No Mercy rule in baseball, Giants take out Bucs 14-4 at Oracle Park

San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey, front right, celebrates after hitting a two-run home run that also scored Casey Schmitt (6) during the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Mon May 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

Pittsburgh (26-27). 001 000 201. – 4. 9. 2

San Francisco (28-26). 050 100 80x. – 14 18 0

Time: 2:20

Attendance: 39,323

Monday, May 29, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–The San Francisco Giants now are a force to be reckoned with. Even after their 7-5 loss on Sunday afternoon to the Marlins, the home town team took the field at Oracle Park this afternoon 4-1/2 games out of first place in the NL West.

LaMonte Wade, Jr., is looking comfortable at first base (although he didn’t start today to avoid a lefty on lefty match up); Casey Schmitt is looking comfortable anywhere you put him. (And I’ve probably put a jinx on both of them by writing this).

Austin Slater came off the injured list today and went three for six with four RBI a the team massacred the stumbling Pirates, 14-4.

Their starting pitcher in this Memorial Day game, Anthony DeScalfani, isn’t one of the team’s glamorous members, but he gets the job done more of than not. He began the game at 3-4, 3.43 and went home the winning pitcher at 4-4, 3.48.

While on the mound, he hurled seven frames, allowing three runs, all earned, on eight hits, one of them yard, and no walks. He struck out two, and 48 of his 74 offerings were considered strikes.

The well travelled veteran of 19 big league seasons,Rich Hill who started this afternoon’s game for the stumbling Buccos no longer at the top of his game. But neither is he completely over the hill, although he clearly is on the downhill side.

He’s drawing a salary of $8,000,000 for 2023, so I’d say you could say he still is rich. He brought a lifetime record of 86-63, 3.86 (8-2,, 2.34 against the Giants) to the ballpark today. His season’s totals when he toed the rubber were 4-4, 4.27.

His most frequently thrown pitch is the curve, followed by the four seamer. Those two deliveries account for about 3/4 of his usage. The remaining arrows in his quiver are the cutter, sweeper, sinker, change of pace, and slider in that order of frequency.

Monday, he pitched six innings and gave up six runs, all earned, on nine hits, one of them a home run, and a walk. He threw 94 pitches, 61 for strikes, and was charged with the loss, making him 4-5, 4.75 on the year.

The game began with a textbook example of The Curse of the Leadoff Double. Tucupita Marcano smacked a first pitch double to right center. Bryan Reynolds lined the first pitch he saw to center for a the first out.

Then Andrew McCutchen broke his bat on a first pitch fly to center that Marcano was so sure would fall safely to the grass that he dashed for home and was doubled up at second when Bryce Johnson caught the ball and tossed it to Schmitt at second. The side was retired on three pitches.

San Francisco surged into the lead in the bottom of the second. Mitch Haniger led off with a single to center. Schmitt banged a double off the top of the SF Nothing Like It sign in left center, sending Haniger to third.

Patrick Bailey then lined a double down the right field foul line, plating Haniger and Schmitt. After a pause for David Villar to ground out to third, Brandon Crawford also doubled down the right field line, which drove in Bailey.

That set the scene for Austin Slater’s first home run of the year, over the Visa ad in center field. The ball landed 410 feet from home. The inning ended with the Giants up, 5-0.

The Pirates got one of runs back in their half of the third. Josh Palacios smacked a triple off the National Card Rental advertisement in left center and scored on Austin Hedges’ ground out to third.

The Giants relentlessly added a tally in the fourth, Bryce Johnson scoring from second, which he’d reached after forcing Crawford out and then pilfering the bag, on Davis’s single.

The score remained at 6-1 until Jack Suwinski led off the visitors’. seventh with a resounding home run to right, his tenth round tripper of the. season. Connor Joe followed that with a Texas League double to left center. Joe advanced to third on Ji Hwan Bae’s single to center and scored on Castro’s ground out to first. Joe just barely, but clearly, avoided Bailey’s tag at home. That made it 6-3, San Francisco at the seventh inning stretch.

During the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” Cody Bolton threw his on the mound warm ups, relieving Hill when action resumed. He was no more successful than his predecessor. Singles by Davis, Flores, and Schmitt, a double by Haniger, and a splash hit, Bailey’s second homer of the year, made it 11-3.

Two walks, followed by a double by Slater, and the Giants had batted around and were leading 13-3 when Rob Zastryzny replaced Bolton. After walking Davis, Zastryzny got Flores to hit a grounder to third.

Castro bobbled the ball and couldn’t get the force on Slater, but third base coach Mark Hallberg pushed Slater towards the base, which resulted in his being called out for coach’s interference. Skipping over less interesting details, I’ll just report that SF was ahead 14-3 when the order was restored and the inning ended.

That was when Taylor Rogers took over on the mound for the Giants and made the three Pirates he faced walk the plank.

Brett Wisely came into the game as second baseman, and Schmitt moved to short in the top or the eighth. Wisely ended up pitching the top of the ninth and, after allowing a lead off home run to McCovey Cove to Suwinski, got the side out in order.

The Giants will start John Brebbia (2-0 ERA 3.68) for Tuesday’s, 6:45 game. Pittsburgh intends to send righty Johan Oviedo (3-4, 4.70) to the mound.

Brew Crew’s Contreras hits some ropes defeat Giants 7-5; Loss ends 3 game string for SF

The Milwaukee Brewers William Contreras tries on the cheese hat in exchange for the batting helmet after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants at American Family Park in Milwaukee on Sun May 28, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday afternoon the San Francisco Giants (27-25) wrapped up their four game series with the Milwaukee Brewers (27-25) and couldn’t get the sweep after winning the first three games in this stint. The Brewers William Contreras turned it up a notch on San Francisco with a home run and three RBIs for the two run 7-5 final.

As the Giants have seen so often, sweeps are few and far between. It’s just not easy to sweep a team, especially a team that has the strengths that Milwaukee has.

We could see the Brewers resolve from the get- go. They were on a roll from the first inning scoring early and often. Contreras got the Milwaukee party started with a single that drove Christian Yelich home for the 1-0 lead. Brian Anderson doubled Owen Miller and Contreras home now leading 3-0.

Milwaukee had an even more proficient second inning. An Owen Miller single got both Joey Wiemer and Christian Yelich home. A Contreras home run with Miller onboard gave the Brewers a 7-0 lead after only two innings.

San Francisco finally got on the board in the third inning when Mike Yastrzemski hit a solo home run ending any shut-out possibility for pitcher Colin Rea. This was the Giants 73rd home run this season.

It was a very disappointing start for S.F. pitcher Alex Cobb. He was giving up too many two strike hits. So much of his early performance was very uncharacteristic of Cobb. A lot was going wrong for him in the early innings. He only went four innings allowing seven hits and seven runs with five strikeouts.

Tristan Beck would relieve him in the fifth inning. Beck had a great start retiring the first three Brewers he faced. He had had another perfect inning in the sixth. Since entering the game he retired nine in a row through three innings. Ryan Walker would close for San Francisco.

Blake Sabol hit the Giants 74th home run of the season in the seventh inning with two runners onboard to cut the Brewer lead to 7-4. San Francisco was back in this game. Brett Wisely smoked one that was caught up against the wall but it was enough for Brandon Crawford to score and the Giants made this game even closer 7-5.

With two outs in the eighth inning the Brewers brought in closer Devin Williams with an unbelievable .59 ERA.

The Giants had a great late game surge but it was the Brewers first and second innings that decided this game. The Giants had the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning with two outs and Wilmer Flores at bat. He struck out. It was a tough day for San Francisco when little was going right early.

The Giants will hop on a plane and head home for an afternoon game Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three game series before having a day off Thursday. Starters for Pittsburgh Rich Hill (4-4 ERA 4.27) for San Francisco Anthony DeScalfani (3-4 ERA 3.43) first pitch 2:05 pm PT for the holiday special.

MLB podcast with Charlie O: Big payroll Padres continue to struggle; Brewers Adames out of hospital on 10 day IL for concussion; plus more

San Diego Padres Michael Wacha pitches during first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sat May 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the MLB podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The San Diego Padres (24-28) who took another loss on Saturday to the New York Yankees at Yankees Stadium, the Padres had big expectations this year but even with Fernando Tatis Jr, Juan Soto, and Manny Machado the Padres are holding down fourth place in the NL West still there a lot of the season to make that payroll payoff.

#2 During a game against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at American Family Park the Milwaukee Brewers Willy Adames just avoided suffering fractures when he was sitting the dugout and was struck by teammate Brian Anderson that struck him in the head. Brewers manager Craig Counsell said that was a scary moment. Adames has been released from the hospital is in good spirits and is on the 10 IL for concussion protocols.

#3 Yankees manager Aaron Boone who has been kicked out of three of the last ten games said the last ejection was a weird experience. Last Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles Boone was arguing a third strike call and lost it when umpire Edwin Moscoso turned his back to him. It got heated and Crew chief Chris Guccione had to step in between them. Boone who had spittle came out of his mouth towards Moscoso’s direction ended up being suspended by MLB Sr Supervisor VP of on field operations Michael Hill after reviewing it Thursday night.

#4 There was damage control for the Los Angeles Dodgers who uninvited the Sisters of Perpetual who are a drag group who serve as a charity, protest and satirical performance were reinvited on Jun 16th after being disinvited. The Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tweeted out that the Dodgers will be hosting a “Christian and Faith Night” at Dodger Stadium on Jul 30th. Can you talk a little about the politics of this situation.

#5 Charlie the Nevada State Legislature will have a chance to vote on the Oakland A’s Tropicana ballpark. Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo said that the ballpark tax credits in the neighborhood of $180 million won’t pass unless their a is budget passed for the state. State Legislature Democrats say they won’t for the resolution for the ballpark because that puts taxpayers at risk if the A’s fail to profit once the park is complete. But as you know what’s said up front is different than what’s negotiated behind closed doors.

Join Charlie O for the MLB podcast Sundays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants Handle Brewers Winning Third Straight Game in Milwaukee 3-1

San Francisco Giants’ Mitch Haniger is congratulated after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Park in Milwaukee on Sun May 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants Handle Brewers Winning Third Straight Game in Milwaukee 3-1

By Barbara Mason

Saturday afternoon the San Francisco Giants (27-25) took on the Milwaukee Brewers (27-25) in game three of their four game series defeating the Brewers 3-1 at American Family Park in Milwaukee. The Giants won the first game of the series 5-0 and Friday routed the Brewers 15-1. San Francisco had 19 hits in game two and hoped to continue their winning ways in this series.

The tide of Friday’s game seemed to change in the bottom of the second inning when the Brewers short stop Willy Adames was hit in the side of the head by a foul ball hit by teammate Brian Anderson. He was leaning against the dugout railing when hit.

He did spend the night in the hospital and thankfully was released to rest at home. He has been place on IL for seven days. Despite the loss that was good news for Milwaukee. The health of Adames was front and foremost in the minds of the Brewers Friday.

Saturday game wrap: The teams took the field under partly cloudy conditions and 68 degrees. Two good pitchers took the mound Saturday. San Francisco sent Logan Webb and the Brewers sent Corbin Burnes in this game.

San Francisco took an early lead in the first inning off a Michael Conforto sacrifice. LaMonte Wade Jr. scored to give the Giants the 1-0 lead.

The Giants held the 1-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. Milwaukee tied up the game when Victor Caratini singled. Brice Turang scored for the 1-1 tie but Caratini was thrown out stretching for second.

San Francisco put an end to the tie game in the eighth inning when Mitch Haniger hit his second homer in as many days with J.D. Davis on base for a 3-1 lead.

Milwaukee went into the ninth inning, looking for a way to at least tie up this game. It didn’t happen and the Giants had won the third game of this series 3-1.

Logan Webb went seven innings with a 107 pitch count. He allowed four hits with one earned run and 11 strikeouts. Corbin Burnes also went seven innings with four hits and eight strikeouts. Both pitchers had excellent games.

It was another terrific game for Mitch Haniger with three hits and one run. His eighth inning two run home run turned out to be the winner for the Giants.

Sunday the Giants will conclude this four game series looking for another sweep. Alex Cobb will take the mound for San Francisco with a 4-1 W-L record and a 2.17 ERA. Colin Rea (1-3 ERA 4.71) will be on the hill for the Brewers. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10 AM.

San Francisco’s 19 Hits Push Past Milwaukee 15-1

San Francisco Giants’ Michael Conforto hits a broken bat single during the sixth inning against the Milwaukee at American Family Ballpark in Milwaukee on Fri May 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

San Francisco’s 19 Hits Push Past Milwaukee 15-1

By Barbara Mason

Friday evening the San Francisco Giants (26-25) took on the Milwaukee Brewers (27-24) in game two of their four game series and it was a laugher as the Giants clobbered the Brewers 15-1. The Giants won the first game of the series Thursday in a 5-0 shut-out.

Michael Conforto was outstanding in that game going 4 for 4 which also included a home run. Along with Conforto San Francisco pitching combined on a four-hitter for the win. Six Giant pitchers saw action in that game.

Friday game recap: The Brewers drew first blood in the opening inning. Former Giant Darin Ruf scored to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead. The Brewers had the bases loaded with no outs in the first inning but only came away with the one run.

The Giants had the answer in the second inning. Mitch Haniger who has struggled lately had no trouble at all hitting a home run with Michael Conforto on base and San Francisco took a 2-1 lead. Patrick Bailey knocked a single to center and Mike Yastrzemski scored from second to extend the Giants lead 3-1.

San Francisco had an amazing third inning scoring seven runs. During that inning Willy Adames was hit in the dugout by a line drive and play was halted while he was being tended to and taken back to the clubhouse. He was taken to a local hospital for further testing. The Brewers were visibly shaken after the hit which appeared to possibly be a very serious injury. When play commenced, the Giants had an amazing inning while the Brewers completely fell apart.

It was a wild third inning for the Giants. J.D. Davis doubled and Blake Sabol scored followed by a second double from Mitch Haniger driving Michael Conforto and Davis home for a 6-1 lead. Patrick Bailey had an infield single and Haniger scored and there was no stopping San Francisco. The Giants finished off the third inning with a three run home run from Brett Wisely going ahead 10-1. Freddy Peralta was relieved by Elvis Peguero in the third inning for Milwaukee.

San Francisco took a couple of innings off but struck again in the sixth inning. Michael Conforto singled J.D. Davis home as San Francisco continued to pile on the runs. The Giants would finish off the inning with a single from Casey Schmitt driving Conforto home. San Francisco had 14 hits through six innings in this 12-1 pounding.

In the seventh inning J.D. Davis hit a two run bomb after already knocking a couple of doubles in this game. The Giants had extended their lead to 14-1.

There were more hits and another run for the Giants in the eighth inning. Patrick Bailey had his fourth hit of the evening with a third RBI and San Francisco led 15-1.

San Francisco pitcher Alex Wood did a great job in this game and then some. He went 5.2 innings allowing three hits and one run with 5 strikeouts.

Saturday afternoon the Giants will take on the Brewers in game three of this series looking to make it three in a row. Logan Webb 3-5 record will take the mound for the Giants with a 2.91 ERA. Corbin Burnes will be on the hill for the Brewers with a 4-4 W-L record and a 3.97 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM.

Giants use six pitchers to shut out Brewers 5-0

San Francisco Giants’ Michael Conforto hits a single during the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Thu May 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants use six pitchers to shut out Brewers 5-0

By Barbara Mason

After winning a series this week over the Minnesota Twins, the San Francisco Giants (25-25) traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers (27-23). The Brewers are currently in first place in the NL Central. Wednesday the Giants took a beating at the hands of the Twins 7-1 after winning the first two games of the series.

After the beat-down in game three of the series in Minnesota, the Giants came right back and used pitcher Scott Alexander as an opener in the first of six pitchers to shutout the Brewers on Thursday night 5-0 to get back on track in Milwaukee.

Thursday night game recap: This game was scoreless through the first four innings. In the fifth inning the Giants got up on the board 1-0 when LaMonte Wade Jr. singled Casey Schmitt home from second base. This game had turned into a pitchers duel with only the one run on the board going into the eighth inning.

San Francisco turned this game around in their favor in the eighth inning. Michael Conforto got the inning going with a solo homer to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. Schmitt doubled in the inning and drove runners Blake Sabol and Mike Yastrzemski home and the Giants had a 4-0 lead going.

They would score one more time in the inning. Patrick Bailey doubled with Schmitt on base scoring his second run of the game. The Giants had a solid 5-0 lead going into the ninth inning. Unlike yesterday’s game, San Francisco was leaving few runners stranded in this one. They had 11 hits through nine innings to the Brewers four.

San Francisco closer John Brebbia took this game home for the Giants. The final was 5-0 in the shut out, their fourth of the season. The Giants sent six pitchers in this game with great success. Another key in this win was scoring latě in the game. San Francisco totally dominated Milwaukee in this first game of the four game series.

This was a solid win for San Francisco with great pitching, great offense and defense. Conforto was 4 for 4 in the game and was a huge part of this win. His game has continued to improve with each game after struggling to start the season.

Over the last ten games the San Francisco bullpen has continued to get better and better with each game. The team can now lean on these pitchers with a lot of confidence.

The Giants will take the field Friday in game two of this series with first pitch at 5:10 PM. Alex Wood (0-0 ERA 4.00) will take the mount for the Giants. Freddy Peralta (5-3 ERA 4.15) will be on the hill for the Brewers.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants can’t get the sweep in Minnesota; Open up 4 game series in Milwaukee tonight

San Francisco Giants pitcher Scott Alexander seen dealing will start tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Park in Milwaukee tonight Thu May 25, 2023 (file photo McCovey Chronicles)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca;

#1 Edouard Julien was the leadoff hitter for the Minnesota Twins hit a home run, two RBIs, and scored twice helped the Twins in their six run win 7-1 over the San Francisco Giants.

#2 The Twins ended their three game losing streak and starter Joe Ryan giving up six hits and striking out four hitters, allowed one run in six innings. Talk about how Ryan had the Giants off balance and his control was on.

#3 Ryan also is doing well in the decisions department the win was his seventh win in eight games. Ryan had the help from four relief pitchers.

#4 The Giants also left 15 runners on the bases and just couldn’t move the runners over going two for 16 with runners in scoring position.

#5 The Giants will get after it again as they face the Milwaukee Brewers at America Family Field. The Giants will send left hander Scott Alexander (4-0 ERA 4.42) to start the Brewers have not announced a starter for Thursday night as of yet.

#5 Buster Posey is being inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame tonight and no doubt he’ll be on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot as well. Three time World Series Champion catcher with a lifetime .302 average.

Join Michael for the Giants podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San FranciscoTorched by Twins 7-1

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (26) throws during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Wed May 24, 2023 (AP News photo)

San Francisco Torched by Twins 7-1

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday afternoon, the San Francisco Giants (24-25) were looking to sweep the division leading Minnesota Twins (26-24). As this game went on it became very clear that the Twins had a far different mindset and prevented themselves from getting swept coming up with a six run 7-1 win at Target Field in Minneapolis.

San Francisco had to come from behind Tuesday to take game two winning it 4-3. Anthony Desclafani took the mound for the Giants in Wednesday’s game. DeScalfani took the loss dropping his record to a 3-4 and raised his ERA to 3.43. San Francisco wanted to continue building on the three game winning streak they but the Twins were taking their hacks on DeScalfani and the Giants. Joe Ryan who was on the hill for the Twins improved his record to 7-1 W-L and lowered his ERA to 2.21.

Wednesday game recap: The Twins got on top of the Giants from the first inning and they did not take their foot off the pedal for the rest of the game.

Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Edouard Julien hit a home run. San Francisco was able to tie up the game 1-1 when Casey Schmitt singled Mike Yastrzemski home in the second inning but that was all that the Giants could muster through the rest of the game.

The Twins scored a couple more runs in the second inning to lead 3-1. Minnesota added two more runs in the third inning and the Twins were on a roll leading 5-1. Scoring another run in the fourth inning and the sixth as well gave the Twins a 7-1 lead.

The Giants had an awful game with some ugly errors. Brandon Crawford had a fielding error in the third inning which advanced the runner. In the same inning Brett Wisely missed a line drive that flew between his legs and this game had an ominous tone from the start.

The Giants had a real opportunity in the sixth inning loading the bases with no outs. They could have at the very least cut the deficit by a few runs but came up completely empty. This was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. San Francisco had three innings to get something going in this game and it just didn’t happen. It was all Twins in this one even though the Giants had more hits than Minnesota 10-7. The Twins took the Giants by six runs.

The Giants scored on a single in the second inning but it was no match to the two homers, the double, a sacrifice, and a couple of steals from the Twins. Those awful errors were the icing on the cake although the Twins had a few errors of their own; it just didn’t hurt them to the extent that it did San Francisco.

Thursday the Giants will travel to Milwaukee for a four game series against a very good Brewers team (27-22). The Brewers are first in the NL Central division and so this will challenge the Giants who will be looking to get back on track in this series. Left hand starter Scott Alexander (4-0 ERA 4.42) will take the mound for San Francisco Thursday. Right now assignment on the hill for the Brewers is undecided. First pitch is scheduled for 4:40 PM.

San Francisco Comes From Behind To Beat Twins 4-3

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Cobb winds up to deliver during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tue May 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After beating the Minnesota Twins (25-24) 4-1 in game one of their series on Monday night, the San Francisco Giants (24-24) picked up their second win Tuesday defeating the Twins 4-3 to reach the five hundred mark on their 2023 season.

San Francisco came from behind to beat the Twins. The Giants faced Twins pitcher Sonny Gray who had been throwing lights out, having the best ERA in the league. Gray pitched five innings, giving up six hits and two runs. The Giants had a good one on the mound as well in Alex Cobb who went seven innings, six hits and three runs.

Much as the Giants opened Tuesday’s game in the first inning; the Twins got an early lead to start the game. Byron Buxton hit a home run with Donovan Solano on base taking a 2-0 lead.

The Giants will have their work cut out for them. Gray has numerous options and what is even more concerning is that he had command of all of them. He has not allowed a home run so far this year.

For the second inning in a row, the Giants had two runners on base with two outs. Much as it played out in the third inning, the Giants left two runners stranded in the fourth inning. They had two golden opportunities in both innings but came up empty.

In the fifth inning, Cobb would get burned for a second time with a pitch similar to the one that hurt him in the first inning. He threw a splitter that sailed out of the park off the bat of Michael Taylor. The solo shot gave the Twins a 3-0 lead going into the sixth inning.

In the sixth inning the Giants loaded the bases and knocked Gray out of the game, Jovani Moran would relieve Gray followed by another relief pitcher Brock Stewart and the Twins were in all kinds of trouble. They walked two runners home before the inning was over the Giants had cut into their lead 3-2.

Michael Conforto would break the game wide open with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Thairo Estrada scored from second base and the Giants now held a 4-3 lead.

Scott Alexander would relieve Cobb in the eighth inning. Cobb had a terrific game going seven innings finishing with eight strikeouts. San Francisco had climbed back to the five hundred mark for the season.

Wednesday’s game three will feature an early first pitch at 10:10 AM. The Giants will send Anthony Desclafani to the mound while the Twins will assign Joe Ryan. Ryan has a 6-1 W-L record and a 2.25 ERA. Desclafani has some good stats as well with a 3-3 W-L record and a 3.09 ERA.

Giants Start Minnesota Series with 4-1 win

San Francisco Giants’ LaMonte Wade Jr. rounds third base and scores against the Minnesota Twins on a J.D. Davis double in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on Mon May 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

Giants Start Minnesota Series With a Win 4-1

By Barbara Mason

After falling beneath the five hundred mark in early May, the San Francisco Giants (23-24) have been turning things around lately. While they struggled against Arizona losing three of four games they did go on to sweep the Phillies. They most recently won a series against the Marlins and Monday they traveled to Minnesota (25-23) to open a three game series against the Twins at Target Field and came away with a three run 4-1 win.

John Brebbia took the mound for San Francisco and Bailey Ober was on the hill for Minnesota.

San Francisco jumped all over the Twins in the first inning. J.D. Davis got the inning going with a double and Lamonte Wade Jr. scored for the early 1-0 lead. Michael Conforto finished off the inning in Giants style hitting a home run driving in Mike Yastrzemski and J.D. Davis giving San Francisco a 4-0 lead.

Sean Manaea took over on the mound in the second inning. Manaea did allow a couple of walks and a couple of singles but generally kept it quiet for Minnesota as the Giants continued to hang onto the 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning. Going into the bottom of the fifth inning Manaea was already working on 73 pitches.

He had struck out eight through four innings. The Twins made some noise in the 5th inning with runners on second and third with two outs. Tristan Beck came in to relieve Manaea and get the Giants out of the inning unscathed. Beck did get the dangerous Byron Buxton out and it was on to the sixth inning.

The Twins would walk the first two at bats in the sixth. Emilio Pagan relieved Bailey Ober who went five innings. Minnesota followed those two walks with two strikeouts and a fly out to keep the Giants from advancing the score which still remained at 4-0.

The Twins would finally get up on the scoreboard in the eighth inning. Kyle Garlick hit a solo home run to left center and the score was 4-1.

The Giants left a runner stranded on second in the top of the ninth inning and San Francisco was three outs away from their first win of this series.

This was a well-pitched ball game for both teams. Sean Manaea had his best outing yet this season. The Giants got on the board early and were able to hold on for the win. San Francisco is now within one game of .500.

The Giants Alex Cobb will take the mound tomorrow in game two. Cobb has a 3-1 W-L record and a 1.94 ERA. For the Twins, a familiar name Sonny Gray who is having a nice season so far with a 4-0 W-L record and a 1.64 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 4:40 PM.