Game Wrap 9/16/2026: Giants 6 Cardinals 5(10 Innings)

The Giants almost managed to ruin a sparkling start by Anthony Molina but hung tough and Drew Gilbert's 2-run homer in the 10'th inning was just enough to hold on for the game win and series win.  Key Lines:

Jonah Cox CF/2B- 3 for 4, BB, 2 SB(13), R, RBI.  BA= .294.  Jonah Cox is showing what a classic leadoff hitter can do for a lineup.  When was the last time the Giants had one?

Drew Gilbert PH/CF- 1 for 1, HR(10), R, 2 RBI.  BA= .233.  Bryce Eldridge was the designated runner to start the 10'th inning.  Tony Vitello made a double move puting Grant McCray in to pinch-run for Eldridge and Drew Gilbert to pinch-hit for Brett Harris 3B against a RHP.  Both moves were the right call but Eldridge could have walked home ahead of Gilbert's bomb to CF.  Gilbert gets to double-digit HR's and seems to be fearless in clutch situations.  

Andrew Knizner C- 3 for 4, R, RBI.  BA= .212.  Knizner is batting .238/.333/.429 over his last 7 games.  

Anthony Molina RHP- 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 4.18.  Nice bounceback from a disaster start.  Tony Vitello made an aggressive move to bring in Philip Abner LHP to fact Alec Burleson with 2 outs in the 6'th and no runners on base.  Molina was at 82 pitches.  Maybe Vitello figured this was Molina's last inning anyway and why risk losing the 1-0 lead on one swing when you can bring in the lefty for a more favorable matchup.  It ended up working out.

Carson Seymour RHP- 0.2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 5.06.  Walking two batters was far from ideal but Seymour was victimized by horrible defense including his own muff of a short toss covering first base.  Then Christian Koss yanked a throw that looked like Bryce Eldridge whiffed on the standard TV angle but from a LF camera you could see the throw was at least 3 feet beyond Eldridge's stretch.  Trent Harris RHP came on to get the final out of the inning and then pitched a scoreless 8'th.  

Dylan Smith RHP- 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 3.50.  This was Smith's 5'th blown save and he looks gassed.  

Joel Kuhnel RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K's, Save(8).  ERA= 4.54.  Torture!  Kuhnel had to protect a 2-run lead so could concentrate on getting the batters out rather than worrying about the designated runners.  He walked two batters to add to the drama but got out of it on 3 fly ball outs.  Not ideal but the plane flight to LA will be happy. 

The Giants get a travel day tomorrow then face the Dodgers for a weekend series with Cesar Perdomo LHP pitching Friday evening against TBD.  Maybe with the off day the Giants flew home and will then fly to LA tomorrow evening or Friday AM?

Down on the Farm: 9/15/2026

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats blasted the Reno Aces 9-2.

Victor Bericoto LF- 3 for 5.  BA= .280.

Parks Harber 3B- 3 for 5.  BA= .267.

Eddys Leonard DH- 3 for 4, 2B, HR(5).  BA= .211.

Zach Morgan C- 2 for 4, HR(2).  BA= .241.

Aeverson Arteaga SS- 3 for 4, HR(4).  BA= .250.

Seth Lonsway LHP- 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 5.22.

AA:  Erie Seawolves devoured the Richmond Flying Squirrels 18-6(Game 1 of EL Division Series).

Trevor Cohen CF- 3 for 5, 2B, HR.  

Dayson Croes DH- 2 for 5.

Gavin Kilen SS- 4 for 5, 3B. 

Sabin Ceballos 1B- 2 for 5.

We'll just say it was a rough night for the pitchers.

A:  San Jose Giants quieted the Lake Elsinore Storm 9-1(Game 2 of Cal League Championship Series).

Lorenzo Meola 2B- 1 for 3, 2B, BB, HBP.

Drew Smith DH- 1 for 4, 2B, BB.

Junior Barajas C- 2 for 5, 2B.

Andy Polanco CF- 3 for 5, 2 SB.

Dario Reynoso 3B- 1 for 4, BB, SB.

Broedy Poppell RF- 1 for 2, 2 BB. 

Argenis Cayama RHP- 5 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K's. 

Ian Korn RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  

Eric Nachtsheim RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.

The SJ Giants turn the tables on the Storm after the blowout loss in LE on Sunday.  3 pitchers combine for a no-hitter led by Argenis Cayama who finishes the season strong on his 20'th birthday.  Overall, the SJ Giants pitching was disappointing this season but we're seeing encouraging signs from this year's draft class. Ian Korn was the 10'th round pick(why do I get a mental picture of heavy metal rock group when I see his name?).  Eric Nachtsheim was the Giants 6'th round pick.  Scouting report on him is a big fastball.

Game Wrap 9/15/2026: Giants 10 Cardinals 3

 A Quality Start for Blade Tidwell and a huge game at the plate for Bryce Eldridge led the Giants to an easy win in St. Louis.  Key Lines:

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(17), BB, 2 R, 3 RBI.  Bryce Eldridge is having a monster finish to his season.  Slash line .327/.422/.558 in September so far, .327/.414/.558 over his last 30 games.  Sal Stewart, who has 200 more AB's, probably still has a solid lead for ROY but Eldridge should be in the conversation.  

Turner Hill LF- 2 for 4, HR(1), BB, R, 3 RBI.  BA= .250.  Nice game for Hill who had been slumping. 

Christian Koss SS- 3 for 5, 2 RBI.  BA= .240.  Koss is hot.  .435/.480/.565 over his last 7 game, .333/.382/.510 over his last 15 and .276/.330/.418 over his last 30.

Blade Tidwell RHP- 6.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.56.  This was Tidwell's longest start of the season and first Quality Start.  He has shown some resilience when coming off poor starts.  

Anthony Molina RHP tries to bounce back from a disaster start and get the Giants a series win against Matthew Liberatore LHP who comes in with an ERA of 5.53.  The series finale starts at 10:15 AM PDT.

Game Wrap 9/14/2026: Cardinals 2 Giants 1

 Another fumbled starter to reliever handoff in the 5'th inning was too much for a Deversless lineup to overcome in a close loss.  Key Lines:

Grant McCray LF- 1 for 4, 2B, R.  BA= .147.  The McCray's double led off the 6'th inning and was the Giants first hit of the game and it was smoked.  111.6 MPH.  After a groundout by Christian Koss SS, Jonah Cox CF/2B singled McCray in.  A major turning point in the game came when Cox was thrown out stealing 2B after a strikeout by Bryce Eldridge 1B to end the inning.  

The Giants had another big opportunity in the 7'th when Shay Whitcomb 2B and Turner Hill DH left off the inning with consecutive singles.  Tony Vitello tried to play small-ball and had Brett Harris 3B sacrifice the runners over, but Jung Hoo Lee's flyball to RF was not deep enough to test Jordan Walker's arm.  Andrew Knizner C drew a 2-out walk to load the bases but Grant McCray grounded out to end the threat.  I've liked the small ball move of bunting over two runners with no outs ever since I saw the Koreans use it to win a WBC, especially in a close game, although classic Moneyball analysis says don't do it.  The key, though, is it puts tremendous pressure on the next batter to at least get that lead runner home. Lee made contact which is the first requirement but didn't get it quite deep enough for a sac fly.

The Giants got 2 runners on base in each of the 8'th and 9'th innings but failed to score.

Landen Roupp RHP- 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 4.01.  Roupp was not as sharp as Cardinals SP Quinn Matthews LHP but matched goose eggs for 4 innings.  He then allowed two batters to reach base with one out in the 5'th.  Tony Vitello went to Reiver Sanmartin LHP to face the lefty batting Alec Burleson who singled in a run.  Sanmartin followed with a wild pitch, walk and single for the second run.  That brought in Joel Kuhnel RHP to get out of the inning but that was the ballgame.  

Landen Roupp appeared to be upset at being taken out and he would have had a point but apparently his issue was with the ump who he thought called a strike on the first pitch to Ivan Herrera(it actually was a strike on statcast). There was more discussion between Roupp and the coaches in the dugout.  It appears Roupp was the one who got wrong hand for balls and strikes and the ump held up the correct finger.  Perhaps his thinking was he could have challenged the call if he knew it was called a ball?  If so, it was his missed opportunity on him. 

Blade Tidwell RHP tries to get his game back on track this evening after a subpar start facing Andrew Pallante RHP who comes in with a 3.45 ERA.

Unlike the end of the last 3 seasons, I like the fight I am seeing from the young players.  Whether that is Tony Vitello or Rafael Devers leadership or the young players trying to grab an opportunity by the throat, I am not seeing them quit on the manager or the season in the way that got both Gabe Kapler and Bob Melvin fired.  And if you fire the manager when the team quits on them, then Tony Vitello gets the credit and gets to stay when they don't.

Down on the Farm: 9/13/2026

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators edged out the Sacramento River Cats 4-3.

Parks Harber 3B- 2 for 4, HR(6).  BA= .258.

Victor Bericoto LF/RF- 1 for 3, 2B, BB.  BA= .272.

Charlie Szykowny 1B/RF- 1 for 3, 3B, HBP.  BA= .327.

Joe Whitman LHP- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.65.

This was Joe Whitman's 5'th consecutive Quality Start after an odd bullpen demotion.  Maybe that was an opportunity to work on something?  

AA: Chesapeake Baysox defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 3-1.

Sabin Ceballos 3B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .227.

Lisbel Diaz LF- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(8).  BA= .193.

Greg Farone LHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.48.

Shane Rademacher RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 4.69.

Esmerlin Vinicio LHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.15.

Marty Gair RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 13.50.

A:  Lake Elsinore Storm crushed the San Jose Giants 12-1.

Leandro Rodriguez LHP- 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's, 4/1 GO/AO.

Fortunately it was a very pleasant evening weatherwise in Lake Elsinore as the Giants were dominated in every phase of the game.  Keyner Martinez RHP consistently hit 96 MPH with his fastball on the radar gun but wasn't fooling anyone, especially the lefty batters who just teed off on him over the first two inning.  Leandro Rodriguez is a big lefty with a funky slinging sidearm delivery.  Max velocity I saw was 92 MPH.  He looks like a future lefty reliever.  The Giants had 8 hits and 7 walks but only on XBH, a double by Andy Polanco CF.  The game was a full 3 hours long and seemed a lot longer, but I didn't have anything better to do so stayed until the end.  

The SJ Giants are now down 1-0 in the best of 3 Cal League Championship series.  Hopefully they will play better in two games at home and come out with another championship.

Game Wrap 9/13/2026: Padres 6 Giants 4

A Deversless lineup couldn't overcome Logan Webb's third disaster start in 5 games as the Padres completed a sweep in Oracle Park.  Key Lines:

Bryce Eldridge 2 for 5, RBI.  BA= .269.  Eldridge comes back from an 0 for 4 to log 2 hits.  He's batting .311 in September after a .297 in August.

Shay Whitcomb 2B/3B- 2 for 4, R.  BA= .179.  Whitcomb is batting .294 in September after going 2 for 17 in August.

Andrew Knizner C- 1 for 2, HR(2), R, 2 RBI.  BA= .174.  Knizner is 2 for 5 with a double and HR in his last 2 games.  He was 0 for 14 in September before that.

Christian Koss SS- 2 for 4, 2 SB(5), R, RBI.  BA= .235.  Koss is batting .281 over his last 30 games.  He has earned a 1.0 fWAR in 177 PA's, 59 games.  Right now, he's a better shortstop and player than Willy Adames was at any point in the season.

Logan Webb RHP- 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, 5/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.31.  The peripherals look good but Webb got knocked around for the third time in 5 starts.  With Devers shut down for the rest of the season, is there a reason to keep running Webb out there?  I tend to believe there are a finite number of innings in a pitcher's arm and if the season is practically over, better to save them for future seasons.  

Matt Wilkinson LHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.58.  Wilkinson has pitched 5 shutout innings in 2 appearances since being sent to the bullpen.  

Trent Harris RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 2.65.  I think it's safe to say Harris will be part of the Giants bullpen next season. 

The Giants start a road trip tonight against the Cardinals with Landen Roupp RHP facing Quinn Mathews LHP who comes in with an ERA of 4.11.

As we mentioned, Rafael Devers quest for 40 HR's came to an abrupt end as he is shut down for the season and likely to undergo core muscle surgery for an issue he has apparently battled all season.  Scott Bandura OF was called up to replace him and went 1 for 3 with a BB in his MLB debut.  You may ask why Bandura and not Bo Davidson.  Davidson is on the IL after fouling a ball off his foot.  No fracture and he is expected back soon.

Down on the Farm: 9/12/2026

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators edged out the Sacramento River Cats 3-2.

Darren Baker CF- 2 for 4, 2 2 SB(4).  BA= .333.

Diego Velasquez 2B- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .292.

Duncan Davitt RHP- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, 4/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 0.00.

Davitt was claimed off waivers from the Braves on Sept 9 so he is on the 40-man roster.  He has 80 K's in 76 IP across 4 minor league stops this season but also 31 walks.  He was only in the Braves organization for a short time.  Prior to that he was in the Rays organization.  Wouldn't be shocked to see him up for an audition with the Giants before the end of the season.

AA:  Chesapeake vs Richmond Cancelled. 

A+:  Eugene Emeralds season is over.  They came up short in the NWL Championship Series.

A:  San Jose Giants were idle. They start the California League Championship Series this evening in Lake Elsinore. I plan to attend.  This is a best of 3 series with just the one game in SoCal.