Giants have come back down to earth after the torturous series vs. Yankees originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – After winning two of three games against the MLB-best Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park, the injury-plagued Giants were in a perfect position to match up against the New York Yankees for three games.
Instead, a ninth-inning implosion and another injury to their biggest offseason acquisition send the Giants on the road looking for answers to what just happened in a sweep that turned sideways from the start.
San Francisco’s top three starting pitchers – Jordan Hicks, Logan Webb and Blake Snell – tapped the rubber in that order. Hicks and Webb were given Ls, and Snell will likely go to the 15-day injured list after dealing with yet another issue in his left adductor and groin area.
Snell was on pace to complete his best and longest start as a Giant before being thrown out mid-at bat in the top of the fifth inning. The same injury earlier this season caused Snell to miss more than a month of time and 25 games in total. He will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of his injury.
The 2023 NL Cy Young winner said the injury felt the same as the last time he dealt with it, and he didn’t feel any other pain until a 90-mph fastball was his last pitch of the day.
“It’s frustrating,” Snell said. “I felt very good. Even in that situation I felt very good. … Overall I felt good, I was confident. There are things, it all comes together. I was confident, even de Soto Homer. I just missed the middle, but I learned from it.
“So it’s definitely a bummer, frustrating. But you have to look at the future, attacking, getting better and getting back on the field.”
Snell struck out Anthony Volpe on five pitches to start the game, but on the fifth pitch he threw to the next batter, Juan Soto. Every fan who donned the orange and black had to think, “Here we go again.”
Aaron Judge had already hit three home runs in his first two games against his youth team when he played at Oracle Park for the first time ever. Giancarlo Stanto took to the Garden on Saturday night, and Soto joined the party on Sunday, launching a 90-mph fastball into the zone that traveled 450 feet to clear the brick wall in Triples Alley.
But Snell settled down after that. The Yankees managed just two hits over the next three innings off Snell, while striking out three before the left-hander ran into foul trouble in the fifth. The Giants’ bats, led by 24-year-old Heliot Ramos and 25-year-old Casey Schmitt, woke up after apparently taking two days off. Superstar power then emerged as the Giants tried to close the door on their All-Star closer Camilo Doval.
With a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning, Doval crumbled in front of a sold-out crowd. By the time the flamethrower hit two outs, the Yankees had already scored four runs on four hits and two walks. Sunday marked the first time ever that Doval gave up four hits in one outing.
“I guess I would say there’s a first time for everything,” Doval said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “Today was not my day. I just have to accept it and move on.”
Soto, who will become a free agent this season and might as well have been given a blank check by Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in his locker, blasted a 98 mph cutter up center from Doval for his second home run of the day. The 25-year-old went 6-for-12 for the series with two home runs, a triple and four RBI.
Judge, the 2022 AL MVP who famously chose the Yankees over the Giants and San Diego Padres two seasons ago, followed Soto by walking six pitches and then stealing second base and advancing to third base on a wild throw into the outfield by catcher Curt Casali. He had two hits in all three games, going 6-for-10 with three home runs, six RBI, five runs scored, three walks and two stolen bases.
Stanton, who used his no-trade clause to turn down a trade from the Miami Marlins to the Giants in 2017, then promptly hit a 110.6 mph ground-rule double for his 1,500th career goal. career and gave the Yankees a 7-5 mark. lead for the better. The 2017 NL MVP played in two of three games against the Giants and left town 3-for-7 with a homer, ground-rule double and three RBI.
“These are just some big, big ABs in a comeback scenario,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The Giants are currently without Michael Conforto and LaMonte Wade Jr., among others. Jung Hoo Lee is out for the season due to a shoulder injury he suffered when he ran into the wall in center field. Matt Chapman has come on strong lately, but currently has a career-low .709 OPS. Jorge Soler had his second three-hit game as a Giant, but still has just six home runs on the season and a .666 OPS. Snell still has five more innings to throw for San Francisco and his ERA actually improved to 9.51 after his brief outing on Sunday.
“It’s still tough because we’re not looking at a full roster right now,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said when asked to assess where his team stands compared to the rest of the league. “I think the one thing we can take away is that some of the younger guys who have come forward have done well, especially in the big spots.”
There were a handful of positives the Giants could take with them on the team plane on Sunday. It’s hard to argue with Melvin’s breakdown at this point, with all the obstacles they’ve faced. Let’s also face it: Watching the Yankees’ big boppers put on a show of force where weather wasn’t ever a factor gave a clear picture of where the Giants are now, and what the front office’s mentality needs to be to move forward.
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