Game Wrap 4/22/2026: Giants 3 Dodgers 0

 The Giants got a great game from the unlikeliest sectors of their roster:  An absolute ****s to the wall pitching performance by Tyler Mahle, a 3-run home run by Patrick Bailey and multiple great defensive plays.  Key Lines:

Patrick Bailey C- 1 for 3, HR(1), R, 3 RBI.  BA= .155.  After Drew Gilbert CF sacrificed Jung Hoo Lee RF and Heliot Ramos LF to third and second bases respectively, I texted my friend and said, "what's the point of sacrificing the runners over when Patrick Bailey is due up?" Left unspoken was why after doing that would you not pinch-hit for Bailey?  Boom!  No sooner did I hit "Send" and Bailey made me look stupid.  A very wise manager named Earl Weaver once said baseball games are won by 3-run home runs and great pitching.  There was still work to be done but you had to feel pretty good about the game at that point.

Tyler Mahle RHP- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K's, 10/5 GO/AO.  ERA= 5.26.  Mahle outpitched perhaps the best all-around player to ever play the game, he is at least in the conversation, on two levels:  He matched zeros for 6 innings then did him one better by pitching a scoreless 7'th and he held The Great One hitless in 3 AB's at the top of the batting order.  There are a handful of random players in Giants history who will never be forgotten due to legendary performances against the Dodgers.  Brian Johnson immediately comes to mind.  Tyler Mahle may have joined that rank with this performance.  And I will take a small piece of credit for writing yesterday that this game looked like a mismatch.

Willy Adames SS, Luis Arraez 2B and Rafael Devers 1B made great stops on smoked baseballs to back up Mahle's pitching on the defensive side.

Devers had two hits and is batting .290 over his last 7 games.  Jung Hoo Lee had two hits and is batting .385 over his last 7 games, .308 over his last 15.  Ryan Walker RHP earned his second Save in as many games and the Giants may finally have a true Closer.

With the Win, the Giants gained a game on both the first place Dodgers and the Wild Card race, now trailing by 5 and 3 games respectively.  They are one game over .500 since the opening series of the season and 5-1 over their last 6 games.

Logan Webb RHP goes for the sweep this afternoon against Tyler Glasnow RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/21/2026

AAA:  Albuquerque Isotopes at Sacramento River Cats Postponed.  

This was the 4'th postponement or cancellation of a River Cats game already this season.

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Somerset Patriots 8-5.

Scott Bandura LF- 2 for 5, 2B, SB(4).  BA= .328.

Sabin Ceballos 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(3).  BA= .271.

Diego Velasquez 2B- 1 for 2, HR(1), BB, Sac, SB(3).  BA= .257.

Adrian Sugastey C- 2 for 4.  BA= .241.

Tyler Vogel RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, Save(5).  ERA= 0.00. 

Jacob Lombard Jr SS(Patriots)- 2 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .382.

We're not used to seeing the Squirrels win games by outhitting and outscoring opponenents.  George Lombard Jr is a former first round draft pick by the Yankees.  His younger brother, Jacob is a potential first round pick by the Giants at #4 overall in the upcoming draft.

A+:  Eugene Emeralds topped the Hillsboro Hops 5-3.

Dakota Jordan CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .328.

Trevor Cohen DH- 1 for 4, BB, SB(10).  BA= .233.

Lisbel Diaz RF- 1 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .205.

Charlie McDaniel LHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's, 5/2 GO/AO.  ERA= 0.82.

Cade Vernon RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.27.

Ben Peterson RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, 3/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 2.25.

For people who have high hopes for Dakota Jordan, he is not disappointing so far.

A:  San Jose Giants blasted the Ontario Tower Buzzers 12-2.

Cam Maldonado RF- 3 for 4, 2B, SF, 2 SB(6).  BA= .345.

Hayden Jatczak 1B- 2 for 3, HR(2), 2 BB.  BA= .321.

Damian Bravo LF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .246.

Jeremiah Jenkins DH- 2 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .343.

Andy Polanco CF- 1 for 4, BB, SB(6).  BA= .327.

Keyner Martinez RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 5.40.

Jose T. Perez RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 6.14.

Cam Maldonado is suddenly the hottest player in the Giants farm system.  7'th round draft pick last year.  Reminder A ball is a conservative placement for a draft pick out of college ball.

Game Wrap 4/21/2026: Giants 3 Dodgers 1

The Giants hung a 3-spot on Yoshinobu Yamamoto RHP in the first inning.  Landen Roupp and the bullpen made it stand up for a wire-to-wire win.  Key Lines:

Rafael Devers 1B- 1 for 4, RBI.  BA= .226.  Willy Adames SS and Luis Arraez 2B led off the Giants first inning with base hits and Matt Chapman 3B drew a walk to load to the bases.  This was the place where Devers has started to kill too many rallies this season but he laced a single to RF to drive in the critical first run and everybody moved up a base.  

Jung Hoo Lee RF- 2 for 3, RBI.  BA= .259.  After a Sac Fly by Casey Schmitt DH, Lee lined the Giants 4'th single of the inning and the game to RF to drive in the Giants third and last run of the game.  4 of the Giants 6 hits in the game came in the critical first inning.  Lee is batting .407 over his last 7 games and .315 over his last 15.

Landen Roupp RHP- 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.28.  Roupp was cruising along until the 4'th inning when he inexplicably walked 4 batters and looked like he was on the ropes.  No problem.  He gets out of the inning on a GIDP then came back out to retire the side in order in the 5'th.  Gutsy call by Manager Tony Vitello to bring him back out and a gutsy performance by Roupp.  Roupp!  Roupp!  Roupp!  BTW, 2 of those 4 walks came on challenges:  One by Dodgers Catcher, Dalton Rushing,  that was overturned and one by Patrick Bailey C that was upheld.  

Ryan Borucki LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.87.  So let me get this straight:  Tony Vitello brought Ryan Borucki into a game to face the Dodgers with a 3-1 lead?  You gotta be......!  And he lived to tell about it?  Talk about a gutsy call.  I am quite sure if that move went the way most fans expected, there would be very loud calls for the manager to be fired.  The move did make some sense.  3 of the first 4 batters scheduled to hit batted left.  The lone RH batter, Teoscar Hernandez LF , doubled.  What if he hit a home run?  

Ryan Walker RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, Save(2).  ERA= 3.60.  Another gutsy call but Walker retired the side on order and struck out two batters in the process.  

With the Win, the Giants record improved to 10-13. They stayed in 4'th place in the NL West 6 games behind the Dodgers and 4 games behind in the Wild Card race.

Tonight's game might be a mismatch with Shohei Ohtani RHP facing Tyler Mahle RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/19/2026

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats blanked the Tacoma Rainiers 1-0.

Buddy Kennedy 3B- 2 for 4, 2 2B.  BA= .322.

Sam Hentges LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Spencer Bivens RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 4/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 0.00.

Dylan Smith RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Wilkin Ramos RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.27.

Quite a combined shutout effort by the bullpen.  Tristan Beck RHP and Gregory Santos RHP contributed scoreless innings with Santos recording his second Save.  

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels at Hartford Yard Goats cancelled.

A+:  Everett Aquasox defeated the Eugene Emeralds 10-4.

Trevor Cohen CF- 1 for 2, 2B, 3 BB, SB(9).  BA= .232.

Dakota Jordan DH- 2 for 4, HR(3), BB.  BA= .316.

Zane Zielinski 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .341.

Ryan Vanderhei RHP- 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K's, 4/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 3.24.

Dakota Jordan continues his hot hitting.

A:  San Jose Giants outscored the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 8-6.

Damian Bravo LF- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .228.

Cam Maldonado CF- 4 for 5, 2B, 2 HR(6).  BA= .314. 

Dario Reynoso 3B- 2 for 5.  BA= .297.

Daniel Rogers C- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .286.

Fernando Gonzalez DH- 1 for 3, 2B, SF.  BA= .222.

Garrett Langrell RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 3/1 GO/AO, Save(3).  ERA= 2.84.

Cam Maldonado came into this series batting .200 with zero home runs.  He went 0 for 4 on Tuesday and did not look good doing it.  After that he went 10 for 17 in 4 games with 2 doubles and 6, count-em 6, HR's.  Sensational!  

Game Wrap 4/19/2026: Nationals 3 Giants 0

The Giants ran into the Sunday Afternoon End Of Road Trip Blues and dropped a game they should have won.  Key Lines:

The lineup went a combined 0 for 11 with RISP and left 10 runners on base.  That is all you need to know about the hitting side.

Robbie Ray LHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 2.86.  A Quality Start but a falter in the 5'th inning ending in a 3-spot for the Nationals was too much with zero run support. 

The Loss dropped the Giants into a last place tie with the Rockies in the NL West but they remain 6.5 games behind the Dodgers because the Rockies beat the Hated Ones.  The Giants also dropped a half game in the Wild Card race and trail by 4.  There are 7 teams in MLB with worse records than the Giants including the Phillies, Mets, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Astros.  

The Giants get 4/20 off.  Hmmmm.......  They start a 3-game series against the Dodgers on Tuesday with Landen Roupp RHP trying to win Game 1 against TBD.

Down on the Farm: 4/18/2026

 AAA:  Tacoma Rainiers topped the Sacramento River Cats 6-4.

Grant McCray CF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .189.

Turner Hill RF- 2 for 4.  BA= .286.

Joel Peguero RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 2/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 9.00.

Juan Sanchez LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 0.00.

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels got the best of the Hartford Yard Goats 6-4.

Scott Bandura DH- 3 for 4, BB, SB(3).  BA= .322.

Charlie Szykowny 1B- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(2).  BA= .345.

Maui Ahuna SS- 2 for 4, HR(2), BB.  BA= .271.

Jonah Cox RF- 3 for 4, 2B, SB(9).  BA= .429.

Darien Smith RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.29.

So far this is the best start I can remember for a Giants AA affiliate in my memory.  It's also the best hitting Giants AA team so far in my memory.

A+:  Eugene Emeralds smacked down the Everett Aquasox 9-3.

Trevor Cohen RF- 3 for 5, 3B.  BA= .222.

Gavin Kilen DH- 2 for 5.  BA= .304.

Dakota Jordan CF- 2 for 4, HR(2), SF.  BA= .302.

Zander Darby 2B- 1 for 3, HR(2), 2 BB.  BA= .340.

Lisbel Diaz LF- 2 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .226.

Walker Martin 3B- 2 for 3, HR(2), BB.  BA= .268.

Yunior Marte RHP- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 2.57.

Esmerlin Vinicio LHP- 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Gerelmi Maldonado RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

The big question when Dakota Jordan was drafted was whether he would hit enough to make his other tools usable.  He's proving the doubters wrong.  My big question for him is if his muscular build can avoid muscle strains.

A:  Rancho Cucamonga Quakes edged out the San Jose Giants 4-3.

Cam Maldonado RF- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB.  BA= .261.

Braydon Risley LHP- 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K's, 5/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 2.89.

Mauricio Estrella RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  

Game Wrap 4/18/2026: Giants 7 Nationals 6(12 Innings)

The Giants battled back from a 5-1 deficit to take a 6-5 lead only to see the Save blown in the 9'th inning, but battled through three extra innings to end up with the Win.  Key Lines:

Luis Arraez 2B- 2 for 6, 2 R.  BA= .321.  Arraez' BA over his last 7 games equals his season BA.

Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 6, R, RBI.  BA= .294.  Chapman is 6 for 15 over his last 3 games.

Casey Schmitt DH- 2 for 5, 2B, R.  BA= .317.  Schmitt's double in the third inning closed the gap to 5-3 but he only got credit for 1 RBI as Chapman scored the second run on an error by the Nationals LF.

Jung Hoo Lee RF- 2 for 6, R.  BA= .253.  Lee has a 5-game hitting streak and is 9 for 21 in that stretch.  He scored ahead of Heliot Ramos' home run in the 6'th inning but got thrown out at home on Ramos' double in the 2'nd.  

Heliot Ramos LF- 3 for 5, 2B, HR(2), BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.  BA= .257.  Ramos drove in the Giants first run in the 2'nd inning with a double.  He then tied the game in the 6'th with a 2-run HR, his second long ball in 2 days.  It looks like Heliot put the 2-day benching to good use.

Drew Gilbert CF- 2 for 5, RBI.  BA= .250.  Two good games in a row for Gilbert who has an opportunity with Harrison Bader and Jared Oliva on the IL.

Adrian Houser RHP- 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 9/4 GO/AO.  ERA= 5.40.  Houser pulled it together after falling behind 5-1 by the end of 3 innings.  It seems Tony Vitello's philosophy of managing starting pitchers is to get the pitches out of them at the risk of more add-on runs by the opposition.  

Ryan Walker RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.00.  Walker partly redeemed himself after blowing the Save by holding the line in the 10'th inning.  It would be better for everyone if it didn't go to extra-innings, though.

Caleb Kilian RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.90.  Like for instance if Kilian pitched the 9'th, not only would it have saved extra innings but he would have only pitched one inning.

The Win improved the Giants record to 9-12.  They gained a game on both the Dodgers and the Wild Card and now 6.5 games behind in the NL West and 3.5 games in the Wild Card race.

Robbie Ray LHP tries to give the Giants a winning record for the road trip tomorrow facing Miles Mikolas RHP.