3rd inning: 8-10

1st inning: 6-12

2nd inning: 8-10

3rd inning: 8-10

It doesn't take much to be a good team. If you go 10-8 over 18 games instead of 8-10 you will be a good team. Alas, the Giants are not a good team. They showed that with tonight's 6-2 loss. At 22-32 they are not in last place (that's Colorado's domain) but they are hardly making any noise at all with a .407 win clip. That's 4th-worst in MLB.

It is one-third of the way through the season. This first game of this home Arizona series (Giants are 0-4 vs. Snakes so far) is Game 54 and that's three seasonal innings. 54 games is 1/3 of 162. If you figure the baseball season is six months long then we've burned through two already.

I've decided that the most exciting thing about 2026 is the upcoming draft (July 11-13). The Giants have the #4 pick, which is a big deal. They also have a supplemental pick, #29. That's not a big deal, but it's not nothin'. They have a chance to get another top talent.

I have a few thoughts on the draft and will post about it in the next few days.

--M.C.

 

p.s. FanGraphs now projects the Giants to finish 76-86, which would mean playing .500 the rest of the way. Hmmm, whaddya think?

Slammin' Giants take series

SF 8  CHW 5

The Giants got another grand slam, this one from Rafael Devers, and they held on to beat the White Sox. Robbie Ray walked seven of the 21 guys he faced. That's not going to work! Fortunately the home squad got the bats going and scored two in the 1st, two in the 3rd, and four in the 5th. Casey Schmitt hit his 11th homer. The team had 11 hits overall.

Keaton Winn was stalwart in relief of Ray with two scoreless frames. Matt Gage gave up a run in his inning but both Erik Miller and Caleb Killian shut 'em down 1-2-3. Killian whiffed all three guys for his third save.

Arizona comes to town for a Memorial Day late afternoon (2:05 Pacific) contest. Landen Roupp should be next to start. The D-backs stay for two more, Tuesday night (6:45) and the getaway game Wednesday (12:45). Off-day Thursday, road trip to Colorado Friday.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Bader Bops Big One, pt. 2

SF 10  CHW 3

The Giants broke their losing streak with a big burst of offense. Harrison Bader hit a grand slam last Sunday in Sacramento and he hit a grand slam today in San Francisco. We'll just forget about the games in between, okay?

Adrian Houser could not get out of the 5th but the bullpen (Matt Gage, Sam Hentges, Joel Peguero) got the job done. Luis Arraez had two more hits and Casey Schmitt got his tenth homer. Bryce Eldridge chipped in two hits and a walk and Matt Chapman had two hits and two runs scored. It was a feel-good day for the 40,000+ at the yard.

Robbie Ray tomorrow afternoon (1:05 PT)

Go Giants!

--M.C.

Bader Bops Big One

SF 10  ATH 1 

Can Harrison Bader be a better batter? And if Bader can be a better batter, how much better of a batter can Bader be? Overall Bader bats .245/.309/.399 for his career but so far Bader has only batted .153/.184/.531 and bow-howdy ya gotta love that SLG%. But Bader's bat oughtta get better going forward.

The Giants got a solid start (6 IP, 1 R) for the second day in a row, this time it was Adrian Houser. He worked around five walks and the bats backed him up with a couple of early runs. The eight-run 8th, fueled by Bader's grand slam, sealed the deal.

Luis Arraez had three more hits and is now rolling out a nice .328 batting average, fifth-best in MLB. He hit his first homer Friday and his second today. With 13 walks, nine doubles, and two triples, his OBP (.370) and SLG (.437) are trending upward. Add his solid glove and "La Regadera" is the team WAR leader.

The team travels to Arizona for three against the Diamondbacks. Tomorrow night is at 6:40 PT and will feature Robbie Ray and Zac Gallen.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

 

p.s. It means "The Sprinkler" (he sprays his hits all over the field).

Silver lining

SF 6  ATH 4

The Giants snap their three-game skid behind a great performances from Trevor McDonald (6 IP, 1 R) and Casey Schmitt (4-for-5, 2 HR). This lousy season needs a silver lining and perhaps the "youth brigade" will supply it.

The 25-year old McDonald was an 11th-round high school pick in 2019. He made his debut in 2024 with three scoreless innings and then had three appearances (two starts) in 2025 including a win over the Dodgers.

The 27-year old Schmitt was a 2nd-round pick in 2020 from San Diego State. He debuted in 2023 and has been a league average hitter over that time. This season (mostly as DH) he's slashing .293/.342/.536  which is good for a team-leading 130 OPS+ (and 147 wRC+).

Heliot Ramos goes on the IL and Will Brennan takes his spot. Today's game is at 1:05 PT.

Go Giants!

--M.C.

OMG

SF 6  LA 2

So it's cliché to say "who are these guys" don't you think? We've covered that ground. Perhaps it is time to say "they are finally playing like we hoped they would." That feels good. I want to believe that. At this point, it matters not. What I believe, that is. It matters that the Giants pulled their heads out of their giant collective ass and played some serious baseball in LA for the second night in a row.

That matters. What I believe, as I said, matters not. I'm taking a vow of agnosticism. I have no idea what to believe. I'll believe whatever works.

Tonight worked. Adrian Houser had some early wobbles but he kept it together and pulled off a very McDonaldian start. The Dodgers have a ridiculous lineup but Giants starters have kept it in check on back-to-back nights. LA hitters still have pop of course, and still string together rallies. And they always seem to turn the lineup over and force you to face the best at the end. But Giants pitchers have risen to the occasion and gotten it done. Tonight Caleb Killian went into full beast mode to get a four-out save.

Eric Haase was the hitting hero with two homers off Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Harrison Bader also popped one off the Dodgers starter. Those guys hit in the eighth and ninth spots! The game-breaking 7th inning rally featured an RBI bunt from Drew Gilbert and a clutch two-run double from Jung Hoo Lee.

It was a great team effort and a really fun game.

Life is better when the Giants win. Life is mo' better when those wins come in LA.

Robbie Ray and Shohei Ohtani tomorrow night at 7:10 PT.

GO GIANTS!!

--M.C.

Umm, yeah, okay, I like it

SF 9  LA 3

I don't know who those guys were wearing Giants road grays tonight in Los Angeles but I think we oughtta keep 'em around. Yikes! TWELVE hits? SIX walks? NINE runs? NO errors? SCORELESS relief? Against the defending (2x) World Series winners?

Wow. This trip is a trip, man.

Nice to see Rafael Devers getting some big hits and being a "middle of the order presence." And this Trevor McDonald guy really nutted up. Let's see some more of that!

This team plays some of the stupidest baseball I've ever seen for almost one-fourth of the season and then they go down to SoCal and whip the Dodgers.

I'm really confused, but it's all good. That was a hell of a win!

Three more to go. Adrian Houser tomorrow night at 7:10 Pacific.

Go Giants!

--M.C.