Down on the Farm: 7/22/2026

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats downed the Oklahoma City Comets 7-1.

Nate Furman 2B- 2 for 4, BB.  BA= .283.

Scott Bandura RF- 3 for 5, HR(4).  BA= .295.

Parks Harber DH- 2 for 5, HR(1).  BA= .381.

Blade Tidwell RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K, 5/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.21.

Ryan Walker RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.57.

Spencer Bivens RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.22.

Scott Bandura is batting .397 in July.  Blade Tidwell has walked 33 batters in 66.1 IP in AAA.

AA:  Richmond Flying Squirrels defeated the Hartford Yard Goats 5-3(First game of doubleheader, 7 innings).

Trevor Cohen CF- 2 for 4, 3B.  BA= .227.

Gavin Kilen DH- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .333.

Dakota Jordan RF- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(3).  BA= .350.

Trystan Vrieling RHP- 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K's, 10/2 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.13.

Tyler Vogel RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, Save(13).  ERA= 2.72.

AA:  Hartford Yard Goats topped the Richmond Flying Squirrels 6-5(Game 2 of doubleheader, 7 innings).

Trevor Cohen CF- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .167.

Gavin Kilen SS- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .313.

Jean Carlos Sio LF- 1 for 3, HR(9).  BA= .227.

Ty Hanchey C- 2 for 3.  BA= .273.

Diego Velasquez 2B- 3 for 3, 2B.  BA= .304. 

Will Bednar RHP- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 4.17.

Jack Choate LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.97.

Gavin Kilen continues to put up solid numbers after his promotion to AA.

A+:  Eugene Emeralds doubled up the Everett Aquasox 10-5.

Carlos Gutierrez LF- 3 for 5, 2 SB(23).  BA- .274.

Zander Darby 1B- 2 for 5, SB(5).  BA= .265.

Lisbel Diaz CF- 2 for 5, 3B.  BA= .267.

Jose Astudillo RF- 3 for 4, SB(3).  BA= .368.

Mauricio Estrella RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.04.

Matt Dunaway RHP- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.61.

Carlos Gutierrez is batting .389 in July.

A:  Ontario Tower Buzzers got the best of the San Jose Giants 6-5.

Dario Reynoso 3B- 2 for 4.  BA= .293.

Junior Barajas C- 2 for 3, 2B, HBP.  BA= .240.

Andy Polanco CF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .269.

Ricardo Estrada LHP- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 3.67.

Game Wrap 7/22/2026: Royals 5 Giants 4

 A very questionable call by the second base umpire to start the 7'th inning started a disastrous cascade of plays leading to the Royals scoring all 5 of their runs which was enough to spoil and otherwise solid game by the boys in orange and black.  Key Lines:

Casey Schmitt 3B- 1 for 4, HR(20), R, RBI.  BA= .273.  Schmitt's solo HR came in the 9'th inning after the disastrous 7'th and was too little, too late.

Jung Hoo Lee RF- 1 for 4, 3B, R, RBI.  BA= .302.  Lee's triple in the top of the 7'th inning drove in Rafael Devers who was on base with a walk.  Willy Adames then drove in Lee with a ground-rule double to extend the Giants lead to 3-0.

Landen Roupp RHP- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K's, 7/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 3.93.  Roupp pitched better than the line as he breezed through 6 innings of shutout ball on just 2 hits.  Vinnie Pasquantino 1B doubled into the R-CF gap but appeared to come off the 2B bag.  Willy Adames quickly slapped a tag on him.  The ump called safe and the play appeared headed to review, but then stopped everything by ruling that Adames pushed Pasquantino off the bag, something it seems nobody else saw.  Tony Vitello came out to argue and was ejected.  The next batter was Sal Perez DH of course and none of us need to look up th Game Summary to know what happened.  With the score now 3-2, Sam Hentges LHP came in, gave up a bunt single and threw the ball down the RF line putting the runner on 2B and the game unravelled from there with Keaton Winn RHP joining the meltdown party.  

I don't have time to go through every Game Summary and tally up what percentage of runs scored against the Giants have been on similar meltdown innings but I sure seem to remember a lot of them.  It seems the Giants have a specific problem with the transition from SP to RP.  If true, is it because Tony Vitello leaves the SP in too long?  Is it because the Giants just don't have any relievers capable of shutting down a rally when they enter the game with runners on base(that was not the case in this game).  Or is it just a symptom of a generally undertalented pitching staff?

The Giants get tomorrow off at home before starting a weekend series against the Angels with Logan Webb RHP facing Grayson Rodriguez RHP who comes in with an ERA of 8.23 which means he'll probably look like a Cy Young Award candidate against the Giants.

Down on the Farm: 7/21/2026

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Oklahoma City Comets 7-3.

Will Brennan DH- 1 for 5, HR(3).  BA= .333.

Scott Bandura CF- 2 for 4, BB, SB(10).  BA= .286.

Parks Harber 3B- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .375.

Turner Hill RF- 2 for 4, 2B, 3B, SB(20).  BA= .331.

Adrian Sugastey C- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .500.

Trent Harris RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.78.

Joe Whitman LHP- 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.97.

Reiver Sanmartin LHP- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.97.

Michael Fulmer RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.29.

Adrian Sugastey plays his first AAA game.  Is Trent Harris a SP now?  I wondered if Joe Whitman's move to the bullpen was some sort of innings limit but he pitched 117 innings last season in AA.

AA:  Hartford Yard Goats vs Richmond Flying Squirrels postponed by rain.

A+:  Eugene Emeralds outscored the Everett Aquasox 13-8.

Isaiah Barkett 2B- 3 for 6, HR(1).  BA= .294.

Carlos Gutierrez DH- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(21).  BA= .268.

Jakob Christian RF- 2 for 4, 2B, HBP.  BA= .256.

Zander Darby 1B- 2 for 5, HR(9), BB.  BA= .263.

Lisbel Diaz CF- 2 for 6, 2B.  BA= .264.

Walker Martin 3B- 1 for 2, HR(13), 3 BB.  BA= .232.

Jose Astudillo LF- 2 for 3, BB, 2 SB(2).  BA= .267.

Esmerlin Vinicio LHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 3.11.

A:  Ontario Tower Buzzers beat the San Jose Giants 6-2.

Trey Seeley RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 8.82.

ACL:  Giants shut out the Cubs 6-0(7 innings).

Josuar Gonzalez 2B- 1 for 3, HR(3), BB, SB(8).  BA= .344.

Yulian Barreto 3B- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .242.

Ben Peterson RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Kendry Castro RHP- 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Marlon Franco RHP- 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 7.15.

What an amazing line for Josuar Gonzalez.  He's missed some time due to a nagging hammy but he's been really, really good when he's played.

DSL:  Giants Black beat Giants Orange 7-2(7 innings).

Djean Macares CF- 1 for 2, 2B, 2 BB, SB(17).  BA= .272.

Franco Willias LF- 1 for 3, HBP, 3 SB(21).  BA= .347.

Keiberg Camacaro SS- 2 for 4, HR(5), SB(19).  BA= .321.

Diego Alambarrio C- 2 for 4.  BA= .247.

Jose Valdez CF- 1 for 3, BB.  BA= .256.

Yeison Oviedo 3B- 1 for 2, 2 BB, SB(6).  BA= .346.

Jonathan Valle SS- 1 for 2, 2B, BB, SB(11).  BA= .163.

Santiago Guerrero LHP- 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.59.

Brayan Cabello RHP- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.37.

Game Wrap 7/21/2026: Royals 3 Giants 2

After scoring 3 runs in each of the prior 2 games and losing all 3, the Giants tried something different:  Scoring 2 runs.  They still lost.  Key Lines:

Tyler Mahle RHP- 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.31.  Mahle pitched better than the line looks.  He got through 5 innings allowing just a solo HR by Carter Jensen C but then came out for the 6'th inning and walked the leadoff batter and hit the second.  That brought in Sam Hentges LHP to face the lefty batting Vinnie Pasquantino 1B who tied the game with a single.  Hentges then hit another batter to put runners at first and third with no outs.  Hentges struck out the next batter, then gave way to Keaton Winn RHP who gave up a single to drive in the go-ahead run.  Both of those runs were charged to Mahle.  

Meanwhile, the Giants scored their only 2 runs in the 5'th inning on a 2-out double by Jesus Rodriguez C, an RBI single by Drew Gilbert CF, a single by Christian Koss 2B to put runners at the corners.  The second run scored on a throwing error on a fielder's choice by Tyler Tolbert SS which was probably caused by Koss' speed and hustle forcing Tolbert to hurry his throw.

While it probably did not affect the outcome of the game, the 7'th inning saw another apparent managing error by Tony Vitello.  With a runner at 2B and 1 out, the Royals brought in Matt Strahm LHP to face Drew Gilbert.  A quick check of Drew Gilbert's splits shows he was 1 for 28 against LHP's and Vitello had the RH batting Daniel Susac on the bench and also Luis Arraez who is batting .316 against LHP's.  He also had Grant McCray on the bench who could take over for Gilbert in CF and he had Drew Cavanaugh who could catch if something happened to Jesus Rodriguez later in the game.  So, with all scenario's accounted for, instead of pinch-hitting one of those two batters for Gilbert, Tony let Gilbert bat with predictable results.   

The Giants are now 1-4 since the All-Star Break.  They have lost 4 games in a row in which they scored 3 runs or less in all 4 losses.  The have lost the first two series after the break.  Was Luis Arraez held out of the game because of a possible impending trade?  

Landen Roupp RHP tries to be the stopper in a day game facing Seth Lugo RHP who comes in with an ERA of 4.39 and is historically tough on the Giants.  

Oh, and one more thing:  I don't think it's fair that the Giants have to face a Cy Young Award contender every single game.

Down on the Farm: 7/20/2026

 ACL:  Rockies crushed the Giants 12-7(6 innings):

Luis Hernandez SS- 2 or 3, 2B, BB, SB(6).  BA= .298.

Yohendry Sanchez C- 2 for 3, 2 2B, BB.  BA= .322.

Reminder to not sleep on Yohendry Sanchez who got a bigger signing bonus than Jhonny Level in 2024.

DSL:  Giants Black topped Arizona Red 8-7.

Franco Willias LF- 2 for 4, BB, SB(18).  BA= .347.

Djean Macares CF- 2 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .268.

Keiberg Camacaro SS- 1 for 3, HR(4), BB, SB(18).  BA= .314.

Dennys Riera 3B- 2 for 5.  BA= .327.

Diego Villegas 1B- 2 for 5.  BA= .248.

DSL:  Giants Orange crushed Arizona Black 9-4(7 innings).

Jose Valdez CF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .254.

Yeison Oviedo SS- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .343.

Brandon Vasquez RF- 2 for 3, BB.  BA= .321.

Yoxander Benitez 2B- 1 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .279.

Jose Trevizo RHP- 4 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K's.  ERA= 3.58.

Jhon Leon RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.60.

Game Wrap 7/20/2026: Royals 4 Giants 3

Willy Adames tied the score at 3 with a dramatic opposite-field home run in the top of the 9'th inning only to make a mental mistake by not anticipating a throw to 2B on a sac bunt in the bottom of the 9'th leading to a walk-off win for the Royals.  Key Lines:  

Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 4, HR(9).  BA= .276.  Ramos hit a monster oppo-field home run in the 4'th inning to give the Giants a short-lived lead.  Doesn't he still have the only splash hit by a RH batter at Oracle Park?

Willy Adames SS- 1 for 4, HR(18).  BA= .228.  Adames' HR was not as long as Heliot's but it drove in Jung-Hoo Lee RF ahead of him to tie the game.  

Daniel Susac C- 2 for 3, 2B, SB(2).  BA= .264.  Nice game for Susac. Unfortunately he did not figure into the scoring. He did make a nice tag at the plate to complete a double play on a potential sac fly.  

Trevor McDonald RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 5.12.  McDonald lost his slider somewhere around the second inning and was throwing only sinkers.  Was that due to an injury?  As he completed his warmup for the 5'th inning he appeared to flinch and raise his left shoulder like maybe he was trying to stretch out a muscle in his left side.  After some gestures toward the dugout he appeared to wave the trainer out with his glove.  After some discussion with the trainer and Tony Vitello, he walked off the field and J. T. Brubaker RHP was summoned

J. T. Brubaker RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 2.74.  Brubaker is eligible for free agency after this season so should be available for trade before the deadline.  I am sure he has some value as a multi-inning reliever for some contending team.  

Caleb Kilian RHP- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 4.81.  This one was not really his fault.  The leadoff batter, Josh Rojas slapped one just inside the 3B line and was held to a single but Heliot Ramos' quickly getting to the ball.  Adames fateful failure to get to the 2B bag on a sac bunt attempt put runners at first and second with no outs.  A flyball out advanced Rojas to 3B and a safety squeeze that Bryce Eldridge bobbled drove in the walk-off winning run.

The Giants scored 3 runs for the third game in a row losing all three.  This was the 25'th game they have scored exactly 3 runs.  Not sure what their W-L is for those 25 games but I believe it's underwater.

Tyler Mahle RHP tries to break the 3-game losing streak tomorrow evening against Luinder Avila RHP who comes in with an ERA of 5.08.

I came across a Youtube video of a Dave Flemming interview from this morning's Murph and Mac Show on KNBR.  Although he did not call out anyone in management by name, he was rather blunt and pointed in his assessment of the current state of the team and what needs to be done at the trade deadline.  I thought his comments about the Giants approach to building a pitching staff compared to the rest of the league were eyebrow-raising to say the least.

Down on the Farm: 7/19/2026

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats defeated the Albuquerque Isotopes 5-1.

Scott Bandura RF- 3 for 5,  2B.  BA= .282.

Parks Harber 3B- 2 for 5.  BA= .333.

Turner Hill CF- 2 for 4, SB(19).  BA= .328.

Carson Whisenhunt LHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 4.15.

Carson Seymour RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 3.89.

It's hard to understand why Whisenhunt is still pitching in AAA.  Maybe the trade deadline will clear a way for him to join the Giants rotation.

AA:  Erie Seawolves doubled up the Richmond Flying Squirrels 10-5.

Trevor Cohen CF- 2 for 5.  BA= .133.

Gavin Kilen SS- 2 for 5.  BA= .308.

Dakota Jordan RF- 2 for 5.  BA= .333.

Diego Velasquez 2B- 2 for 4.  BA= .296.

Logan Martin RHP- 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.69.

A+:  Hillsboro Hops buried the Eugene Emeralds 12-2.

Carlos Gutierrez LF- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .265.

Walker Martin 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(12).  BA= .230.

Brayan Palencia RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 6.51.

A:  Stockton Ports topped the San Jose Giants 6-3.

Lorenzo Meola SS- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(11).  BA= .264.

Dario Reynoso 3B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, SB(16).  BA= .294.

Short season/rookie leagues were idle on Sunday as usual.