SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants’ inabilities to come through in the clutch came back to haunt them again. That it happened against their heated rivals and NL West-leading Dodgers only made it worse.
Los Angeles scored seven runs off Sean Hjelle in the 11th inning, enabling the Dodgers to escape with a 14-7 victory at Oracle Park on Saturday.
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San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to make it two in a row over the boys in blue but – as has been the case through the 2024 MLB season – the Giants failed to cash in.
A day after a dramatic home run in the ninth inning by Brett Wisely gave the Giants their seventh walk-off win of the season, San Francisco’s bats failed to deliver when it counted most.
They got their leadoff hitter on base in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings but failed to drive them home. It was basically the same thing in the 10th. San Francisco loaded the bases with one out before Patrick Bailey struck out swinging and Matt Chapman fouled out.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants went down in order in the 11th.
The loss dropped the Giants to 40-44, leaving them 12 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.
San Francisco’s offense was very productive before going silent late in the game.
Nine Giants had at least one hit, led by Chapman who singled twice and doubled. Jorge Soler added a pair of singles.
San Francisco took an early lead in the first inning then put up 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, who was brilliant in his previous outing on Monday, gave it all back. The right-hander got knocked around for six runs in 2 2/3 innings, four in the fourth inning when Howard allowed three hits and walked two.
Brett Wisely, the hero of Friday night’s walk-off win, dropped an RBI single into center in the fifth to drive in Chapman and tie the game at 6-6.
Here are the takeaways from Saturday’s game:
Basic Fundamentals
The Giants haven’t done their best with situational hitting this season, but they executed very well in the first inning.
After Soler’s leadoff double, LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded out to the right side of the infield to move Soler to third. Heliot Ramos followed with a sacrifice fly to right and pumped his fist when he realized it was deep enough to score the run.
Little things like that don’t get much attention and cannot be found in a box score, but they are critical elements in any game. The Giants have not had a lot of success with runners in scoring position, so seeing them execute as well as they did is an encouraging sign for their uneven offense.
Bounce-back For Ramos
One night after a misplaying a deep fly ball that allowed the Dodgers to score a tying run in the top of the ninth inning, Ramos was back up to his old tricks with more brilliant glove work in center field.
In the third inning, Will Smith hit a fly ball to deep center that initially looked as if it would hit the outfield wall. Instead, Ramos chased it down and made the catch to halt any potential uprising.
As good as Ramos has been at the plate since getting called up, his work on the defensive side of things has been equally important. He’s been the Giants’ best defensive player overall during the 2024 season, having made spectacular catches in all three outfield positions.
Take It From The Top
Soler has had sporadic success batting in the leadoff spot throughout his career, and the Giants have to be pleased with what they’re seeing from the Cuban slugger with him 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 the six games that he has batted leadoff for San Francisco, Soler has appeared more relaxed at the plate and is batting .246 (34-for-138) with four doubles and 22 RBI.
The Giants would prefer to have Soler’s big bat in the clean-up spot, but his success at the top of the lineup gives the team more flexibility.
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