AAA: Sacramento River Cats shut out the Sugarland Space Cowboys 6-0.
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Down on the Farm: 5/23/2026
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Game Wrap 5/23/2026: Giants 10 White Sox 3
Turnabout is fair play and this time it was the Giants who got a grand slam home run from Harrison Bader in a 6-run 5'th inning in a runaway win. Key Lines:
Willy Adames SS- 1 for 5, HR(6), R, RBI. BA= .233. Believe it or not, Adames has a .286 BA over his last 7 games and .323 over his last 15. Sure doesn't feel like it. He's only .213 over his last 30 games which tells you how bad he was for the first half of that.
Luis Arraez 2B- 2 for 5, 3B, 2 R. BA= .323. We should start calling him Luis Two Hits. Out of 49 games he has 13 2-hit games, 5 3-hit games and one 4-hit game. Been a long time since the Giants had a hitter like that.
Casey Schmitt LF- 2 for 4, HR(10), SF, R, 3 RBI. BA= .291. Seems like Casey might have found a home in LF, at least until Ramos gets back but that may be awhile.
Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .234. Since coming out of his 7 for 70 or whatever funk, Chapman is batting .346 over his last 7 games.
Bryce Eldridge DH- 2 for 3, BB, R. BA= .179. Eldridge is 5 for 15 over his last 4 games.
Harrison Bader CF- 2 for 4, HR(5), R, 4 RBI. BA= .178. I remarked to my daughter that Bader may not be much of a hitter but he does run into one once in awhile. The great part of the grand slam is he would have made an out but the 3B, Vargas, wasn't wearing sunglasses and dropped a foul pop.
Adrian Houser RHP- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K's, 6/1 GO/AO. ERA= 5.30. Giants SP's have struggled to pitch even 5 innings let alone 6 or 7.
Down on the Farm: 5/22/2026
AAA: Sugarland Space Cowboys outscored the Sacramento River Cats 7-6.
Game Wrap 5/22/2026: White Sox 9 Giants 4
Trevor McDonald was perfect through 3 innings then inexplicably fell apart in the 4'th inning allowing 7 runs in what was ultimately a 9-run inning, a disaster inning if there ever was one. Key Lines:
The lineup managed 7 hits and 3 walks with Luis Arraez 2B the only Giant with 2 hits.
Trevor McDonald RHP- 3.2 IP, 3 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.76. The 4'th inning was one of the strangest I've ever seen. How does a team score 7 runs 3 hits and a walk? The inning goes HBP, HBP(challenged, upheld), fly out, infield single(bases now loaded), walk, double, fielder's choice(run scored, no outs recorded), Strike Out, groundball single, pitching change(Ryan Borucki LHP replaces Trevor McDonald), HBP, Double, infield single/error(Adames), Strikeout. That's how.
It seemed like a mistake at the time but in retrospect, Arraez' decision to try for an out at home on a play he could have easily gotten an out at first looms large. The next batter struck out and that would have ended the inning at 4-0 an the Giants still in the game. Instead, it led to 5 more runs and an insurmountable 9-0 White Sox lead.
As to what caused McDonald's meltdown, we've seen several minor league pitchers fall apart when having to pitch out of the stretch after a strong start to a game. Is that what happened here?
As it stands, there are only 3 MLB teams with worse records than the Giants as we close in on the 1/3 mark of the season. They have lost 4 games in a row.
Adrian Houser RHP tries to stop the latest skid this afternoon facing Bryan Hudson LHP who comes in with a 1.57 ERA. Hudson might be an Opener.
Friday, May 22, 2026
Down on the Farm: 5/21/2026
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Down on the Farm: 5/20/2026
AAA: Sacramento River Cats blasted the Sugarland Space Cowboys 13-1.
Game Wrap 5/20/2026: D'Backs 6 Giants 3
This was a close, interesting game until Geraldo Perdomo's 2-run double off Tyler Mahle in the 5'th inning sealed the Giants fate in losing the game and the series sweep. Key Lines:
Casey Schmitt LF- 1 for 4, HR(9), R, RBI. BA= .293. Schmitt gave the Giants an early lead with a solo HR in the first inning. Significant he started the game in LF. That's where he should play every day, at least until Heliot Ramos gets back from the IL while Bryce Eldridge DH's every day(more on that later).
Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 4, 2 R. BA= .226. If you are looking for rays of hope, Chapman is 6 for 20 over his last 5 games.
Bryce Eldridge 1 for 4, 2B, RBI. BA= .156. Eldridge doubled in the Giants second run. He hit two other balls that left the bat at over 100 MPH. He did not strike out. This on the heels of a 2-hit game on Monday and bafflingly sitting on the bench on Tuesday. IMO, Eldridge just took away any excuses for not playing him every day. Remember the Belt Wars? We now have the Eldridge Wars and isn't it interesting how similar Eldridge looks like The Captain when he's standing at home plate? This time the war is not between different factions of the fanbase. It's between the fanbase and Giants management as each excuse for him not playing regularly rolls out. First it was Tony Vitello saying the strategy was to use Eldridge as a "threat" off the bench and his willingness to accept a more limited role made his(Vitello's) job easier. Sorry for bringing up this name, but that reminds me of when the coach of the Buffalo Bills used OJ Simpson as a "decoy". The fan and analyst outrage reached the national news media and Eldridge started the next game but then sat the game after his 2-hit game. Then Mike Krukow waded into the controversy by saying he understood why Eldridge wasn't playing because he just didn't look ready to his eye. Once again the reaction was swift with fans wondering why, if he isn't ready, he is not playing every day in AAA? Now with 3 hits in his last two game, I am sure fans are locked and loaded waiting to see if he starts Friday night. Stay tuned for the next battle of the Eldridge Wars! At this point, this team has absolutely nothing to lose by letting him play and learn at the MLB level.
Tyler Mahle RHP- 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 6 K's. ERA= 6.10. It's not unusual for good starting pitchers to be slow out of the gate, but veteran SP's are supposed to be able to right the ship and limit the damage enough to give their team a chance to win in the middle and later innings. This is doubly true if they get some early run support. Giving up runs at a rate of 6 per 9 innings is not getting that done. Mahle may survive in the rotation until Logan Webb RHP gets back from the IL but if Trevor McDonald RHP is the odd man out then, the fanbase reaction may look the Eldridge Wars look like a skirmish by comparison.