a row and consecutive losses for the Dodgers (38-27) the Giants (37-28) are now one game back with the Padres (36-26) sandwiched a half-game in between.

Tomorrow afternoon's game starts at 1:05 Pacific with Landen Roupp on the hill.

Go Giants!

--M.C.