AAA: Sacramento River Cats outlasted the El Paso Chihuahuas 4-3(10 innings).
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/19/2025
Game Wrap 8/19/2025: Padres 5 Giants 1
Jung Hoo Lee led off the game with a home run but that was the end of the Giants scoring and the pitching couldn't hold back a stacked Padres lineup. Key Lines:
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/18/2025
The full season leagues had their usual Monday off.
DSL: Giants Orange outscored Colorado 9-6(7 innings).
Game Wrap 8/18/2025: Giants 4 Padres 3
A 3-homer, 4-run outburst in the first inning was all the scoring Robbie Ray and the bullpen needed for a wire-to-wire win. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 5, HR(15). BA= .267. Ramos led off the game with a HR, his first since July 5. Before the game Ramos found himself having to explain comments he made sounding like a complaint about lack of fan support. If that's what he meant it's laughable as the fans continued to fill the park during the darkest days of the recent home slump. If you look at the context and his explanation the point he tried to make was the players are aware of fans frustrations with Bob Melvin and continue to support him.(more on that later).
Rafael Devers 1B- 1 for 4, HR(24), BB. BA= .257. Thanks to McCovey Chronicles BlueSky feed for noting this is the 5'th time the Giants have gone B2B to lead off a game and 4'th in the San Francisco era. 1958- Whitey Lockman and Willie Kirkland, 1964- Chuck Hiller and Duke Snider(Duke Snider played for the Giants? I didn't remember that), 2015- Nori Aoki and Joe Panik. MCC feed also pointed out that Devers in-zone swing rate is down and his called strike rate is up significantly since the trade suggesting a change in approach with worse results. I think it was also MCC or maybe Bluesky Jeff who noted that Giants flyball percentage jumped starting with the FZ era and is even higher this season with fewer home runs. So the Giants hitting approach seems to be take more in-zone pitches and hit more balls in the air. The results are more called strikes and a lower BABIP without an increase in HR's, probably due to park factors.
Wilmer Flores DH- 1 for 3, HR(13), BB. BA= .248. Wilmer's 2-run shot capped off the scoring in the first inning and the game for the Giants. It was just his second HR since June 7.
Robbie Ray LHP- 6.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's, 105 P. ERA= 2.85. Did Bob Melvin leave Ray in a batter too long? Ray gave up a 1-out double to Xander Bogaerts followed by a throwing error by Casey Schmitt and a fly ball out, leaving a run in, 2 outs, a runner on 3B and a lefty-hitting PH, Ryan O'Hearn coming up. He hit a 2-run HR to cut the lead to 1 and Melvin then went to Ryan Walker. Defensible but when Ray loses it, he tends to lose it fast and he was getting to the end of his pitch limit plus he's only pitched 34 innings over his last two seasons with a surgery mixed in. On the other hand, Melvin is short of reliable late-inning arms after the trade deadline.
Monday, August 18, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/17/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats stopped the Round Rock Express 6-2.
Sunday, August 17, 2025
Game Wrap 8/17/2025: Giants 7 Rays 1
The Giants rose from the ashes of a brutal home losing streak to break open a scoreless pitching duel in the 6'th inning and cruised to an easy win. They actually appeared to play with enthusiasm and determination in the process. Key Lines:
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 1 for 4, 2B. BA= .260. Jung Hoo led off the Giants first inning with a line double to the RF wall. Of course he was left stranded. Later in the game, he made the circus catch of the year, maybe the decade, maybe all-time when he bobbled a drive in Triples Alley. It bounced off his lower thigh. He somehow managed to trap the ball between his knees without it touching the ground. He stood up with it still locked between his knees and calmly retrieved it with his right hand. Worth watching the game just to see that.
Dom Smith 1B- 1 for 4, R, 3 RBI. BA= .281. Smith drove a single into the RF corner with the bases loaded that didn't quite get through to the wall. Two runs immediately scored. When the relay man hesitated, Willy Adames alertly broke for home and managed to evade the tag while sliding his foot across home plate. Smith advanced to 2B on the throw. A rare 3-run single!
Christian Koss 3B- 2 for 4, RBI. BA= .281. Christian Koss and Dom Smith are now tied for the highest BA in today's lineup at .281. Smith leads in OPS .744 to .731.
Drew Gilbert RF- 2 for 4, HR(1), R, 2 RBI. BA= .136. Gilbert's bat came to life in the 7'th inning with a HR on top of the RF arcade. He followed that up with a solid RBI single. Hey! I have an idea! Let's put Gilbert out there every day for the rest of the season and see if he can sustain the traction.
Tyler Fitzgerald 2B- 1 for 4, HR(4), R, RBI. BA= .220. Very disappointing season for Fitz but he showed off the power potential going B2B with Gilbert's HR.
Logan Webb RHP- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K's, GO/AO= 13/1. ERA= 3.19. A classic Webb Gem which looked like it could be another fail due to no run support until the Giants put up the 4-spot in the 6'th. Webb responded with the shut-down inning in the 7'th and the Giants tacked on 2 more with the Gilbert/Fitz B2B effectively putting the game on ice.
The Giants immediately travel south to take on the Padres and their parade of relievers who look like linebackers and roll out of bed throwing hundos in the immortal words of Mike Krukow. Robbie Ray LHP starts game 1 facing Nestor Cortes LHP who comes in with a 5.71 ERA but he's 2.89 over his last 2 games.
Down on the Farm: 8/16/2025
AAA: Round Rock Express shut out the Sacramento River Cats 4-0.
Game Wrap 8/16/2025: Rays 2 Giants 1
Justin Verlander rolled back the years and turned into a vintage performance only to see the Giants lose due to a lack of run support and a bullpen failure in the later innings. Key Lines:
Willy Adames SS- 1 for 4, SB(6), R. BA= .224. Adames flyball single in the 6'th followed by a SB led to the Giants only run.
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 2 for 4, SB(10). BA= .260. Lee lined another ball to the warning track to the CF side of Triples Alley that looked like a sure triple that would drive in 2 runs but was caught by Jake Mangum RF(Rays) in an exact replay of Gregor Blanco's catch in Matt Cain's perfect game.
Christian Koss 3B- 2 for 4, 2B, RBI. BA= .274. The Giants lone run came on Koss' single. Koss has the second highest BA in yesterday's Giants lineup and the 5'th highest OPS.
Justin Verlander RHP- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K's, 7/3 GO/AO. ERA= 4.23. Easily Verlander's best start of the season.
Jose Butto RHP- 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K. ERA= 3.54. Butto got two outs on fly outs but then hit a batter followed by two singles. Matt Gage LHP came in with a run in and runners at first and third. He gave up a groundball single and that was the ballgame. So the 2-out HBP came back to bite Butto.
Logan Webb RHP tries to stave off a sweep to day facing Ryan Pepiot RHP who comes in with a 3.86 ERA.
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/15/2025
AAA: Round Rock Express defeated the Sacramento River Cats 4-2.
Game Wrap 8/15/2025: Rays 7 Giants 6
The Giants showed up and played a competitive game but weren't quite able to convert that effort into a win. Key Lines:
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/14/2025
AAA: Round Rock Express edged out the Sacramento River Cats 3-2.
Down on the Farm: 8/13/2025
AAA: Round Rock Express shut down the Sacramento River Cats 1-0.
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Game Wrap 8/13/2025: Padres 11 Giants 1
The Giants reached a new low point for the season in a game of everything that can go wrong did go wrong to reach blowout proportions by the middle of the second inning. Key Lines:
The Giants lineup managed just 5 hits and a walk off Nick Pivetta RHP with Jung Hoo Lee's triple being the only XBH.
Kai-Wei Teng RHP- 1.2 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 0 K. ERA= 9.90. Teng dug himself a hole in the second inning loading the bases with one out on a single and two walks. A GIDP helped him get through a scoreless first inning and it appeared he had another one when Jake Cronenworth's ground ball that was headed straight for a waiting Willy Adames SS, it hit the 2B bag and caromed over Adames' head into shallow L-CF. What would have been an inning-ending play scored two runs and there was still just one out. Another walk, single and Sac Fly made it 4-0 with 2 outs. Manny Machado then hit a line drive to the LF wall which Heliot Ramos LF fielded cleanly, whirled and inexplicably yanked it into the ground and it rolled slowly toward 2B while another run scored. At this point Spencer Bivens RHP was once again brought in and thrown to the wolves. Jackson Merrill CF singled and with Xander Bogaerts at the plate, Patrick Bailey C whiffed on a shoulder high fastball that went to the backstop and a 7'th run scored. Of course, everybody knew the game as over when Cronenworth's ball popped up over Adames' head and the rest of the inning just emphasized the point. One of the most disastrous innings I've witnessed and we seem to be saying things like that a lot these days.
I think I sort of said this yesterday but I witnessed the open player revolt that got Gabe Kapler fired in 2023 and last year's collapse that led to FZ's firing. I have not seen a more moribund team in recent memory. I think you have to go back to the days when Tom Haller was the GM and Jim Davenport was the Manager to find anything comparable. Even Kruk and Kuip were openly talking about how part of being a MLB ballplayer is keeping your head up and continuing to make adjustments in these situations. One of them said "something has to change". When Kruk and Kuip say something like that, best to take it seriously.
The Giants get a day off to lick their wounds, look at themselves in the mirror and meditate what they can do as individuals to get better before the Tampa Bay Rays arrive for a weekend series with Landen Roupp RHP facing Joe Boyle RHP who is 6' 8", 250 lbs and comes in with a 3.82 ERA. That does not sound particularly hopeful for the Giants.
Down on the Farm: 8/12/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats defeated the Round Rock Express 3-1.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Game Wrap 8/12/2025: Padres 5 Giants 1
Whoo boy! These are getting mighty hard to write up. The Giants put on another show of futility against a pitcher who came in with an ERA of 7.11 while Robbie Ray put up a valiant effort but gave up one too many runs for a Quality Start. Key Lines:
Casey Schmitt 2B- 4 for 5, 2B. BA= .254. Since we are down to looking for rays of hope for next season, it's a pleasure to watch how much Casey Schmitt has matured at the plate since he first came up as a wild, swing-at-everything rookie. He AB's tonight were all high quality and he used the whole field. He should be the presumptive starting 2B on Opening Day next season.
Wilmer Flores DH- 2 for 4. BA= .249. Wilmer was part of a sequence that was a microcosm of the season. He led off the 6'th inning with a single. Chapman walked and Jung Hoo Lee lined out sharply to Fernando Tatis RF. Dominic Smith singled through the right-side hole. Wilmer stopped at 3B because he is slow and Tatis has a cannon. He would have been out by a mile at home but you knew it didn't matter because he wasn't going to score. Patrick Bailey C and Heliot Ramos LF both popped out to end the threat.
Robbie Ray LHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 2.98. Ray threw 60 pitches in the first two innings and ended up with 113. It was an heroic effort against one of the better lineups in MLB but was in vain.
Kai-Wei Teng RHP tries to build on the success of his last bulk-inning appearance tomorrow afternoon facing Nick Pivetta RHP who sports a 2.94 ERA.
Monday, August 11, 2025
Game Wrap 8/11/2025: Padres 4 Giants 1
The Giants hitting production consisted of a solo home run by Rafael Devers and 4 scattered singles. Logan Webb tried to hold the line but reinforcements never came and he ran out of gas in a 3-run 7'th inning. Key Lines:
Rafael Devers DH- 1 for 4, HR(23). BA= .256. Devers is hitting just .217 over his last 7 games but 3 of his 5 hits in that span are home runs for a SLG% of .609 and he's walked 7 times for an OBP of .419. So right now, at this point in time, Devers is not the problem.
Drew Gilbert RF- 1 for 3, SB(1). BA= .077. Gilbert finally gets his first MLB hit. May he have many more. It appears the newbie was not quite ready for the speed of the MLB game. If Buster is convinced that contact skills trump power in Oracle Park, Gilbert deserves some time to see if he can slow the game down. How that helps the rest of this lineup is a little hard to see at the moment.
Logan Webb RHP- 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K's, 14/1 GO/AO. ERA= 3.34. Webb had a classic Webb Gem going until he ran out of gas in the 7'th right after Devers tied the score with his HR. The sequence was LD double, GB single, HR. That made the score 4-1 and that's where it stayed.
This team is as dead in the water as at any time I can remember and that includes the last two seasons. I don't know why and I certainly don't know how they are going to break out of it but there needs to be some soul searching at every level of the organization. What kind of a team does Buster have right now and how does that compare to what kind of team he wants? Unfortunately it's a little late for that assessment because he is committed to 4 big, long term contracts. Bob Melvin has now managed 3 grossly underperforming teams in a row. Is it time for a new voice in the clubhouse and different strategies in the dugout? For the umpteenth time, I am no batting coach but it sure looks to me like Adames is letting his front shoulder fly open again. If it's not that, something is clearly off as he is in another deep slump. If I am right, can the batting coaches see it and if they do are they communicating that to him? If they are communicating it, is he receiving it and acting on it? I'm just asking questions here.
Tomorrow is a new day and Robbie Ray LHP tries to even the series facing Nestor Cortes LHP who comes in with a 7.11 ERA.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/10/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats edged out the Sugarland Space Cowboys 4-3.
Game Wrap 8/10/2025: Nationals 8 Giants 0
Justin Verlander got pummeled and the Giants lineup was shut down by Mackenzie Gore and the Nationals bullpen in a lopsided loss that was not nearly as close as the score appears. Key Lines:
Down on the Farm: 8/9/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats edged out the Sugarland Space Cowboys 4-3.
Saturday, August 9, 2025
Game Wrap 8/9/2025: Nationals 4 Giants 2
Carson Whisenhunt got a bad case of goferitis falling behind 3-0 on three solo HR's and the story of the Giants lineup was missed opportunities in a disheartening loss to one of the worst teams in MLB. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 4. BA= .274. Heliot stays hot, reaching base for the 22'nd game in a row. He is batting .307 with an OBP of .396 in that span.
Rafael Devers DH- 2 for 2, HR(22), 2 BB. BA= .259. Devers homers for the second game in a row and reaches base 4 times. Unfortunately the batters after him in the lineup went a combined 4 for 26 with a walk. The Giants managed to load the bases with 2 outs in the third inning but Willy Adames struck out to end the threat. Dominic Smith was stranded after a leadoff double in the 4'th inning. They loaded the bases with one out in the 8'th inning and Wilmer Flores got one run home with a deep sac fly, but Matt Chapman struck out to end the rally. They got two runners on base with one out in the 9'th inning and Patrick Bailey GIDP'd.
Carson Whisenhunt LHP- 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K's, 3 HR. ERA= 5.02. Whiz didn't have great command of his pitches and hasn't been able to find a groove for his signature pitch, the change up. Too many mistake pitches over the plate and even the worst MLB hitters will punish those. In his defense, it was a day game and the ball appeared to have serious carry but those are still pitches you can't make at the MLB level.
Carson Seymour RHP- 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 4.50. Nice three innings from Seymour who looks like he can handle a bulk role either as a long reliever or starter.
Matt Gage LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 0.00. Who was sleeping on Matt Gage? He's been a revelation and is stating a serious case to be on next season's Opening Day roster.
Justin Verlander RHP tries for a series win tomorrow facing Mackenzie Gore LHP. They come in with identical 4.29 ERA's.
Down on the Farm: 8/8/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats defeated the Sugarland Space Cowboys 6-4.
Game Wrap 8/8/2025: Giants 5 Nationals 0
Five shutout innings from Kai-Wei Teng in bulk-inning role was the major contribution to a crisp wire-to-wire Giants win. Key Lines:
Friday, August 8, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/7/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats defeated the Sugarland Space Cowboys 5-3.
Thursday, August 7, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/6/2025
AAA: Sacramento River Cats defeated the Sugarland Space Cowboys 5-2.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Game Wrap 8/6/2025: Giants 4 Pirates 2
The bottom of the lineup came through with some badly needed run production in the late innings to turn Robbie Ray's Quality Start into a team win. Key Lines:
Jerar Encarnacion RF- 1 for 3, HR(2), R, RBI. BA= .167. Jerar showed why his power his so intriguing when his 5'th inning home run temporarily tied the game at 1. Sadly, later in the game he pulled up grabbing his right hammy after trying to beat out an infield grounder. Preliminary assessment from Bob Melvin is it doesn't look good. It definitely did not look good on TV.
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 1 for 4, 2B, R. BA= .258. Lee started the 9'th inning rally with a 1-out double to the RF wall. I am happy to report his helmet flew off out of the box and he sprinted around first base into second with hair flying. Thanks to BaseballJeff on Bluesky for pointing out that in 6 August game, Jung Hoo recorded an XBH in all 6 plus 4 singles to go 10 for 24.
Dominic Smith PH/1B- 1 for 1, 2B. BA= .271. After JHL's double, Smith PH for Christian Koss 2B against Pirates Closer Dennis Santana RHP. He also doubled to the wall on a 2-strike pitch driving in the go-ahead run. He also teamed up with Randy Rodriguez on really good defensive play for the final out of the game. More thanks to BlueskyJeff for pointing out Smith has an 11-game hit streak and was already batting .357/.394/.500 with 1 HR and 12 RBI in 28 AB's with RISP before today's hit and RBI. I have to say Dominic Smith is a far different player and much more fundamentally sound than I was led to believe by reports I read when he was with the Mets. He's a free agent after the season. Can/would the Giants re-sign him as a lefty bat off the bench for next season?
Patrick Bailey PH/C- 2 for 2, R, RBI. BA= .213. Bailey started the tying rally in the 8'th with a single and drove in the insurance run in in the 9'th. Bailey is 6 for 18 through 5 games in August and is looking much more comfortable at the plate.
Robbie Ray LHP- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.85. It was a warm, humid day in Pittsburgh. Ray had some ups and downs but sweated his way through 104 pitches in 6 innings to earn a Quality Start. He left trailing 2-1 but gave his team a chance to win and the lineup eventually came through.
Jose Butto' RHP, Ryan Walker RHP and Randy Rodriguez shut it down over the last 3 innings with Randy recording his 3'rd Save.
I am sure the Giants flight home was a happy one(have we said that before?). They have a day off at home to think about how to avoid another face plant Friday night against the Nationals with TBD facing TBD. Perhaps Kai-Wei Teng RHP for the Giants?
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/5/2025
AA: Richmond Flying Squirrels edged out the Erie Seawolves 1-0.
Game Wrap 8/5/2025: Giants 8 Pirates 1
Logan Webb fought through a long third inning to record one of the better games of his career with more than enough support from the lineup in which every member had at least one hit including three home runs. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 3, 2 BB, 1 R. BA= .275. Heliot was one of 2 players with more than one hit. He is thriving at the top of the lineup with 3 multi-hit games in a row. He is batting .357 over his last 7 games and .333 over his last 15.
Willy Adames SS- 2 for 5, HR(18), 1 R, 2 RBI. BA= .232. Adames had the other 2-hit game including an opposite-field HR to drive in 2 runs in the Giants 3-run 5'th inning.
Jerar Encarnacion RF- 1 for 5, HR(1), R, RBI. BA= .148. Jerar's solo blast was a monster shot over the CF fence. IMO, if the Giants believe in Jerar enough to option Luis Matos to AAA, he needs to be in the lineup every day ROS to see what he's got and gain experience against MLB pitching. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Jung Hoo Lee does not want to collide with Jerar in the outfield. I held my breath as they converged on a shallow fly ball which Jerar caught to end the game.
Christian Koss 2B- 1 for 4, HR(3), R, 2 RBI. BA= .262. Christian Koss obviously worked his butt off to improve his hitting and is now one of the tougher outs on the team. The HR wasn't a cheapie either with an estimated distance of 419 ft. Christian is batting .333 over his last 7 games, .353 over his last 15 and .299 over his last 30.
Logan Webb RHP- 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 10 K's, 6/2 GO/AO. ERA= 3.24. Webb looked like he was in trouble giving up 4 consecutive 1-out hits in the third inning running his pitch count up by 40 pitches in the process but he got out of it, settled down and ended up with a Quality Start and the Win. In the process he became the 10'th pitcher to pitch his first 1000 innings wearing a Giants uniform a list that includes the most storied pitchers in the history of the franchise. I also read somewhere that this was Webb's 6'th career game in which he struck out at least 10 batters while issuing 0 walks.
Matt Gage LHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's. ERA= 0.00. I've said Gage deserves longer looks. Keep running him out there until he proves me wrong.
The Giants try for a series win tomorrow with Robbie Ray LHP facing Andrew Heaney LHP who comes in with an ERA of 4.89.
Monday, August 4, 2025
Down on the Farm: 8/4/2025
Game Wrap 8/4/2025: Pirates 5 Giants 4
The Giants failed to take full advantage of a shaky first inning for Pirates starter, Johan Oviedo RHP and found out the hard way what life is like without two of their top late-inning relievers in a rough loss. Key Lines:
Heliot Ramos LF- 3 for 5, R. BA= .272. Ramos beat out 3 IF hits and we'll take that from a leadoff hitter. Unfortunately he also bobbled a ball in L-CF that allowed runners to advance and cost Justin Verlander an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning.
Jung Hoo Lee CF- 1 for 4, 3B, 2 RBI. BA= .258. Lee's 2-run triple in the 5'th gave the Giants a 4-1 lead which probably would have been enough with the old bullpen.(BTW, I completely support trading Tyler Rogers as an impending free agent. I am less sure about Camilo Doval. I am just pointing out there is a short term price to pay for selling at the trade deadline. Of course we hope it will pay off in the future).
Justin Verlander RHP- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.29. Verlander has allowed 1 ER in 15 IP over his last 3 starts. He threw 100 pitches but he's probably a 5 inning pitcher at this point and anything more is extra.
Carson Seymour RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K's, 4/0 GO/AO. ERA= 4.91. Seymour looked great before and after he gave up a walk and a HR to start his second inning of work in the 7'th. He's given up 5 bombs in 11 IP over 5 appearances.
Randy Rodriguez RHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.54. There's something about pitching the 9'th inning......The key hit that drove in the tying run was delivered by Joey Bart C who put up an excellent AB in the process. One more opportunity for Giants fans to grind their teeth.
The Giants once again fail to build on momentum and faceplant against a team they should sweep fairly easily after the way they handled the Mets.
Logan Webb RHP hopes for better success tomorrow evening against Mike Burrows RHP who allowed just 1 R in 6 IP last week's matchup which ended in a 2-1 loss for the Giants.