Bye-bye BoMel

In keeping with the old baseball adage "ya gotta blame somebody!" Giants PoBO Buster Posey fired manager Bob Melvin. Earlier in the year it was reported that the Giants had picked up Melvin's option for 2026. I thought that meant they were giving him one more go-round. Apparently not! Matt Williams (third base) and Ryan Christenson (bench coach) are gone as well. Could be more coaching shake-ups to come.

Buster doesn't like to mess around. He's not very patient. I suppose if you are Rookie of the Year and win the World Series in your first season in the majors you develop a NOW mentality. Buster wants to win NOW.

This team should have done better. I suppose changing the skipper is one way to address that. Posey has made his impact on the team with the big free agent signing of Willy Adames and the blockbuster mid-season trade for Rafael Devers. Now he gets to hand-pick his manager. I'm insanely curious! Who does he think will do a better job?

The Twins fired their manager (Rocco Baldelli), too.

--M.C.

#81, #30, and #15

SF 4  COL 0

The Giants get their 81st win and thus avoid a losing season. It's not a winning season, of course. But it's not a losing season, either! That's something at least.

Willy Adames gave the home crowd a thrill with a leadoff homer. Nice move by BoMel to put him in the first slot. The home run was his 30th and that breaks the infamous team-wide 30-homer drought. Barry Bonds hit 45 in 2004 and that's the last time a Giants player has cracked the 30 mark. Brandon Belt had 29 in 97 games in 2021. Matt Chapman had 27 last year.

Logan Webb started but was pulled after 5-1/3 innings. The team hung on to complete the shutout and Webb got his 15th win for the season. That matches his career high from 2022. Webb finishes with 207 IP, the most in MLB (Garret Crochet had 205-1/3). He also has the most starts (34) and is tied with Crochet and Christopher Sánchez for the most Quality Starts (22). He struck out a career-high 224 which trails only Crochet (255) and Tarik Skubal (241) for the MLB lead (it's the most in the NL).

Spencer Bivens earned the save with two hitless innings. He gave up a walk in the 8th but struck out the side in the 9th. He entered with a 2-0 lead and the Giants got two more in the 9th. That's two saves this weekend for Bivens and 53 appearances (79 IP) overall. He's got some gnarly-looking stuff and it looks like he'll be in the mix for a high-leverage role in 2026. 

Here are the Giants W-L records for the last four seasons (since they won 107 and the West in 2021): 81-81 in 2022, 79-83 in 2023, 80-82 last year, and 81-81 this year. I think that is the very definition of "mediocrity." At least they aren't the Rockies! Anyway, it would be nice to see this group win some games next season. There's enough talent to compete with teams like the Reds, the Mets, the Cardinals, and the Diamondbacks. The five-way scrum for the final Wild Card ended up with the Giants on the bottom! They were a better team than that and should have finished strong with a real shot at the post-season.

There will be plenty to talk about in the off-season, of course. We'll get around to it, I'm sure. In the meantime I will root for Milwaukee to go all the way. How can you not root for a club called the BREWERS? If not them then someone like Cleveland or Seattle.

Thanks for reading along,

 --M.C.

#80

SF 4  COL 3

The Giants tried hard to lose today but they couldn't quite get that done and wound up winning their 80th game. They only had four hits so they had to make them count. Casey Schmitt hit a three-run homer in the 2nd (his 12th) and Rafael Devers added an RBI double in the 8th. That was the difference. Ryan Walker came in to save the 4-2 lead and gave up a solo homer and then got into a mess. Spencer Bivens bailed him out. Matt Chapman made a great play to end the game--the Rockies had loaded the bases and were poised to spoil the afternoon.

Justin Verlander bounced back from his lousy start last time out and delivered a quality six frames with seven whiffs. Both runs he allowed were on solo homers. Joel Peguero and Tristan Beck followed with a scoreless inning apiece.

Tomorrow Logan Webb takes the hill (12:05 PT). He's looking for win number 15. We are all looking for Willy Adames to hit his 30th homer.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

#79

SF 6  COL 3

Trevor McDonald pitched well in his last start (against the Dodgers in LA) and followed that up with another strong effort last night. He powered through seven frames on 89 pitches, whiffing ten and walking none against five hits. One of the hits was a three-run homer, but other than that he did great. The Giants will need to beef up the rotation for 2026--maybe McDonald will be part of that.

Willy Adames was the Willie Mac Award winner and he chipped in homer number 29 in the 1st inning. Everyone is rooting for him to get number 30 this weekend.

Ryan Walker pitched the 9th and got his 17th save. He's another guy the Giants really need! Heliot Ramos hit homer number 21 and Jung Hoo Lee nabbed his 12th triple. Matt Chapman got his 1000th career hit.

Today's game is at 1:05. Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants hang on for a win

 SF 4  STL 3

The Giants were eliminated after their loss on Tuesday. That loss also meant they could only win 81 games. Last night's win was number 78, they'll avoid a losing season only by sweeping the upcoming weekend set with the Rockies.

Robbie Ray was shut down for the season and did not make his final start. Coming back from surgery and throwing 182 innings (32 starts) was a good season's effort, it's reasonable to err on the side of caution. Ideally he'll be healthy next year and be able to work at the top of the rotation. FanGraphs rates his 2025 at 2.2 WAR, Baseball-Reference says 2.8 WAR.

The Giants have been rumored to have interest in Cardinals starter Sonny Gray who threw six innings last night and managed his 14th Quality Start. Ray finishes with 16, Logan Webb is tied with the Phillies Christopher Sanchez and the Red Sox Garret Crochet for the MLB lead with 22. I thought Tuesday would be Webb's last start but he's listed for Sunday. That would be the fifth day for him (four days rest) so he'll get another shot at 15 wins to tie his career high.

Friday's game is 7:15, Saturday 1:05, and Sunday at 12:05 (PT). Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants win, finally

SF 3  LA 1

The Giants eked out the slimmest of victories today in the finale at Dodger Stadium. A three-run rally in the 8th against Blake Treinen erased a 1-0 deficit and the bullpen held on for the much-needed win. A terrific effort (6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 W, 3K) from Trevor McDonald gave the Giants a fighting chance. McDonald was a 2019 high school draft pick (11th round) from Mississippi. He pitched a few innings in 2023 and 2024 but this was his first start. Maybe the 24-year old will be in the rotation mix next season. Earlier this year Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs rated him the Giants #5 prospect (Bryce Eldridge was #1 and Carson Whisenhunt #2).

The 77-79 Giants return home for their final six games. They have an outside shot at 82 wins. The first three are against the Cardinals, Monday through Wednesday evenings at 6:45 PT. It looks like Justin Verlander tomorrow followed by Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Those will be the final starts of the year for Webb and Ray. The Rockies come to town for the weekend (Thursday is an off-day). Friday we'll probably see Kai-Wei Teng and on Saturday we'll get another look at McDonald (I hope). Sunday could be another chance for JV to burnish his off-season credentials. Buster Posey has already said he'd like to re-sign the veteran righty for 2026.

--M.C.

Beat LA

Logan Webb didn't fare very well against the Dodgers the last time out. Neither did Robbie Ray. The Giants two best pitchers got clobbered in the last series. That's got to change this time out. You figure to win at least one of the games that your top-of-the-rotation guys start, right? Right now Justin Verlander is the best pitcher on the staff! He's thrown 31 innings over his last five starts and has allowed just three runs. In fact he's only allowed three hits. He's walked twelve guys (vs. 28 strikeouts), but I think that's because he'd rather put them on in a 3-ball count than groove one. He doesn't have the big heat anymore so he can't just blow people away. He has to pitch. The win at home against the Dodgers was a Verlander start. Dave Roberts, who I normally think well of, seemed rather snide to me in his post-game comments about how much Verlander was throwing his curveball. As if it matters how you get people out!

Just get 'em out, baby!

It's Webb and Yamamoto tonight in LA at 7:10 PT.

--M.C. 

Giants Slam Dodgers

SF 5  LA 1 (10)

The Giants got a hit in the 1st inning, a double by Willy Adames, and that scored Rafael Devers who had walked. Devers scored on a bobble by Andy Pages in centerfield so there was no RBI. That was their only hit until Devers singled in the 9th. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was dealing, but Giants stater Justin Verlander matched zeros with him until the 7th when Michael Conforto's homer tied the game at 1-1.

In the 9th a Mookie Betts error and the Devers hit put a runner at third base with one out. Pinch-runner Grant McCray was unfortunately thrown out at the plate by CF Pages on a very short sac fly attempt from Wilmer Flores. McCray returned the favor, throwing out the Manfred Man (Ben Rortvedt) on a Betts sac fly attempt to RF in the 10th. The game featured some nice defense by both clubs even though LA was dinged for two errors.

With one out in the 10th Jung Hoo Lee worked a walk against Tanner Scott. An IBB to load the bases followed and that brought up Patrick Bailey. Batting righty against the southpaw he laser-beamed the first pitch, a high heater, over the LF wall for a walk-off grand slam.

The 75-72 Giants are now a half-game behind the 76-72 Mets for the final Wild Card spot. Logan Webb goes today against Clayton Kershaw (6:05 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants subdue Snakes

SF 5  ARI 3

Robbie Ray labored (95 pitches) through five innings but he kept the ball in the park and only walked two and that was enough. Willy Adames hit a three-run homer in the 1st and the bullpen held off the Diamondbacks for the final three frames and nailed down the win. Patrick Bailey hit a homer in the 5th. It was a workmanlike win and kept the Giants in the hunt for the Wild Card.

Today's game is at 12:45 and Carson Seymour gets the call. Tomorrow is an off-day and then the Dodgers will be in town over the weekend for a three-game set.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

8th inning: 12-6

Last night was game 144, the end of the 8th seasonal inning.  

1st inning: 13-5

2nd inning: 9-9

3rd inning: 9-9

4th inning: 10-8

5th inning: 7-11 

6th inning: 6-12 

7th inning: 7-11

8th inning: 12-6

73-71 (.507), 3rd place, 7 GB

 

Logan Webb struck out seven in six innings to bring his yearly total to 201, the first time he's topped that figure. He struck out 194 in 2023. He also logged his 14th win, one shy of his career high of 15 in 2022. The Giants rediscovered their big bashing ways last night. They hit five homers and shoved past the Diamondbacks (SF 11  AZ 5) for their 73rd win. It was a bit of an ugly game as three of Webb's runs were unearned as was one of Arizona reliever Brandyn Garcia's (who got the loss).

Jung Hoo Lee had three hits including a two-run homer. He's now slashing .271/.332/.420 with 30 doubles, 11 triples, and 8 home runs. He rates 2.2 bWAR and 2.8 fWAR.

18 games left. Robbie Ray at 6:40 tonight.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Back to Earth

After scoring 94 runs in 12 games and going 11-1, the Giants scored five runs in the final two games in St. Louis and went 0-2.

My goal for this year is 82 wins. 82 wins. I want to see 82 wins. There are 19 games left, 12 at home and 7 on the road. They have to go 10-9 to get to 82 wins.

The Arizona Diamondbacks come to San Francisco for three starting tomorrow night at 6:45 PT. Should be Logan Webb for the opener.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

The Beat Goes On

SF 8   STL 2

The barrage of hits continued tonight in Busch Stadium with a total of 18. That's five games in a row with double-digit hits. Rafael Devers and Willy Adames went back-to-back homers in the 1st and that's 18 games in a row with a home run. Lots of folks chipped in including Jung Hoo Lee who had four hits and his 11th triple.

But the big news is that Carson Seymour threw five solid innings (two hits, one run) for his first major league win. Seymour was originally a Mets prospect who came to San Francisco in 2022 with J.D. Davis in the Darin Ruf trade.

The Giants have now won five in a row and 11 of 12. They've surged into 3rd place (72-69) in the West and are a mere four back in the Wild Card. Lots of things would have to go right over the next 21 games for the Giants to make the post-season but at least they are playing good ball and look like a serious club. I just hope they hang on and finish with a .500+ record.

Tomorrow's game is on Fox at 4:15 Pacific. Justin Verlander takes the hill.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

On to St. Louis

SF 10   COL 8

The Rockies may stink but it still isn't easy to sweep a series in Coors Field. It's a big ballpark in the high, dry, thin air and crazy shit always happens. And Colorado has some good players like that catcher I mentioned before Hunter Goodman. He hit another late homer to make things close. But the Giants held on to win and take all three contests. Scoring ten runs is usually a good way to win, but even then the Giants had to use their closer (Ryan Walker) to get it done.

Matt Chapman had a big game with two homers (three hits total) and four driven in. With Rafael Devers and Willy Adames flashing big power it seems Chappie had to keep up. Man, if these three guys could stay together for a whole season they could really kick ass! 

Tomorrow is an off-day and then it is three against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Friday night at 5:15 PT I think it will be Carson Seymour. Saturday is a Fox game at 4:15 PT and it is Justin Verlander's turn. Sunday morning's getaway game is listed at 11:15 PT and RosterResource says it will be Kai-Wei Teng.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Logan likes the long ball

SF 7  COL 4

The Giants slugged four homers and kept a lid on the Rockies to notch their 9th win in their last 10 games. Logan Webb got dinged for seven hits (all singles) and also yielded two walks in his five frames. The pesky Rockies made him throw 94 pitches but luck was on his side and he got his 13th win behind seven strikeouts and two double plays. José Buttó gave up a two-run homer to Colorado's impressive young catcher Hunter Goodman in the 7th to make it close. Joey Lucchesi and Ryan Walker finished things.

Rafael Devers hit his 30th in the 1st, a two-run moonshot, and starter Kyle Freeland took exception to his nonchalant saunter to first base. A baseball brawl ensued. Freeland was ejected as were the next two hitters, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman. The rest of the game was regular baseball. Baseball "fights" are stupid. I figure words were exchanged yesterday and that's why things exploded so quickly tonight. No one wants to lose 100 games in front of their fans. By the way Wilmer Flores, Casey Schmitt, and Patrick Bailey were the other three guys who hit home runs tonight.

That was the 70th win of the season for the Giants and they are now 70-69. That's the first time they've been over .500 since August 9th when they were 59-58.

Robbie Ray tomorrow at 5:40 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Big win to start September

SF 8  COL 2

The Giants have discovered how to win baseball games in bunches. It's too bad they didn't figure this out sooner, but it's fun to see them playing like they ought to be playing!

This afternoon in Denver the Giants battered the hapless Rockies for the home squad's 99th loss. Can you imagine being a fan of that club? This will be the third straight season they will lose 100 games.

Our Big Money Boys—Rafael Devers and Willy Adames—both homered today and both are playing like Big Money Boys need to play. Young Drew Gilbert, he of the Tyler Rogers trade haul, had another big game going 4-for-4 with his first ML homer. Keep him in the #9 spot! The former first-rounder is serving notice.

Kai-Wei Teng finally got it together and used his strikeout stuff to survive in Coors Field. He's a weird one. It's hard to pin down what kind of pitcher he is. He's got a kitchen sink worth of pitches and had crazy K-numbers with the River Cats. Joel Peguero bailed out Teng after 5-1/3 IP and Keaton Winn took the last two innings. The Rockies had 13 hits but nine were singles and the rest were doubles. They were 2-for-12 with RISP and hit into three DPs. The Giants were 4-for-8 with RISP and of course hit the three big ones.

The next two games are at 5:40 PT. We should see Logan Webb and Robbie Ray.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Big win takes series

SF 13  BAL 2

Yesterday the Orioles answered for their ass-whuppin' on Friday by smacking around the Giants to the tune of 11-1. This afternoon the Giants did not have to face Trevor Rogers and they reverted back to their winning streak ways with a barrage of hits and another double-digit run total. Heliot Ramos, Rafael Devers, and FNG Drew Gilbert all had three hits and scored two. Those are the 1, 2, and 9 hitters. I like having a good hitter at #9 who can act like a second leadoff man.

Justin Verlander needed 121 pitches to get through five innings but he did that in style with 10 strikeouts and no runs allowed. The O's scored two in their final frame off Spencer Bivens who had pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th (Joey Lucchesi handled the 6th). It was a gritty effort from the veteran who notched his third "W" of the season. I don't think the coaches would allow any other pitcher on the team—including Logan Webb—to throw 120+ pitches! But good for Verlander. It's not like they are saving his arm for next year. Speaking of next year, do they offer JV a contract in the off-season?

The Giants finish the month of August with a 14-14 record. The club is 68-69 with 25 games remaining. They'll need to win 14 games to finish with a better-than-.500 record. And they'll have to keep the pesky D-backs at bay. Tomorrow's game in Colorado is at 1:10 PT. I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable Labor Day.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants slug past O's

SF 15  BAL 8

The streak is up to SIX wins in a row! They can get back to .500 with a win today. It was one of those games that got crazy right away with a run in the 1st for the Orioles and then four in the bottom half for the Giants. Both starters got clobbered. The Giants scored in each of the first five innings, were blanked in the 6th, and scored in both the 7th and the 8th. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, eight guys scored at least one run, and six different hitters had runs batted in. The team was 8-for-17 with RISP.

Willy Adames had four hits but so did Luis Matos (one a homer)! I'm really happy about that. Matos is looking much more mature and confident since his return. FNG Drew Gilbert hit two doubles. I'd like to see him compete for an OF job next spring.

The "who are these guys?" saga continues this afternoon (4:15 PT) as part of Fox Saturday Baseball. Tristan Beck is supposed to get a start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. It looks like RandyRo might need TJS. And speaking of another Randy, former Giants pitcher Randy Moffitt passed away on Thursday. He had a famous big sister named Billie Jean.  

Giants double up Cubs

SF 4  CHC 3

It was a riveting contest this afternoon in San Francisco. Logan Webb gave up three hits in the 1st but kept it at 1-0 with a double play to end the frame. Willy Adames hit a two-run homer in the bottom half. Dansby Swanson tied it with a homer in the 2nd. The Cubs threatened in the 3rd but a strikeout-caught stealing double play ended it. Patrick Bailey continues to be valuable even when he can't hit. Logan Webb picked off a runner in the 4th—pitchers have as much to do with controlling the running game as catchers. Meanwhile Shoto Imagana was putting up zeroes. In the 6th Michael Busch homered to make it 3-2 Cubs. Willy Adames finally broke the drought for the Giants with another homer to tie the game in the bottom half.

Both starters came out for the 7th and finished the inning, both were charged with three runs. Both allowed two homers. Webb was tagged for seven hits but no walks with seven strikeouts and Imanaga gave up five hits, a walk, and struck out five. 94 pitches/64 strikes for Logan (25 batters) with 92/63 for Shoto (26 batters). That's a real pitcher's duel! Webb got six outs on grounders and four in the air, it was two and seven for Imanaga, but we expect lots of grounders from our guy. A remarkably even contest. I'd say the Giants fielding plays really made the difference.

In the 8th José Buttó gave up a one-out double to Matt Shaw. The next batter Busch hit a liner towards RF that Casey Schmitt speared with a full-extension leap. Shaw had broken for third expecting it to be a hit and they doubled him off to end the inning. Adames took the throw, he was involved in all the double plays and also made a great play throwing out Nico Hoerner to start the 7th. Not a bad day!

The Giants went "up the middle" in the 9th with one-out singles from Schmitt and Wilmer Flores. Christian Koss ran for Schmitt and Jung Hoo Lee rapped a single to right and that was the ballgame. It was a poor throw from RF Owen Caissie and not close at the plate. Koss got a good read and would probably have made it anyway, it would have taken a strong defensive effort to nail him.

Just a dandy win, very nice, and that makes it five in a row. Baltimore is in town for the weekend. Robbie Ray opens the series tomorrow night at 7:15 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Devers delivers in homer-fest

SF 12  CHC 3

Rafael Devers had a perfect night: four hits and a walk in five trips. Two of the hits were homers, one a double, one a single and the result was four runs scored and five driven in. It was a good night for the FNG. You can see why Buster got this guy—he's a genuine hitting talent. He can really mash. The other homers were supplied by Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos. Overall the Giants banged out 13 hits and worked three walks, pounding starter Colin Rea and scoring at least once against each of the three Cubs relievers.

Carson Whisenhunt gave up a three-run homer to Nico Hoerner but otherwise survived his five frames and picked up the win. He got great relief work from Joel Peguero, Tristan Beck, and Carson Seymour.

This is fun! That's four straight wins. I always say "nothing a ten-game win streak can't cure." That would be nice, eh? But I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. This is fun. The Cubs are a good team and the Giants have whipped them twice. Who are these guys?

It's Logan Webb tomorrow afternoon (12:45 Pacific) in the finale. The Orioles come to town for the weekend.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Three in a row

SF 5  CHC 2

The Giants beat a lefty. The Giants beat a lefty. The Giants beat a lefty. Veteran southpaw Matthew Boyd has had a strong season for the playoff-bound Cubs but last night the Giants dinged him for two big homers (both by righties) and held on for the win. Wilmer Flores hit one in the 2nd to open the scoring and Matt Chapman hit a two-run bomb in the 6th to finish things (and chase Boyd). Justin Verlander threw 101 pitches in his six frames and battled through seven hits and two walks to limit the Cubs to just two runs. He got his second "W" of the season! Joey Lucchesi, José Buttó, and Ryan Walker took care of the final three innings.

Two guys we really hope will make an impact next year—Heliot Ramos and Luis Matos—had key hits. Ramos in fact had a perfect night with three hits and walk in four trips.

Tonight's game is also at 6:45 Pacific and it looks like Carson Whisenhunt is scheduled to start. Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Clutch win takes series

SF 4  MIL 3

The Giants took two of three from both the Mets and the Pirates at the start of the month but went 4-10 right after that. Today they came from behind to win a ballgame on the road and take two of three from the high-flying Brewers. Heliot Ramos drove in two with a two-out hit in the 9th and turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Ryan Walker got the final three outs to earn the save. It was another big day for Luis Matos who hit a two-run homer in the 2nd to give Robbie Ray an early lead. He also singled in the 9th after Chapman's double and ahead of Ramos' single and scored the go-ahead run.

FNGs Joel Peguero (1-2/3 IP), Matt Gage (1/3 IP), and José Buttó (1 IP) stepped up in relief of Ray and all had clean sheets. Walker gave up a hit in the 9th but also whiffed two.

I like to say "who are these guys?" when the Giants play a clean, spirited game. Perhaps we are getting a preview of the 2026 club. Regardless, it's always better when they win!

A six-game homestand starts Tuesday night when the Cubs (6:45 PT) are in town for the first three. The Orioles will be in San Francisco for the weekend set. Justin Verlander's on the hill.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Schmitt backs Webb in big win

SF 7  MIL 1

Casey Schmitt had a huge night in Milwaukee driving in four runs on two clutch extra-base hits. In the 6th his double tied the game and in the 7th his one-out three-run homer put it out of reach. Logan Webb supplied the pitching, limiting the Brewers to just one run on five hits in his six frames. Joey Lucchesi covered the 7th and Spencer Bivens did a nice job with two scoreless to close it out.

It's nice to see the team play the kind of ballgame we thought we'd see more of this season. With Matt Chapman back from the IL the team looks more like it should. There's still a hole at second base but maybe this Schmitt fellow can fill the void. Luis Matos had another good night since his return from the minors. Right field is another hole—maybe Matos can be the guy (he was in LF tonight). Speaking of the guy, FNG Drew Gilbert (RF tonight) is still struggling. But he's another guy in the mix for that spot. He is a former 1st-rounder (2022, #28, Astros) and came to the Giants in the Tyler Rogers trade. He plays all three OF spots. Heliot Ramos was off tonight and he's the presumed LF going forward but his fielding is still an issue. Can't hurt to have some depth.

It's an early game tomorrow (11:10 PT). Robbie Ray is scheduled. Maybe he can conjure up a good start and give the team a chance for a getaway win. They're off on Monday and return home to finish out the month.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

7th inning: 7-11

1st inning: 13-5

2nd inning: 9-9

3rd inning: 9-9

4th inning: 10-8

5th inning: 7-11 

6th inning: 6-12 

7th inning: 7-11

I fell behind and forgot to update the "innings" list. Game 126 (the end of the 7th seasonal inning) was Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Padres. Since then the Giants lost 8-1 on Wednesday and 8-4 on Thursday. Tonight they played with a little more spirit but still lost 5-4 to the Brewers. Willy Adames hit two homers on his return to Milwaukee.

So the Giants go into the penultimate inning already 0-3. This season has been a trial! The team is 61-68 and in fourth place. Logan Webb goes tomorrow afternoon (4:10 PT) and Robbie Ray on Sunday morning (11:10 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants score early and hang on

SF 4  SDP 3

Casey Schmitt made two errors on the same play in the 7th inning and that led to three runs and Robbie Ray being chased from the game. Fortunately the bullpen—Ryan Walker and Randy Rodriguez— came through and saved the win. Ray finished with 6-2/3 IP, 3 H, 1BB, 6 K and three unearned runs for his 10th win.

Heliot Ramos led off the game with a homer and Rafael Devers followed with one of his own. Wilmer Flores added a two-run shot in the inning. The 4-0 lead was just enough for the team's second win in a row. The Giants are now 3-7 against the Padres and have three still to play. Teng, Roupp, and Verlander are scheduled, tonight's game is at 6:40 PT.

 Go Giants!

--M.C.

Webb dominates, Giants win

SF 7  TBR 1

There's been quite a lot of bad baseball lately. We don't have to dwell on things like "historically worst" homestands and whatnot. After seven losses in a row fans could be forgiven for tuning out. When the Giants did their face plant after the Break and Buster decided the team would "sell" the team's losing ways spiraled out of control and they fell two spots in the standings. Now they are duking it out with Arizona for fourth place!

Fortunately they won a ballgame today. Logan Webb pitched like an ace. He's had a rough patch lately and it was good to see him back in form (13 groundballs!). The lineup produced 11 hits including two doubles and two homers. FNG Drew Gilbert had two hits and one of the home runs. Jung Hoo Lee hit his 28th double. Webb (11-9, 3.19 ERA) went seven scoreless with three hits, seven whiffs, and no walks on 86 pitches. Beck and Winn finished up.

I realize that PoBO Posey picked up BoMel's option for 2026. It was widely covered as a "vote of confidence." That's nice. Any other manager would be on the chopping block for a team-wide collapse like this one. I'm not voting for dumping Melvin by any means. He hasn't yet finished his second season at the helm! Changing the deck chairs on the Titanic never helps. But I'm not a fan, really. I'm not sure what Bob brings to the team other than he's a local boy and has that "old school" vibe. He's quite the un-Kapler, that's for sure. But maybe it's time for the Giants to look for young managerial talent (BoMel is 63) to groom for the future. First-base coach Mark Hallberg for example, is only 39. Maybe there are some other young bucks in the system that deserve a look.

The Giants go on the road for seven games against San Diego (4) and Milwaukee (3). The Brewers have the best record in MLB. Tomorrow night it is Robbie Ray at 6:40 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Naught for Nats

SF 5  WSN 0

The Giants shut out an opponent for only the sixth time this season. It's a good way to win a ballgame, right? Don't let the other guy get any? Yeah, Washington has six team shutouts as well and they are a lousy team. The league average is eleven and the league-leading Padres have 15. The Giants are still a good pitching team as their 4.04 runs allowed per game is well below the MLB mean of 4.42 rpg.

Last night Bob Melvin did something clever by using opener Matt Gage before calling on Kai-Wei Teng. Teng hurled five scoreless and nabbed his first W. Nice work from the last three guys (Joey Lucchesi, José Buttó, Tristan Beck) who each got three outs. Teng gave up 17 runs in his previous 14-2/3 IP of MLB time. He had success in the low minors but has struggled at the higher levels until this season at AAA. He has a huge arsenal of pitches and has double-digit K/9 numbers in over 150 games (seven seasons). Let's hope he can harness his stuff and help the club.

The Giants got a clutch homer from Casey Schmitt in the 6th to make a 2-0 game a 4-0 game. Nice! Schmitt is slashing a pretty solid .249/.321/.412 in 197 PA (55 G). Every little bit helps.

The next two games are in the afternoon, 1:05 Pacific. Carson Whisenhunt today.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Clutch!

SF 4  PIT 2

The Giants had to come from behind to win today and that showed some real grit and moxie. Of course it was the lowly Pirates but grit and moxie have been in short supply so we'll take it. And we all know the lowly Pirates have kicked the Giants ass this season so it was great to see the lads rally and take the series. Jerar Encarnacion tied the game in the 5th with a homer. He's back from the IL and has already bopped two big ones. The Pirates got another one against Robbie Ray (6 IP, 2 R, 8 K) to take the lead, but Matt Chapman flashed some VSC grit and tied the game with a sacrifice fly in the 8th.

The 9th featured a one-out double from Jung Hoo Lee. That's his 27th two-bagger which ties him with Rafael Devers and Pete Alonso for 11th-best in MLB. He's struggled this season but he's still got the skills and he's doing a lot better lately. That hit sparked a moxie-fest: pinch-hitter Dominic Smith doubled and then Patrick Bailey singled making it 4-2 Giants. Randy Rodriguez, fresh off his ugly blown save, came on for the 9th and closed it out. José Buttó and Ryan Walker each threw a scoreless frame after Ray. This is the new-look bullpen.

I should mention that Dom Smith has appeared in all six games in August (as 1B, DH, and PH) and has six hits, one in each game, with three runs scored and seven batted in. He's 6-for-20 with a double and a homer. Solid!

Tomorrow is Thursday and we know what that means—no baseball. They come home to play the Nationals this weekend. Friday night's game is at 7:15 Pacific. It looks like Kai-Wei Teng, Carson Whisenhunt, and Justin Verlander will get their turns.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Team effort

SF 8  PIT 1

Logan Webb notched his 10th win and that makes it five seasons in a row with double-digit "W's" for the Rocklin righty. He had a terrible month of July but he seems to be getting past that funk. Teams have been racking up the hits against him and he's racked up more strikeouts than ever before so the pitch counts have gotten him in trouble. Tonight he finished six frames on 110 pitches.

He was backed by eleven hits. All nine hitters notched at least one and Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames had two. Every hitter but one scored one run. Matt Chapman was the only one not to cross the plate.

32-year old lefty Matt Gage pitched two scoreless in relief of Webb. Gage was originally drafted by the Giants in 2014 but was released a few years later. He bounced around, logging 32-2/3 IP in the majors over three seasons with three teams. He also pitched in Mexico. He was with the Tigers earlier this year. The Giants needed a lefty arm when Scott Alexander was let go. Tristan Beck finished the game.

Robbie Ray takes the ball tomorrow morning: 9:35 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants win a series!

SF 12  NYM 4

After yesterday's pasting the Giants owed the Mets one and, much to my surprise, they delivered a sound thrashing today in NYC. Carson Whisenhunt got his first big league "W" with a solid 5-1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R performance. That's a big stage against a good club and the kid did okay. Let's see some more of that! Big days for Rafael Devers (3 H, 1 W, 4 RBI) who hit a 3-run homer in the 3rd to get it all going, and Jung Hoo Lee (4 H, 1 W, 2 R) who has been hitting much better lately. Casey Schmitt had a 3-run homer of his own in the 9th to make it a laugher. Solid relief work from FNG José Buttó (1-2/3 IP, 3 K) really sealed the deal.

Who are these guys? And why can't they play like this more often? Questions only the baseball gods can answer, I suppose. Anyway, I'm happy to see Whiz get it going. (I'm not typing "Whisenhunt" every time!) And perhaps after the scolding from the Boss and some blood spilled on the roster the boys are getting their heads outta their asses and playing some better ball.

It's off to Pittsburgh for a 3:40 Pacific game tomorrow. It looks like Verlander-Webb-Ray for the three games.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

A win!

SF 4  NYM 3 (10)

New closer Randy Rodriguez got tested right away but he whiffed his way out of a bases-loaded jam and saved the win for the Giants. They are 1-0 in August! FNG Jose Butto worked 2/3 of an inning and got a blown save for his efforts. Grant McCray was called up an struck out twice. Wilmer had two hits.So did Bailey. It was a very Giants-y win. Not a lot of scoring (3-for-14 RISP, 11 LOB) but a great start from Robbie Ray.

They are back to .500 for the season. Let's hope they can get back to winning ways. The Trade Deadline sucks but I definitely prefer it earlier in the season to later. Unfortunately it makes the rest of the year a lot less interesting. I think Buster is not afraid to send a message to the players. Farhan Zaidi did not have the "street cred" to make a bold statement like that. What's interesting, in the end, is did Buster actually weaken the current squad? For the final third of the season, can Doval, Rogers, and Yaz be replaced? Probably. This team might wind up finishing in about the same place!

The last few years the Giants have hung around the periphery of the race until the end. There's nothing a ten-game winning streak couldn't cure for this club. I keep rooting for one of those! I noticed that they also called up Kai-Wei Teng. He's been lights-out (14.3 K/9) at AAA, I wonder if he gets the start tonight (6:05 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Deadline deals

I remember someone asking Pedro Martinez the classic question "what is the secret to your success?" He said "I'm not afraid to fail." I remember really liking that answer at the time. Buster Posey is not afraid to fail. He made a big splash—right away—with the Willy Adames signing. Then he traded away the team's young hot shots for Rafael Devers well before the trading deadline. Blockbuster deals, both of them. Neither one of those moves, unfortunately, has helped the team. The Giants aren't any better right now than they were last year. Or the year before. Or the year before.

Buster can see what the rest of us are seeing. This 2025 team is going nowhere fast. What does the Modern Executive do in Today's Baseball Landscape at the Trading Deadline? Well, pivot to "sell" mode, obviously. It's an ugly reminder of the ruthless economics of the game.

Our PoBO made a bunch of last-minute deals that clearly signal "throwing in the towel for this year." The flip side of that is "stocking up for next year." So, let's look at the deals.

Tyler Rogers went first. The Mets parted with three players. 27-year old RH reliever José Buttó is in his fourth season and can take a bullpen spot immediately. 24-year old rookie RH Blade Tidwell was a 2022 2nd round draft pick from Tennessee. He's been a starter in the minors. Carson Whisenhunt was taken in the same round. Lefty OF Drew Gilbert is also from Tennessee but is still in the minors. He'll be 25 next month. Rogers is headed for free agency and at $5.25 M/yr there was a good chance he wasn't going to be re-signed for 2026. I'm bummed as I'm a big fan of the quirky submariner. He's been with the organization since he was drafted in 2013.

Camilo Doval went next. The Yankees parted with four players. Doval, like Rogers, originally signed with the Giants. He's been in the system since 2015. He's still arb-eligible and isn't a free agent until 2028 and currently making $4.5M. All-Name Team candidates Trystan Vierling and Parks Harber head the list. RH Vierling, 25 in October, is a 2022 3rd-round pick from Gonazaga. He's a starter and in the minors. Harber is a 1B/3B who played at Georgia and NC State. He's 24 next month and in the minors. 17-year old lefty hurler Carlos De La Rosa is the biggest unknown of the bunch, and 23-year old Jesús Rodriguez (C/3B/1B) rounds out the quartet of FNGs. We all know Doval and have a love-hate relationship with the talented but mercurial righty. He can be electric and he can be maddening. He'll be fun to watch if the Yankees are in the playoffs!

Finally, fan favorite Mike Yastrzemski was traded to the Royals. That one I could see coming. He's also a free agent next year and was most likely not coming back, especially at $9.25 M/yr. The Giants get minor league reliever Yunior Marte. He's a righty who turns 22 next month. (This in NOT the Yunior Marté who was on the Giants in 2022 and currently with the Phillies.) Yaz was a solid player, a good guy, and well-respected around the league. The connection to his famous grandfather was pretty cool, too.

Buster isn't fooling around. He's not afraid to pull the trigger and re-make the team. It hurts in the short-term, but what hurts worse is a lousy ballclub. Let's hope we see improvement going forward.

--M.C.

 

p.s. Buster PLAYED with all three of the guys he traded! He caught both Doval (2021 debut) and Rogers (2019 debut). Yaz joined the team in 2019.

6th inning: 6-12

1st inning: 13-5

2nd inning: 9-9

3rd inning: 9-9

4th inning: 10-8

5th inning: 7-11 

6th inning: 6-12 

Last night's 3-1 loss to the Pirates was the 108th game of the year and brought the Giants to a 54-54 record. That's six seasonal innings or two-thirds of the season. As you can see it is the worst stretch of baseball for 2025 and certainly complicates things here at the end of the month and the Trade Deadline.

The Giants had one more contest with the Pirates this afternoon. Logan Webb whiffed eleven but also walked four and hit a batter. He left in the 6th after 109 pitches and the game tied 1-1. It went to extras and Ryan Walker made a bonehead play in the top of the 10th that let the Manfred Man score the go-ahead run. In the bottom half, the Giants got an extra runner via an error and both were bunted over. But Patrick Bailey and then Heliot Ramos whiffed to end it.

So they start their final third of the season with a 2-1 loss in ten innings. That's a clean sweep! This is the first time the team has been under .500 in 2025. It's an off-day tomorrow, thank goodness. They end the month of July with a 9-15 record.

On Friday (the 1st of August) they open a three-game set in NYC against the Mets and then go to Pittsburgh after that for another three-game set. Let's hope they do better than 0-for-6.

--M.C

0-for-23

The Giants went 0-for-23 with runners in scoring position over the weekend in the three-game series with the Mets. They lost all three games.

Now, the team doesn't hit all that well. They bat .233, the 26th-worst in MLB. Their OBP is .311, which is 21st. They slug .375, also 26th out of 30 teams. At 4.12 runs per game, the offense rates 23rd.

That's bad. So, we shouldn't expect much from the lineup. They just aren't very good. But this RISP thing is truly weird. I mean, 0-for-23!! Yikes. How is that even possible?

In the good news department, Carson Whisenhunt is getting promoted. He'll be activated tonight. They'll have to clear a spot for him on the roster.

--M.C.

Two in a row

SF 9  ATL 3

It was another big day for the Giants. Rafael Devers, back in the DH spot, hit two homers and a double, driving in four. He's healthy, apparently. That's good. They need him to hit! Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos both got big hits today. Even Luis Matos had an RBI single. The Giants scored three runs in three consecutive innings (5th, 6th, 7th) to back Justin Verlander. JV notched his first "W" of the season with five innings of one-hit ball. He walked four but that didn't hurt him. Maybe the baseball gods will flip the script and he'll get nothing but "W's" the rest of the way.

The next two weeks are weird. They are off tomorrow, then they go home to SF to play the Mets (Fri-Sat-Sun) and the Pirates (Mon-Tue-Wed). Thursday is an off-day before they go to New York City to play the Mets (Fri-Sat-Sun) and to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates (Mon-Tue-Wed).

Logan Webb gets the call Friday at 7:15 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Hallelujah!

SF 9  ATL 0

After that horrid loss yesterday when Hayden Birdsong couldn't get anyone out and the losing streak hit six games I was ready to throw in the towel. Then today they went out there and put up a bunch of zeros and got a bunch of big hits and scored a heapin' pile o'runs. Thank goodness. I'm saved.

Starter Landen Roupp had to play stopper and stop them he did with five innings of four-hit ball. Sean Hjelle and Joey Lucchesi got the 6th and the 7th and BoMel turned the last two frames over to Carson Seymour. Hot-shot prospect Carson Whisenhunt keeps getting talked about but the Giants are sticking with the Other Carson so far. Seymour's had a couple of mop-up appearances in the last few weeks. Tonight he finished with a flourish by striking out three in the 9th.

Rafael Devers played first base for the entire game. That was the first time he's played first base in his career. He went 2-for-5 with a double. He also hit into a double play. Wilmer took the DH spot and hit a three-run homer. Willy Adames had another good night. I'm glad he's hitting better.

Justin Verlander tomorrow morning (9:15 PT) in the getaway game, off-day Thursday, then Logan Webb on Friday night at home against the Mets.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Swept out of Canada

The Blue Jays clobbered Justin Verlander on Friday, no surprise there, but they also clobbered the team's two best starting pitchers (Logan Webb and Robbie Ray) over the weekend. And they shut down the Giants offense, and when they didn't, they just scored more runs. It was a mismatch. Toronto looks like a real contender.

Coming out of the Break the Giants were looking for something better than a pratfall. The trade deadline is at the end of the month and I have been a "buyer" all season long but I'm questioning that. Not that I want the team to be "sellers." Not by any means. But if the team is still on the margins of the race I'm not sure that's enough reason to do more on the transaction side. The big move—Devers—hasn't moved the needle on the team's chances.

And the team's needs are too many. They have to beef up the bullpen and they probably need another starter. Perhaps it's best to look within and promote some deserving youngsters. And any additions to the lineup will have to come the same way, or at least nothing bigger than a waiver wire pickup. This team, short of a ten-game winning streak, isn't going anywhere. A playoff appearance would be great, of course, but they are going to need a change of luck and start seeing better outcomes real soon.

It's on to Atlanta. Hayden Birdsong gets the start, 4:15 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

At The Break

The 2025 Giants (52-45, .536) find themselves six games behind the Dodgers and a half-game behind the Padres. There are three Wild Card spots allotted to the NL and the Giants are a half-game behind that bunch. The Brewers and the Mets have the top two seeds right now. It will be hard for three NL West clubs to get in to the post-season. The Cardinals and Reds aren't far behind, either.

The team ended April with a 19-12 record. They had a nice opening to the season scoring 142 runs against 119 allowed in the 31 games. Since that high point they've been a .500 club (33-33).

FanGraphs projects the Giants to go 33-32 in their final 65 games for an 85-77 finish (tied with the Padres!). Currently the Giants score 4.11 runs per game and that's projected to go up a bit (4.28). The pitching, currently allowing 3.94 rpg, is projected to regress a bit (4.16). 85-77 would be their best record since 2021 but might not be enough for the playoffs.

Buster Posey took a big swing in the off-season to land Willy Adames and took an even bigger swing last month to get Rafael Devers. On one hand, the team is winning. On the other, neither player is contributing close to what was expected from them. Devers is injured. Is he hurt bad enough for the nuclear option? That is shut him down, get him fixed, and have him healthy for 2026? They did that with Robbie Ray after all—he was on the shelf when they acquired him. They were patient and now that he's fully healthy it's paying off. He's kicked ass all season.

We'll find out soon enough whether or not Devers can help in the stretch run. They could use another arm or two, especially a lefty reliever, and it wouldn't hurt to pick up a right-handed OF bat. Unless you think Luis Matos can play that role the rest of the way. It doesn't look like they'll get any help from Bryce Eldridge although we might see Carson Whisenhunt. Otherwise all the youth has already been promoted to the big squad.

They open the second half in Toronto on Friday afternoon (4:07 Pacific). The Blue Jays are a good team and lead the AL East by two games. It looks like Verlander-Ray-Webb for the weekend series.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Round Three: LA

LA 5  SF 2 (11)

The Giants could do nothing for eight innings and were trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th. It was another good pitching performance gone to waste. Then Luis Matos jacked a two-run homer to tie the game and the Giants had a pulse. In the 10th, the Dodgers failed to score the Manfred Man. It was a gift. Victory was within reach! But of course the Giants couldn't score, either. That was it. That was their chance. LA banged out three runs in the 11th and it was over.

Enjoy the Break!

--M.C. 

Round Two: LA

LA 2  SF 1

The Giants wasted a strong effort from Landen Roupp. The Dodgers made him work—seven hits and a walk in six frames—but he kept the lid on things, allowing just two runs (one earned) and whiffing eight. Alas, the lineup could only manage a mere three hits. Even with the big chance in the game, bases loaded with one out in the 8th, the team could only scratch across one run (Devers sac fly).

Robbie Ray gets the start today. He will miss the All-Star Game. Let's hope the team "has his back" and scores some goddamn runs!!

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Round One: SF

SF 8  LA 7

The Dodgers battered Logan Webb for six runs but he pitched better than the other guy. LA's starter Dustin May gave up seven runs! The Giants had an 8-2 lead at one point but had to hang on for the win. Camilo Doval got a double play grounder to end the game.

This is a big series. The Giants need to gain some ground in the West and they need to show that they can play with the big boys. I was happy to see that Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee both had big games. Those bats need to wake up! 

Just looking at the month so far, the Giants have played ten games in July and are 7-3, yet they've allowed 54 runs while scoring 45. There's been some rough patches with the pitching. Last night the team's two best hurlers (Webb and RandyRo) gave up nine hits and seven runs in seven frames. Granted, the Dodgers have a ridiculous lineup. But this team needs to pitch well to keep winning. I wonder if they'll look for some bullpen help (a lefty, perhaps?) before the deadline. Do you think they need another starter?

Landen Roupp gets the start this afternoon. Shohei Ohtani is listed as the opener for LA.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Miracle on Third Street

SF 4  PHI 3

The Giants were down 3-1 in the 9th and it looked for all the world that the Phillies would even the series. Instead the Giants battled and got the first two guys on base. Next batter Patrick Bailey crushed the first pitch he saw to right-centerfield and that probably should have been a game-ending three-run home run. Instead, it hit the top of the wall and and took a crazy carom back onto the field! It shot past the outfielders into no-man's land and suddenly everyone was thinking triple and a tie game. But Bailey kept running as the outfielders kept chasing the ball and then it was an inside-the-park homer. A walk-off winner!

That's the craziest ending to a game this season and one of the craziest endings to a Giants game EVER. Heliot Ramos got a Little League homer last year to win a game, he should have been thrown out twice! That was crazy, but this was even crazier.

So, the Giants stink against bad teams but win against good teams. Go figure. Today's game is at 12:45 and Justin Verlander tries for a win and a sweep.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. That's 37 one-run games for the Giants, they are 21-16 in those contests.

Giants edge Phils

SF 3  PHI 1

The Phillies have the best starters in baseball and the Giants had to face one of them last night, southpaw Christopher Sánchez. He dominated for seven frames, snuffing out every rally, only yielding one run on a ground ball from Luis Matos. Once he was out of the game the Giants rallied for two in the 8th and that was enough for the win. Landen Roupp started and labored through five but kept the Phillies lineup in check, allowing only one run. Great relief work once again made the win possible. Ryan Walker had an excellent 6th and Joey Lucchesi pitched the 7th, probably his highest-leverage appearance for the team so far. Tyler Rogers set it up in the 8th and Camilo Doval closed it out in the 9th.

Looks like the Giants will miss Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler. That's good news. Robbie Ray goes up against Taijuan Walker tonight at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Giants get out of Sac with a win

SF 6  ATH 2

Hayden Birdsong managed to avoid a meltdown and hung on to finish five frames on 90 pitches. He walked five but whiffed six and only allowed three hits and a run. The bullpen once again got it done.  Willy Adames had three RBI, it is nice to see his bat heating up. Luis Matos had a big two-RBI hit.

There was a stretch early in the game that featured 11 consecutive strikeouts. Seven by the Giants and four by the A's. It seems there is a visibility issue at the ballpark. Players complained of a glare that made it hard to pick up the ball. Well, that figures. Play ML games at a AAA park and you'll have some issues. That asshole who owns the A's should be publicly flogged. I wonder if they'll ever build that stupid park in Las Vegas.

The Giants have six more games at home before The Break. The Phillies come to town for three starting tonight (6:45 PT). Thursday's an off day and the Dodgers will be in town for the weekend. The Giants have had trouble with crappy teams. It will be interesting to see how they fare against two really strong clubs!

--M.C.

5th inning: 7-11

 1st inning: 13-5

2nd inning: 9-9

3rd inning: 9-9

4th inning: 10-8

5th inning: 7-11 

After Friday night's embarrassing drubbing the team really needed a win and they got one behind Logan Webb and 4 RBI from Willy Adames.

It hasn't been a good stretch for the ballclub. After 90 games (48-42, .533) they are tied with the Padres for second place, eight games behind LA (56-34). After this series they have six more home games before the All-Star Break. Three of those games are with the Dodgers.

The team is slashing .231/.311/.373 and the MLB average is .246/.316/.399. That's led to 375 runs (4.17 rpg), with the league averaging 390 (4.38 rpg). I think we know this team does not score enough!

The pitching has been very good despite some recent blips. They allow only 3.88 rpg, good for sixth-best behind TEX, HOU, KC, PIT, and DET. They are number two in ERA (3.45) behind the Rangers and number one in FIP (3.57). We know the bullpen is a big part of that, we saw last night that when Webb faltered in the 7th Randy Rodriguez took care of business. As far as All-Stars go, RandyRo is certainly deserving as is 8th-inning man Tyler Rogers. Starters Robbie Ray and Webb are no-brainers.

Fielding-wise the Giants aren't bad, but they aren't good, either. They are certainly better than last season. They have 51 errors which is pretty bad as the league average is 46. Funny thing is that there are 21 teams with fewer than 46 errors! The top teams really have a lot of errors and it skews the list. As far as defensive efficiency goes, that is, turning balls-in-play into outs, the Giants .694 mark is just below league average (.697). The Giants are above-average in putouts and assists but their 65 DP is just below the league mark of 67.

The trade deadline is July 31st. What will the Giants have to do to stay in the race?

 Hayden Birdsong at 7:05 tonight. Go Giants!

--M.C.

Ray dazzles, Giants cruise

SF 7  AZ 2

The Giants played one of their best games of the season and certainly their best game of the last several weeks. They jumped on Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt for two in the 1st and two more in the 3rd. He was gone after six. Meanwhile Robbie Ray mowed down the Arizona lineup with ease. He got through eight frames on a mere 78 pitches. The 9th was a challenge and he had to "dig deep" to finish the game. It was only the second CG of his career and the first for the Giants this year. Ray allowed only three hits, two were solo homers.

FNGs Willy Adames and Rafael Devers were hitting stars, the SS with three hits and three runs scored and the DH with three RBI. The lineup scored two more in the 7th and one more in the 9th and finished with 12 hits.

The Giants go to Sacramento to take on the Athletics this weekend. All three games are at 7:05 Pacific. It's way too hot to play day baseball there! We should see Verlander-Webb-Birdsong.

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Giants snap skid

SF 6  AZ 5 (10) 

It's been pretty ugly. They tried their best to lose again last night but somehow conjured up a win. Since beating the Dodgers on June 13th they've gone 5-12.

Jung Hoo Lee had a nice game with three hits including a triple and a double. Let's see some more of that!

Robbie Ray tries to make it a two-game win streak at 6:40 tonight. 

Go Giants!

--M.C. 

Giants squeak past Sox

SF 3  CWS 1

So the right fielder misplayed Patrick Bailey's blooper into a triple and that was the difference in the game. If he'd played it safe and let it drop in front of him for a single we might be in extra innings right now! But who's complaining? A win is a win. Landen Roupp worked hard for 5-1/3 IP and only allowed one run. Great relief, once again, sealed the deal. Ryan Walker (2/3), Randy Rodriguez (1), Tyler Rogers (1), and Camilo Doval (1) got it done. The White Sox are really bad (26-56) so maybe the Giants can conjure up a couple of whuppin's.

Robbie Ray tomorrow at 1:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Oh, yuck

What the hell did the Giants do on their off-day? They kicked ass on Sunday and after a break on Monday they came out and got bitch-slapped by the FloMars. Did they all go to a ketamine workshop and get in touch with their inner suckitude? Did they forget how to play baseball? Because it sure looked like it. The lowly Fish beat the Giants at every facet of the game. It was a complete and total smackdown.

I think the Giants are going to struggle to score runs the rest of the way. The Devers addition isn't going to improve the lineup all that much. He's just ballast. That is, he's there to make sure the lineup doesn't collapse completely. He's the finger in the dike. Without Devers, the Giants regress and regress and score less and less. With Devers, they stay at a minimum competence level. He had a good day today.

So, now we get to see if the team is resilient and will bounce back. They go on the road to Chicago and face the White Sox. Tomorrow's game is at 4:40 Pacific; Landen Roupp gets the start.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. My nephew (Damien Verrett aka So Much Light) is a recording artist and he has a record entitled "Oh, Yuck." The cover is below. I feel just like that.

 

 

Wild win caps weekend

SF 9  BOS 5

The Giants made two errors in the 1st inning that led to a run. But they made up for it—the fielders executed some big plays later in the game. And the Red Sox made two errors of their own that really helped out. Six homers flew out of the yard this afternoon, three by each club. Casey Schmitt hit his fourth as part of a four-hit day that saw him score three times. Mike Yastrzemski tied the game in the 5th with his sixth, and Wily Adames padded the lead in the 8th with his ninth. Heliot Ramos had a two-out, two-run single, and a two-out, two-run double. It was an 11-hit attack overall.

Robbie Ray got stung by the long ball in the 5th and came out at the end of the inning having thrown 88 pitches and the game tied at four. Spencer Bivens gave up a solo shot in the 6th for a 5-4 Boston lead but Erik Miller had a scoreless 7th. The Giants responded with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Rogers handled the 8th and Randy Rodriguez the 9th and that sealed the series win.

Good show by the lads in front of another crowd of 40,000+. It was an entertaining affair. Tomorrow is an off-day and then the nine-game homestand wraps up with three against the Marlins. Justin Verlander takes the hill Tuesday night at 6:45 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Roupp, Devers lead Giants

SF 3  BOS 2

Landen Roupp threw six scoreless innings this afternoon in San Francisco and with a little help from his friends that was enough to get a win. Roupp allowed three hits and three walks and struck out seven. His Game Score of 70 was his highest of the season. Heliot Ramos hit a solo homer (his 13th) in the 1st and FNG Rafael Devers clubbed a two-run blast (his 16th) in the 3rd to take care of the scoring. The Devers bomb was opposite field and it was his first for the Giants.

Randy Rodriguez (7th) and Tyler Rogers (8th) both pitched superb innings in relief. FanGraphs rates RandyRo at 1.4 WAR and TyRo at 0.7, while Baseball-Reference says 1.3 and 1.4 respectively. Regardless, both guys have been studs and are a big reason the Giants have been a contending team. They kept the score 3-0 until the 9th.

Camilo Doval did his best to make a mess of his save chance and he got some help from catcher Andrew Knizner as well. Doval gave up hits to the first three guys which brought in a run. Then a bad throw on a stolen base attempt led to another. Finally our mercurial closer decided 3-2 was close enough and he finished them off. The 43-34 Giants stay four back of LA and two ahead of SD.

Robbie Ray matches up with Lucas Giolito tomorrow. Game time same as today, 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Go with the Flo

SF 2  CLE 1

It was a day for VSC. Veteran Savvy Clutchness snapped the Giants skid and spared them from a sweep. The Guardians were pesky in all three games and had the look of a contender. The Giants looked like pretenders by comparison. They were 1-for-7 today with RISP, and the one was a big one, but that is still lame. Not just 1-for-7 (.143), but only seven chances in all. They had five hits and four walks, and Christian Koss reached on an error.

Logan Webb gets the first VSC star. He pitched a great game in LA last Friday which the Giants won. Then they lost the next two plus the first two back at home. So Webb knew he had to play stopper and he delivered the goods with seven strong innings. The Cleveland lineup rapped out seven hits (three by Steven Kwan), but a couple were dinkers. Two were doubles, both by Angel Martinez, and he scored the one run. But Webb whiffed nine and didn't issue a freebie so that was it for them. He left with the team trailing 1-0 and it looked like another Caining.

The second VSC star goes to The Maestro of Clutch, Mr. VSC himself, Wilmer Flores. After Casey Schmitt opened the bottom of 7th with a single, Jung Hoo Lee walked. Patrick Bailey bunted them over. Wilmer pinch-hit for Koss and he stroked a double down the line that scored both runners. That's 53 RBI for Flo, 10th-best in MLB. FNG Rafael Devers is 5th-best with 59 (Pete Alonso is #1 with 63).

Speaking of our FNG, Raffy had 13 PA in the series and was 3-for-11 (.272) with a double and an RBI. He added two walks and four strikeouts. Let's hope our $250 Million Dollar Man goes nuts against his former team this weekend.

A little over 40,000 fans were at the ballpark this afternoon and after the Giants took a 2-1 lead they saw a couple of dominant relievers (Randy Rodriguez and Camilo Doval) close the door and wrap up the win. Boy, did they need that one! This hitting and scoring drought is really hard to take. Webb actually has two wins in his last two starts (14 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 W, 13 K) and is now 7-5. There are 13 MLB pitchers with seven wins, five with eight (Robbie Ray among them), and two with nine (Carlos Rodon and Max Fried of the Yankees). Webb leads everyone with 12 Quality Starts, is second with 101-1/3 IP, and his 2.58 ERA is the third-lowest. Today was his 16th start and his 159th overall in his 7th season, fifth in a full-time  starter role. He turns 29 in November and is signed through the 2028 season. I hope we all appreciate what a beast this guy is!

Hayden Birdsong goes tomorrow night against the Red Sox at 7:15 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

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. 

Split

The Giants bounced back from the two agonizing losses that opened the series with consecutive wins to salvage a split. Last night they overcame a 5-0 deficit to take a 6-5 lead in the 9th that took two pitchers to save, but save they did. Today was also a comeback win, with three runs in the bottom of the 3rd after a Manny Machado two-run homer opened the scoring in the top half of the frame. FNG Dominic Smith got the big hit for the Giants, a two-out, two-strike, two-run double that put them on top for good. Robbie Ray's line in the 3-2 win: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 W, 9 K.

I don't like to make too much of one at-bat but Dom Smith's hit is exactly the kind of hit the Giants got in April on a regular basis. Those hits evaporated in May. Sometimes bringing in new blood works like a charm. Last night FNG Daniel Johnson singled and stole a bag before scoring on Patrick Bailey's single in the 5th. It was the club's first run. He singled again in the 7th behind Willy Adames' walk. Both scored on Heliot Ramos' double to make it 5-3. Welcome to the squad, Dan Johnson! Seriously, those are the hits that have eluded the Giants for some time now. It's great to see the new guys contribute right away.

Sean Hjelle deserves a hat tip for a dandy 2-2/3 IP last night after Kyle Harrison faltered. Ryan Walker fumbled in the 9th but Randy Rodriguez heroically rescued him and preserved the win. That guy is amazing. He pitched a scoreless 8th today, too. Camilo Doval put two on in the 9th today but got it done, sealing the deal with a strikeout. He was popping 100+ mph with his cutter.

The Braves come to town for the weekend. Tomorrow night's game is at 7:15 PT. It's Hayden Birdsong's turn in the rotation.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. Just to note that bullpen stalwart Tyler Rogers has faced 103 batters this year and walked just three while yielding only 18 hits. This team has a great group of relievers. 

Shakeup

As expected the Giants parted ways with struggling first baseman LaMonte Wade, Jr. who was DFAd today. Sam Huff got the axe as well. Wade is a free agent after this season. The 31-year old has inexplicably "fallen off a cliff" in his hitting performance. He's been a productive player for the team for the last few years and it is sad to see his decline and departure. "Late-inning LaMonte" is no more.

The Giants desperately need some offense from their backup catcher and Huff has not delivered. He doesn't get to play much, but that's the nature of the job. The Giants desperately need their starting catcher to hit, too.

Former first-rounder Dominic Smith was in the minors with the Yankees but opted out and came to San Francisco on a one-year deal. The soon-to-be 30-year old journeyman lefty has bounced around the bigs for eight seasons and put up roughly league-average numbers as a part-time 1B/OF. He'll be in the lineup tonight, I hope!

Christian Koss and Luis Matos were re-assigned to the minors while C Andrew Knizner and OF Daniel Johnson were promoted. The 30-year old Knizner (KIZZ-ner) has 290 ML games, almost entirely behind the dish. The 29-year old Johnson is a lefty with 95 ML games under his belt. He was, like Jerar Encarnacion, mashing in the Mexican League and got noticed by the Giants.

The team certainly needs something! The two losses to the Padres have been sickening. To waste all that brilliant pitching is a real shame. I forgot to mention that Jordan Hicks went on the 15-day IL. He hasn't had much luck this season. Sean Hjelle takes the spot. Bryce Eldridge was promoted from AA to AAA. That puts him in Sacramento. The 20-year old lefty slugger is on the fast track.

Kyle Harrison tonight (6:45 PT).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Four runs!

SF 4  MIA 2

The Giants plated four runs today in Miami and that was enough and they edged the Marlins to take the series. After a crushing 1-0 loss yesterday that wasted a great start by Robbie Ray, the team bounced back with some good work from Hayden Birdsong and a big hit from Luis Matos. Birdsong pitched into the 6th and was pulled with one out after three straight singles. Ryan Walker got the next two outs. Luis Matos extended the Giants 1-0 lead in the 4th with a three-run homer. That came with two outs.

The Marlins got another run in the 7th when still-struggling Jordan Hicks walked three batters. Tyler Rogers saved the inning. Erik Miller got two outs in the 8th but needed Camilo Doval to finish the frame. Doval allowed two baserunners in the 9th but also got a double play. A comebacker ended it.

Wilmer Flores got his 47th RBI in the 3rd on a groundout. That's good for fifth-best in MLB. After going 16-11 in April (and 3-1 in March) the team slipped to 13-14 for May. They start the month of June with a win. The rest of the week is at home. The San Diego Padres (32-24, 1/2 game up on SF) come to San Francisco for four games starting tomorrow night (6:45 PT). It's Webb's turn in the rotation. The weekend will feature the Atlanta Braves.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Fourth team shutout

SF 2  MIA 0

The Giants racked up some hits (11) but still had trouble scoring runs. It took seven pitchers but they got it done and kept the Marlins off the board. The runs came in the 1st when Heliot Ramos tripled to RF and Wilmer singled him in, and in the 4th when Matt Chapman homered.

Kyle Harrison started and gave up one hit over his five frames. He was followed by Tristan Beck (2/3), Ryan Walker (1/3), Erik Miller (2/3), Tyler Rogers (1/3), Spencer Bivens (2/3), and Camilo Doval (1-1/3) with an impressive four-out save.

Considering how well this pitching staff has suppressed run-scoring, it feels like they should have more shutouts. Four is right at league-average. The Padres lead MLB with nine, the Guardians are second with seven.

Tomorrow's game is at 1:10 Pacific. Robbie Ray takes his 7-0 magic to the mound.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

3rd inning: 9-9

1st inning: 13-5

2nd inning: 9-9

3rd inning: 9-9

The Giants couldn't get much going with the bat today and lost to the Tigers 3-1. This was the team's 54th game which is one-third of the season. At 31-23 they find themselves in second place behind LA despite playing .500 ball since their hot start.

The Giants have scored 238 runs (4.4 rpg) which is a tick above the league average (229, 4.3 rpg). The team's slash line of .232/.310/.380 is actually lower than the ML average of .244/.316/.395! This team has benefited from a lot of clutch hits.

On the pitching side they've allowed 196 runs (3.6 rpg) which is quite good. They are fourth-best in ERA (3.25) and third-best in FIP (3.39). Thank the bullpen for that!

If they can stabilize the rotation and get some consistency behind the top two spots that would be a huge improvement for the rest of the year. But they will still struggle to score runs. That makes it hard to play over .500 for long stretches. Regardless, it's Memorial Day and the Giants would be a playoff team if the season ended today.

3:40 start tomorrow and it should be Webb's turn.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Giants edge Nats

SF 3  WSN 2

This team is going to play a lot of games—close, low-scoring—like this one. Today Robbie Ray got his seventh win. The Giants have won 10 of the 11 games Ray has started this season. Michael Soroka matched Ray in IP (6) but gave up some early runs and that was that was the difference. Ray was staked to a 3-0 lead after three frames. He gave up an ugly run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 3rd but that was it. Once again Randy Rodriguez (7th) and Tyler Rogers (8th) were awesome. Ryan Walker gave up a run in the 9th but got the save and the Giants had a series win on the road.

It's on to Detroit for Memorial Day (10:10 a.m. Pacific) and Hayden Birdsong. Logan Webb goes Tuesday (3:40) and Landen Roupp Wednesday (10:10).

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Shootin' blanks

SF 4  WSN 0

That's only the third shutout by the Giants this season. Landen Roupp threw six scoreless frames but then gave up a double and a walk to start the 7th. Randy Rodriguez came in and got a strikeout and double play. He gets used in all the toughest spots but has pitched superbly. He's faced 81 batters this season (21-2/3 IP) and has 31 whiffs with only three walks and 12 hits allowed. Erik Miller and Camilo Doval finished up. Doval has also been excellent—over 23-1/3 IP he's given up only nine hits.

Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore dominated the Giants for his first six innings, striking out nine and yielding a mere two hits. He was removed after Jung Hoo Lee walked to start the 7th. The first reliever (Jackson Rutledge) gave up three walks and the second reliever (Zach Brzykcy*) gave up three hits and that was the game.

Tomorrow's game is at 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

*pronounced "BRICK-see"

On the road

The Giants scored eight runs in the three-game set with the Royals. That's not going to get it done! Robbie Ray pitched a great game on Monday but the lineup was stymied by Kris Bubic. On Tuesday five scoreless from Hayden Birdsong and good work from four relievers led to a narrow win. Things looked good for the Giants in the rubber match with MLB FIP-leader (2.17) Logan Webb getting the start. Unfortunately the KC lineup battered Webb for 10 hits and the Giants got whipped 8-4.

The rest of the month the team will be on the road for a three-city trip. They go to D.C. to face the Nationals on Friday (3:45 PT), Saturday (1:05 PT), and Sunday (10:35 PT). Justin Verlander was sent to the IL so it's likely Kyle Harrison will start in his place. I make it Roupp-Ray-Harrison for the weekend. They go to Detroit right after that for three games, there's a travel day on Thursday the 29th, and then three games over the weekend in Miami. They are home the first week of June for four against the Padres.

The 29-21 Giants are in second place in the NL West, two games behind LA (31-19). Monday (the 26th) in Detroit is Game 54, the one-third mark in the season.

Go Giants!

--M.C.