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[San Francisco Giants]

Thursday BP: What games do you watch on off-days?

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Giants have a day off today before heading back to San Francisco for the home opener. What games do Giants fans prefer to watch when they’re not playing?

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are off once again today before they head back to Oracle Park for their home opener tomorrow.

Which means now is the perfect time to ask you all what your priorities are for picking games to watch/follow when the Giants aren’t playing.

Later in the season, of course, viewing interest can change based on standings. But at this point in the season, I feel like viewing choices are more based on personal interest. So I’m curious to find out how you choose which games to watch.

Personally, at this point in the year, I will just put on whatever game happens to be going on. Mostly for background noise. I don’t tend to have a ton of interest in watching the NL West, just because the Giants play them enough throughout the year for me to get my fill.

So I’ll usually pick a game where it’s a team I don’t tend to follow otherwise. That is quite literally how I ended up becoming a somewhat-fan of the Toronto Blue Jays.

What games do you watch on off-days?​

Source: https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2...rancisco-giants-community-scoreboard-watching

 

[San Francisco Giants]

Minor League roundup, 4/2: David Villar returns in style

Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images

Yesterday’s action on the farm.

Minor League Baseball fans, rejoice! Today is the last day for many, many months where only one San Francisco Giants affiliate is in-season. Starting on Friday, the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, High-A Eugene Emeralds, and Low-A San Jose Giants will join the AAA Sacramento River Cats by starting their respective seasons. You can find their rosters here. Furthermore, the Arizona Complex League season — which should feature some extremely exciting Giants prospects like Rayner Arias and Jhonny Level — starts in exactly a month. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Link to the 2025 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the positions played in that particular game.

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AAA Sacramento (2-3)​

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 6-3
Box score

It wasn’t a great game for the River Cats, but two players who recently looked like they might be core parts of the Giants plans started their 2025 season with triumph.

On offense, it was third baseman David Villar. After a spring in which the writing was firmly on the wall, Villar was designated for assignment, but cleared waivers. He was outrighted to Sacramento, and made his season debut on Wednesday.

It went swimmingly, with the righty going 2-4 with a gorgeous opposite-field home run. Perhaps with the stress of trying to keep his spot on the 40-man roster behind him, Villar can find the swing that led to 36 home runs in 2022 between AAA and the Majors ... a number that fell to 22 the next year, and 17 last season. There certainly should be ample opportunity for Villar in Sacramento, at least for as long as the Giants continue to carry a pair of backup infielders in the Majors.

The other player with a much-needed feel-good day was RHP Mason Black (No. 7 CPL). It’s been tough going for Black, ever since he had a dominant 2024 Spring Training, began the year virtually unhittable in AAA, and was called up for his MLB debut. Since then he struggled in the Majors, was optioned, struggled in AAA, struggled again in the Majors, struggled in Spring Training, and was in the first group of camp cuts.

But the future is still bright for the 25-year old former 3rd-round pick, who still has another option year after this year. And despite the camp struggles, his 2025 is off to a hot start.

With Sacramento having an embarrassment of riches with starting pitcher prospects, Black was forced into a piggybacking starter role. He entered to start the 5th inning, and pitched the final 4 frames. Pitched them dominantly, I might add, as he allowed neither a hit nor a run, ceding just 2 baserunners (1 on a walk, and 1 a hit batter), while striking out 7.

Perhaps more importantly, he looked good. To my (extremely amateur) eye, Black looked slimmer and twitchier than last year, and had a more prominent leg whip. The result — again, to my very amateur eye — was that Black’s pitches seemed to be moving with much more vigor than we’ve grown accustomed to. He still doesn’t have overpowering velocity, but my goodness did all of his pitches dance around for 60 feet, before usually finding Logan Porter’s glove.

The lack of velocity might by why the Giants continue to develop Black as a starter, and seem fairly hesitant to throw him in the bullpen. One look at the players they did (and, crucially, didn’t) put in the MLB bullpen on Opening Day makes it pretty clear that they’re joining the “velocity is king” wave, and understandably so. But as Logan Webb continues to prove, movement and control and craftiness can do wonders to turn a lineup over twice or thrice, and hopefully this was a step towards emulating that.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go well for the pair of pitchers in front of him, who are also trying to get back to the Majors. RHP Keaton Winn was given the starting assignment, and unfortunately he made it 2 straight clunkers by the River Cats’ rotation, after a brilliant weekend of starts. Winn struggled to find the strike zone, throwing just 30 of 57 pitches for strikes, and making it through just 2 innings. That lack of control made for a lot of free batters — 2 walks and 1 hitter plunked — and also led to some ugly counts, which produced get-it-in meatballs, with predictable results. In all, he got tagged for 3 hits — including a home run by A’s top prospect and the No. 4 pick in the 2024 draft, Nick Kurtz — and 4 runs, 3 of which were earned. Hopefully there are better results next week!

RHP Sean Hjelle will be hoping for the same. After a fantastic season debut over the weekend, arguably the most surprising omission from the Opening Day roster had a rough go of it on Wednesday, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs in 2 innings of work, with 2 strikeouts. He just wasn’t fooling a lot of hitters and, like Black, he doesn’t have overwhelming velocity, which is a difficult reality for a player who is now firmly a reliever.

The struggles were also on the offensive side. Second baseman Osleivis Basabe hit 2-4 with a double and a strikeout, but other than him and Villar, no River Cat reached base multiple times. The top of the order — populated by 40-man guys trying to earn chances — particularly struggled, with center fielder Grant McCray going 1-4 with a strikeout, shortstop Brett Wisely hitting 0-4 with 2 strikeouts and an error, and left fielder Marco Luciano going 0-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and a misplayed double.

All 3 are having tough seasons: McCray has a .659 OPS and a 91 wRC+, Wisely a .611 OPS and a 75 wRC+, and Luciano a .563 OPS and a 48 wRC+, though I’ve been pretty impressed by his at-bats, honestly (and unlike McCray and Wisely, Luciano has done a good job suppressing strikeouts).

Hopefully the bats wake up soon!

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Thursday schedule​

Sacramento: @ Las Vegas, 6:35 p.m. PT (SP: Carson Seymour)
Richmond: Season starts Friday
Eugene: Season starts Friday
San Jose: Season starts Friday

Source: https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2...-baseball-sacramento-david-villar-mason-black

 

[San Francisco Giants]

Friday BP: Will you be attending the home opener series?

Photo by Loren Elliott/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Giants baseball returns to Oracle Park this weekend.

Good morning, baseball fans!

San Francisco Giants baseball returns to Oracle Park today as the Giants begin their home opener series against the Seattle Mariners tonight.

This will be the first opportunity for fans to watch this red-hot (super small sample size) team on their home turf.

So I wanted to check in and see if anyone is heading to a game this series to celebrate. If so, what are you looking forward to most in your return to Oracle Park?

Sadly, I live too far away to get to more than a game or two per year. But my favorite thing to do when I return the park for the first time in a while is to get into town early and take my time walking from either the BART station or Ferry Building and appreciate the view. I usually make my back along the player entrance and over to the marina to enter at that gate.

This is my favorite place to enter the park for many reasons (short lines usually being at the top of that list). I also really like entering the field right there at the corner of the arcade level and the fan lot. The best food is there, there are a lot of things to do, and the view is simply spectacular. There’s nothing quite like getting that first cold beverage down near the kale garden, walking up the stairs, and being greeted by the sight of the field and the sounds of batting practice.

So what about you guys?

Will you be attending the home opener series?​

Source: https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2...25-san-francisco-giants-home-opener-community

 

[San Francisco Giants]

Welcome home, Willy

Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Things got a little dicey...but Willy saved the day in the end

When LaMonte Wade Jr. struck out on a high cutter from Seattle’s Carlos Vargas, I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. A necessary release of stale, anxious air that had built up over the past four hours. Bottom of the 11th, down a run — and another San Francisco Giants hitter couldn’t muster a deep enough fly ball or a well-placed grounder to advance the runner the final 90 feet home.

It was the Giants’ eight blown opportunity to knock in a run with an out, and this latest failure felt like the decisive blow. You only get so many chances in this life, and San Francisco had more than their fair share in this tilt: 16 hits, 6 walks, 27 at-bats with runners in scoring position — and only 8 runs??

How the game would appear to end felt impossible considering how it began. Riding the high energy of a packed crowd for their 2025 season home opener, along with the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the opening of their stadium, the Giants looked primed to score early and often.

Leadoff man Wade doubled on the first pitch he saw in the 1st and later scored on a Matt Chapman infield single to erase the Mariners’ early lead. In the 2nd, Wade Jr. plated two with another double of the game, setting up runners at second and third with nobody out.

But the heart of San Francisco’s order couldn’t find a way to add on. They made contact, just the wrong kind. Willy Adames flew out to shallow center. Jung Hoo Lee’s hard grounder went right to first baseman Rowdy Tellez. Chapman walked, and Heliot Ramos worked the count full but ultimately grounded out to third.

The 3-1 lead handed to Justin Verlander quickly slipped through his fingers. Yes, Verlander, once upon a time, did pitch in this game, but he managed just 2.1 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts.

The main culprit of his early exit: Cal Raleigh’s 13-pitch walk in the 3rd. An inning in an at-bat. After working the count full, Seattle’s catcher fouled off seven straight pitches (5 sliders, 2 fastballs) before spitting on a low and in curveball. The walk pushed the bases loaded and broke Verlander’s spirit. Tired, ticked-off — but now more efficient! — the righty needed just five more pitches to walk in Seattle’s second run. More count trouble necessitated a center cut fastball to Jorge Polanco who lined it into center to tie the game.

From there, advantage and momentum continued to teeter and totter between the two sides. San Francisco’s two-runs in the 4th were answered by Seattle’s two in the 5th. The Giant lead regained in the bottom of that frame was lost with three runs in the 6th scraped together by hard-hit one-hoppers that caromed off Adames at short, by base thieves running rampant on the slow motion motion of Camilo Doval and San Francisco’s first defensive error of the 2025 season. Seattle’s hard-fought two run advantage disappeared within the inning after a solo shot by Matt Chapman and a defensive alignment SNAFU which prevented their second baseman Ryan Bliss from turning a potential double play ball off the bat of Patrick Bailey.

By the 7th inning, so many leads had been won and lost, scoring opportunities capitalized on as well as squandered, that nothing felt tenable. For the Giants, everything came close, but nothing was enough. Mike Yastrzemski pulled a drive down the right field line that missed the foul pole by a couple of feet — the next pitch, he struck out. Adames lined a 2-out RBI double in one inning but failed to advance runners with situational contact the next. He plucked a line-drive from the air, but got bruised by grounders on the ground. Verlander became the first Giant starter pulled mid-inning. Other than an immaculate Randy Rodríguez (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K), the shiny clean sheets of San Francisco relievers had been thoroughly scuffed with Lou Trivino giving up a two-run homer to Jorge Polanco, and Doval, though technically all unearned, forfeiting three runs. Erik Miller teased disaster in the 7th after another feisty Cal Raleigh at-bat with the bases loaded that ended with Jung Hoo Lee blindly reeling in a line drive on the warning track.

The Giants again botched a runner-on third-no-out opportunity in the bottom of the 9th after Bailey doubled off the wall in deep right center and pinch runner Christian Koss advanced to third on a wild pitch. The winning run just 90 feet away — yet neither Tyler Fitzgerald, Adames, or Lee could knock him in, forcing them into extra innings for the first time in 2025.

It was about minute 240 of play — when Wade K’ed and my head dropped into my palms — that my wife returned to our apartment and exclaimed: “You’re still watching this game?” In her arms she bore the fruit of her labors at the ceramics studio: hand-built vases and spun bowls from clay that were then dried and bisque fired, glazed and fired again and unloaded from the kiln — all done, seemingly, in the same amount of time it took the Giants and Mariners to labor through 20 back-and-forth frames. Meanwhile all I had accrued was a sore rear end and a bad attitude. I was cranky, my eyes bloodshot. I wanted out, nor could I accept this. I pulled at my cheeks in disbelief that this wild and wildly frustrating game would be decided by a wild pitch from Spencer Bivens. For all the tight-rope walking Bivens did in the 10th and 11th innings up until that point: Five outs recorded, all with runners in scoring position — then to just dive-bomb a fastball like that…

I bemoaned the end as Willy Adames stepped into the box. In retrospect, it was ridiculous. The Giants’s big off-season signing, the new face of the franchise had the bat in his hands with the team’s back against the wall. Man and Moment were meeting, and I grumbled under my breath. He had a couple knocks on the day, a stolen base, but he had also spent the day unleashing some unwieldy upper-cut swings. Opening up too much, falling behind in the count, chasing out of the zone — in my worn down and sour state, Adames was the last person I had faith in to choke-up, adjust his swing, poke a pitch to the opposite field, or just make contact of any kind. I mean, there was a reason Vargas, with a base to work with, elected to go after him rather than Lee. They would nibble on the outside of the zone, not give him anything to substantial to hit, just tempt his worst tendencies and see if he bites

That was, I imagine, the brief. And to a certain degree, Vargas did exactly what he set out to do: a cutter outside, barely scratching the zone — the only problem is Adames did the thing he set out to do. He adjusted. He knew they’d pitch him away, so he just needed to keep his shoulder closed and look for a pitch out there. Lo’ and behold, he got it, and he got it — the prettiest and most surprising little, end-of-the-bat bloop to shallow right I’ve seen for some time.

The sacrifice fly in the 2nd sure would’ve saved us a lot of grief — this is more fun though.

Source: https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2...2025-recap-mariners-mlb-willy-adames-walk-off

 

[San Francisco Giants]

Minor League roundup, 4/4: All systems are a go!

Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images

Yesterday’s action on the farm.

What a wonderful Friday it was. The San Francisco Giants won a thrilling walk-off in their home opener, while three of their Minor League Baseball affiliates began their seasons. Baseball is truly here, in all her glory!

Link to the 2025 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the positions played in that particular game.

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AAA Sacramento (3-4)​

Sacramento River Cats lost to the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s) 6-4
Box score

LHP Kyle Harrison made his second start of the year for Sacramento, and took another step towards reclaiming a rotation spot in the Majors. The former top southpaw prospect in baseball — still just 23 years old, I might add — had hitters off balance all day, striking out 6 batters in 4 scoreless innings.

He did occasionally get into some trouble, as he walked 3 batters. But hitters looked uncomfortable against him all game, and the contact was weak. He only gave up 2 hits, both of which were singles and, honestly, with a Major League defense behind him, his box score probably would have looked even nicer.

Harrison is still getting back up to speed after offseason shoulder rehab and a severe illness in camp. He’s slowly working his pitch count back up ... he got to 69 pitches on Friday (45 of which were strikes), and was still sitting 94-95 in his final inning. It will be very interesting to see what the team does with him when he’s fully caught up ... especially if he’s pitching like this.

Unfortunately, another pitcher on the 40-man roster who is clamoring for MLB time did not have the same results. RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 15 CPL) was set to be the piggybacking starter, but only made it through 1 inning of work, ceding 4 hits, 2 walks, 4 runs, and 3 earned runs, while striking out a pair. He has a dazzling array of pitches, but it wasn’t fooling anyone on Friday.

Meanwhile, LHP Helcris Olivárez continues to impress, and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

It certainly wasn’t the most exciting offensive game but, for the second day in a row, second baseman Brett Wisely had a nice outing, hitting 1-4 with a strikeout, a walk, and his first home run of the season.

wisely gets us on the board with a 2-run blast pic.twitter.com/6cTkZ2Aozm

— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) April 5, 2025​

The lefty is up to an .880 OPS and a 142 wRC+ after the first week of games, and continues to make a run for taking one of the Giants backup infield spots from Casey Schmitt or Christian Koss.

Right fielder Hunter Bishop (No. 34 CPL) has also had a slow start, but had a big hit on Friday, smashing a home run for his only hit of the day. It was a truly impressive swing for Bishop, who had a smooth and casual swing that resulted in the ball nearly clearing the large grassy expanse beyond the right field wall.

bishop's first home run of the year makes it 3-0! pic.twitter.com/9pnJdqdYRo

— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) April 5, 2025​

Center fielder Grant McCray and designated hitter Marco Luciano continued their slow starts to the year, with each hitting 1-4 with a walk. McCray struck out once and Luciano twice, though the latter continues to be clutch.

Luciano's base knock brings McCray home, and we're all tied up at 4! pic.twitter.com/ti2vEQaZcA

— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) April 5, 2025​

AA Richmond (0-1)​

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 7-4
Box score

Not a lot going for the Squirrels in their season debut, on either side of the ball. They managed to score 4 runs despite having just 6 hits and no extra-base hits, so ... I guess that’s impressive, in a kind of negative way.

Center fielder Carter Howell had a nice game, hitting 1-2 with 2 walks, a hit by pitch, and a stolen base (though he was also caught stealing and struck out). Howell is probably a little disappointed to have drawn an opening assignment with Richmond, after spending all of 2024 there, and finishing with a .738 OPS, a 113 wRC+, and a sub-20% strikeout rate. He could be the next man up if someone in Sacramento is injured, or gets promoted to the Majors.

Designated hitter Jairo Pomares (No. 41 CPL) also had a nice game, hitting 2-3 with a walk. This is a pretty critical year for the lefty, who was once one of the top hitting prospects in the system, but has fallen on struggles with both health and performance.

On the mound, LHP John Michael Bertrand drew the opening assignment, but unfortunately it didn’t go well. He was pulled after 3.1 innings, after allowing 2 hits, 3 walks, and a hit batter, which tagged him for 3 earned runs. He struck out just 1 batter. AA has proven to be a bit of a challenge for the control pitcher, who is back for a third assignment at the level following a midseason promotion in 2023.

RHP Will Bednar (No. 42 CPL) had a performance straight out of his 2024 playbook. He showed some electric stuff and struck out the side in his inning of relief work. But he also allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs. That’s been the story for the 2021 1st-round pick lately ... last year, across 3 levels, Bednar struck out 12.7 batters per 9 innings ... but walked 7.8 and had a 6.00 ERA.

RHP Nick Garcia, a Minor League Rule 5 selection before last season, retired all 4 batters he faced. That’s what he did last year, when he dominated AA but mightily struggled in a brief AAA stint.

High-A Eugene (1-0)​

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (Diamondbacks) 8-4
Box score

Eugene started the year with a win, and it was all about the heart of the order, with the teams 3-5 hitters doing all sorts of damage.

That trio began with right fielder James Tibbs III (No. 3 CPL), who had a highly encouraging season debut. It’s easy to overreact to Tibbs’ struggles following a promotion to Eugene shortly after being drafted in the 1st round in July. He hit just 9-67 with 25 strikeouts for the Emeralds last year, and started his tenure with the team by going 1-41.

This time around? So much smoother. Tibbs reached base all 5 times that he came to the plate on Friday, knocking a pair of singles and drawing a trio of walks. Delightful!

Batting cleanup was third baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43 CPL), who opened eyes last year. He kept those eyes open on Friday, hitting 2-3 with 2 walks, a strikeout, and a caught stealing.

And rounding out the trio was left fielder Jonah Cox (No. 26 CPL). Cox is mostly known for his defense and base-stealing, but on Friday it was all about the offense: he hit 3-5, and all 3 of his hits were doubles.

How important was that trio? Tibbs, Szykowny, and Cox combined for 7 of the team’s 11 hits, all 3 of their extra-base hits, 5 of their 8 walks, 6 of their 8 RBIs, and 4 of their 8 runs scored. And that’s how they won!

Not much of note on the pitching front. RHP Josh Bostick (No. 27 CPL) didn’t have the best start, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 runs, and 2 earned runs in 3.1 innings, though he struck out 4. So far in his career, Bostick hasn’t quite been able to get the results to line up with the stuff, and that’s how his 2024 started.

RHP Tyler Vogel had a delightful outing in relief, though, pitching 2.2 scoreless and hitless innings, while walking 2 and striking out 4. Vogel lost a chunk of 2024 due to injury, so hopefully he can stay on the field this year, and we can see the talent that the 2022 12th-round pick has to offer.

Low-A San Jose (0-1)​

San Jose Giants lost to the Modesto Nuts (Mariners) 6-3
Box score

Ahhh, A-ball. And season-opening A-ball, at that. It sure is lovely, but it sure is flawed. The baby Giants committed 5 errors on the day, and that’s the A-ball experience.

All the offense came on one swing of the bat, as catcher Drew Cavanaugh — who finished the day 1-3 with a walk — blasted a 3-run home run in the 5th inning to start and end the scoring for San Jose. Like in Eugene, it was a trio of batters who got the job done, though unlike the Emeralds, the Giants did it at the back of the order: No. 6 hitter, third baseman Robert Hipwell (No. 25 CPL) went 0-2 but drew 2 walks with a strikeout, while the No. 7 hitter, right fielder Jose Ortiz (No. 22 CPL) went 2-4 with a strikeout, and Cavanaugh hit 8th.

The other 6 batters? They combined to go 1-22 with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts.

On the mound was LHP Jacob Bresnahan (No. 31 CPL), a 19-year old who has the ability to really open some eyes this season. He was pretty strong, though sequencing and poor defense made his ERA not reflect that. In 4 innings he gave up just 5 baserunners (3 singles, 1 double, and 1 walk), while striking out 5, but he got tagged for 3 earned runs. He was fairly decently stretched out for the first start of the year, throwing 67 pitches (42 of which were strikes).

He was followed by a pair of players who made their professional debuts, RHPs Drake George and Ryan Slater. That pair shares more than just a team and having two first names, as each was a late draft pick by the Giants in 2024.

George, taken in the 13th round out of Lewis-Clark State (not to be confused with the Pacific Northwest liberal arts school Lewis and Clark), piggybacked with Bresnahan and pitched very well, giving up just 3 baserunners (2 hits and a walk) in 3 innings, while striking out 3. Poor defense behind him (and in him, for that matter, as he committed an error) tagged him for 3 unearned runs and the loss, though his ERA remained unblemished.

Slater (no relation to Austin), an 18th-round pick out of Florida, had a perfect debut, retiring all 3 batters he faced with 1 strikeout.

The only note of concern for San Jose is that RHP Gerelmi Maldonado (No. 36 CPL), who missed all of last year while recovering from Tommy John surgery, was initially listed as the scheduled starter, but did not pitch. Hopefully that’s nothing.

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Home run tracker​

AAA Brett Wisely (1)
AAA Hunter Bishop (1)
Low-A Drew Cavanaugh (1)

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Saturday schedule​

Sacramento: @ Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m. PT (SP: Carson Whisenhunt)
Richmond: vs. Akron, 3:05 p.m. PT (SP: Manuel Mercedes)
Eugene: @ Hillsboro, 4:05 p.m. PT (SP: Cesar Perdomo)
San Jose: @ Modesto, 6:40 p.m. PT (SP: Greg Farone)

Source: https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2...eball-kyle-harrison-hunter-bishop-james-tibbs

 

[San Francisco Giants]

Sunday BP: What was your favorite play of the week?

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

Another week has gone by, so it’s time to see what Giants fans think was the play of the week.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants will be wrapping up their first home series of the year today against the Seattle Mariners. Which means they will also be wrapping up their first full week of baseball, and that means it’s time for another look back on the week that was and discussing our favorite moments.

Personally, nothing made me happier this week than Wilmer Flore’s three-run home run in Monday night’s game against the Houston Astros. Patrick Bailey and Jung Hoo Lee set things up by both getting walked to put two runners on for Flores. While the Giants already had a 2-0 lead going into that sixth inning, Flores’ three RBI made the winning difference, as the Astros would come back to score two runs in the eighth.

It was also his second three-run home run of the season. In just four games. Not too shabby.

What was your favorite play of the week?​

Source: https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2...25-san-francisco-giants-highlights-best-plays

 

[San Francisco Giants]

Walk-off — but Wilmer this time!

Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Sweep x2

The biggest miss of the afternoon goes to Christian Koss.

It didn’t come with a bat in his hand, or a glove either — but with a Powerade cooler. As his teammates mobbed Wilmer Flores after his pinch-hit walk-off single, Koss, dutifully in his back-up infielder role, took up the celebratory fount, jogged the jug out onto the field, and looked for the man he aimed to anoint in the knot of bodies.

But this wasn’t Flores’s first rodeo. He spotted Koss right as the rookie launched the contents of the cooler. Flo dodged the flow, drenching Willy Adames instead.

Here’s a screen grab gallery of how it went down.

Hey, Wilmer or Willy, both had walk-offs in this series sweep — close enough. And Heliot Ramos, like an old pro, got the right guy in the end.

WALK-OFF WILMER. IS ANYONE SURPRISED?

— Giants on NBC Sports Bay Area (@nbcsgiants.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T23:16:19.011Z

Only one pitch needed to punch in Flo’s 12th run of the year and seal the eighth consecutive victory for these San Francisco Giants, and much like Adames’s winner on Friday, or Heliot Ramos’s RBI single, or Mike Yastrzemski’s 3-run homer in the 4th, the hit went to the opposite field.

Mike Yastrzemski’s first homer of the season floated San Francisco in this one. Not much was happening with San Francisco offensively against Bryan Woo before it, and not much happened after it either.

Woo, an Alameda native, who loves throwing fastballs even more than Hicks does, had few issues until the 4th. His elevated four-seam and sinker gave Matt Chapman fits all afternoon. If there was contact, it was weak. The only hit San Francisco could muster was a Jung Hoo Lee specialty, an opposite field double that left his bat at the max speed of my 2001 Volkswagen EuroVan.

The only success the Giants were going to find against Woo’s heater would be to try and see it deep and push it to the opposite field. Ramos, who has now hit safely in the first nine games of this season, did exactly that to plate San Francisco’s first run and cut Seattle’s lead in half.

On the very next pitch, they had a lead.

Knowing he’d get a fastball, knowing he was going to get it in the zone (because Woo rarely starts at-bats with pitches off the plate) and knowing what he needed to do, Yaz delivered, for us, and also for his daughter, who he promised he’d hit one out for her before the game.

In a way, we are all Yaz’s daughters…

WITH ONE SWING OF YAZ'S BAT, GIANTS LEAD

— Giants on NBC Sports Bay Area (@nbcsgiants.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T21:11:17.392Z

In his debut start, Hicks spent the evening in a delightful repartee with the Big Blue Behind The Plate. The right hander would throw a fastball and Big Blue would call it a strike. Big Blue waved his magic arms and the corners became an open field for diving sweepers and back-door sinkers to frolic. When the umpire is your friend, I imagine there’s no better place to be than the pitcher’s mound.

Four pitches on Sunday was all it took for Jordan Hicks to learn that home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn was not his friend, not even close.

A couple of batters into the 1st, Hicks embarked on a meditative retreat down the back of the mound, huffing and puffing through his intentional breathing exercises, desperate to calm down.

Two sinkers painted on the outside corner to Julio Rodríguez — strikes 2 and 3 in the eyes of many, most notably the ABS system — had been spurned by Reyburn. Ticked off, Hicks threw a flat, elevated, angry-dumb sweeper to Rodríguez that he deposited into the left field seats. Another elegant sinker on the inside to Cal Raleigh was again ignored and again, the less compelling follow-up was doubled.

The “injustice” of a missed call might feel idiosyncratic, as if in the 125 history of the modern game your inside fastball was the first inside fastball deemed a ball, but as we all now, this happens all the time. This fact of life drives some people crazy — I kind of think it’s the point. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: home plate umpires are philistines. Their caveman sensibilities are the ultimate obstacle, the one all artists must face and respond to. This is what baseball is really about: reaction, response. Mike Krukow preached this truth from his broadcast booth in those early innings. Yes, Jordan Hicks, your 97 MPH late-breaking sinker is often misunderstood — so what are you going to do about it?

Well, Hicks compromised... and things worked out! He stayed true to his mix (67% sink, 24% sweep), maintained velocity (97.5 MPH avg.), and gave in a little to the heart of the plate. The sinker was put in play more, but that often just means we get more plays like this!

Adames robs Rodriguez again

— Giants on NBC Sports Bay Area (@nbcsgiants.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T22:14:42.146Z

9 of the 11 outs recorded on balls-in-play were on the ground. The two homers allowed — one to Rodríguez, the other to Raleigh in the 3rd — came with no one on base.

An outing not unlike Ray’s in tone on Saturday. Some underlying individual frustrations will nag him in the morning. Hicks wasn’t his sharpest, he definitely felt a little clipped in the wing thanks to the zone — but at the end of the day, he pitched into the 6th, and when the book closed on him, the Giants had the lead.

A lead preserved through Randy Rodriguez’s mopping-up of the 6th (though he did allow a hit and an inherited runner to score), Tyler Rogers’s breezy handling of the top of the order, Erik Miller’s nail-biter 8th, until Camilo Doval’s 2-2 slider to Randy Arozarena in the top of the 9th.

The game-tying double was Arozarena’s first hit of the series, and it felt inevitable. Good hitters always get their dues, also... Doval, man. Just doing that thing he often does, getting himself into bad counts which often produce bad situations. His downfall is his transparency. The first two pitches it was incredibly clear to everyone in the ballpark that he didn’t have a feel for his cutter. Back in the good ol’ days falling back on just the sinker and slider was more than enough, but Camilo has been far from tranquilo for some time now. He needs all the space and time he can get, yet he so often works himself into a cramped corner with no room for error.

To his credit, he did get two early groundouts. The problem became the Victor Robles single sandwiched between them. Robles advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and stole third easily. With the tying run a wild pitch or passed ball away, Doval had to revert back to the offering he felt most comfortable with. The slider wasn’t necessarily a bad one in terms of location, it was just the fourth of the at-bat. That many sliders in a row is a triggering experience for all of us, and honestly, Doval might feel similarly about pitching in the 9th. Bob Melvin shelved Ryan Walker for this one since he pitched in the last two games. If Doval turns in more outings like this one though, resting Walker will be a luxury San Francisco can’t afford.

Mariners outfielder Victor Robles was helped off the field and taken away in a cart after this scary collision

— Giants on NBC Sports Bay Area (@nbcsgiants.bsky.social) 2025-04-06T22:49:22.627Z

On a final note: Victor Robles made one of the better defensive plays I’ve seen in the 9th. He made the catch before leaping into the side-netting where it looks like his shoulder may have popped out. I’m not sure, but he fell back onto the field of play and for a moment it looked to me like he was about to pass out from the pain. A long injury delay that ended up being a weird prelude to the Powerade bath that followed immediately after.

Source: https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2...f-wilmer-flores-mike-yastrzemski-jordan-hicks