What We Learned When Giants Lost In Extras After Dodgers’ Late Blowout Originally Appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants’ inability to pull through came back to haunt them. That it happened against their heated rivals and NL West-leading Dodgers only made it worse.
Los Angeles scored seven runs from Sean Hjelle in the 11e inning, giving the Dodgers a 14-7 win on Saturday at Oracle Park.
San Francisco had plenty of chances to make it two in a row against the boys in blue, but – as was the case during the 2024 MLB season – the Giants failed to capitalize.
A day after a dramatic ninth-inning home run from Brett Wisely gave the Giants their seventh walk-off victory of the season, San Francisco’s bats failed when it counted most.
They got their leadoff hitter on base in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but were unable to drive them home. It was basically the same in the 10eSan Francisco had the bases loaded with one out before Patrick Bailey was eliminated and Matt Chapman made an error.
The Giants went down in order of defeat in the 11e.
With this loss, the Giants are now 40-44, putting them 12 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.
San Francisco’s offense was very productive, but stalled toward the end of the game.
Nine Giants had at least one basehit, led by Chapman who singled twice and doubled. Jorge Soler added a few singles.
San Francisco took an early lead in the first inning and scored four runs in the third to take a 5-2 lead. Soler, Patrick Bailey, Chapman and Luis Matos all had RBI in the inning.
Giants reliever Spencer Howard, brilliant in his previous outing on Monday, gave it all back. The right-handed pitcher was struck out six times for six runs in 2 2/3 innings, including four in the fourth inning when Howard allowed three hits and two walks.
Brett Wisely, the hero of Friday night’s walk-off victory, dropped an RBI single up center in the fifth, driving in Chapman and tying the game at 6-6.
These are the conclusions from Saturday’s match:
Basics
The Giants haven’t done their best with situational hitting this season, but they did a very good job in the first inning.
After Soler’s leadoff double, LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded to the right side of the infield to move Soler to third. Heliot Ramos followed with a sacrifice fly to right, pumping his fist when he realized it was deep enough to score the run.
Little things like that don’t get much attention and aren’t reflected in a box score, but they are crucial elements in any game. The Giants haven’t had much success with runners in scoring position, so seeing them execute as well as they did is an encouraging sign for their uneven offense.
Setback for Ramos
One night, after misplaying a deep fly ball that allowed the Dodgers to score a tying run in the top of the ninth inning, Ramos was back to his old tricks with more brilliant glovework in center field.
In the third inning, Will Smith hit a fly ball to deep center that initially looked like it would hit the outfield wall. Instead, Ramos chased it down and made the catch to end any potential uprising.
As good as Ramos has been at center since he was drafted, his work on the defensive end has been just as important. He was the Giants’ best defensive player overall during the 2024 season after making spectacular catches at all three outfield positions.
Take it from above
Soler has had occasional success as a leadoff batter throughout his career and the Giants should be pleased with what they see from the Cuban hitter now that he’s at the top of their lineup.
Soler doubled in each of his first two at bats against Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow, scoring the Giants’ first run and driving in their second.
In his six opening games for San Francisco, Soler seemed more relaxed at the plate, hitting .246 (34-for-138) with four doubles and 22 RBI.
The Giants would prefer to have Soler’s big bat in the cleanup spot, but his success at the top of the lineup gives the team more flexibility.
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