Rodríguez dominates early as Seymour struggles; Devers stays hot but San Francisco drops closer in Wild Card race
The Giants entered Wednesday afternoon looking to sweep the Diamondbacks and gain more ground in the Wild Card chase. Instead, Eduardo Rodríguez silenced San Francisco’s bats for most of the game, and early struggles from Carson Seymour left the Giants playing catch-up in a 5–3 loss at Oracle Park.
The afternoon began poorly for San Francisco when Geraldo Perdomo launched a 380-foot leadoff homer into the right-field seats. Seymour faltered again in the second inning, as Blaze Alexander and Alek Thomas singled to start the frame before Tim Tawa lined an RBI hit to left. A sacrifice bunt and Perdomo’s second RBI of the day stretched the lead to 3–0, and Ketel Marte added a sacrifice fly to make it 4–0.
Seymour exited after just 1.1 innings, charged with six hits and three runs. Spencer Bivens entered in relief and provided a much-needed escape, stranding the bases loaded.
Meanwhile, Rodríguez was firmly in control. The veteran lefty held the Giants hitless through four innings, mixing his fastball and changeup to keep hitters off balance. San Francisco finally broke up the no-hit bid in the fifth when Casey Schmitt lined a single to left, but the Giants couldn’t mount any further threat. Rodríguez carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh before showing signs of fatigue. He finished with 6.1 innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six in one of his sharpest outings of the season.
Arizona padded its lead in the sixth with an RBI double by Jake McCarthy that chased home Tawa, pushing the margin to 5–0. The Giants finally showed life in the eighth. Patrick Bailey singled, Heliot Ramos followed with another hit, and Rafael Devers — continuing his torrid stretch — smashed a towering drive off the center-field wall for a two-run double, the longest of his career, cutting the deficit to 5–2. Prior to first pitch, Devers was hitting .333 with a 1.108 OPS, six homers, and 17 RBIs over his previous 15 games.
In the ninth, San Francisco mounted one last rally. Matt Chapman walked and Schmitt dribbled a double down the left-field line. With two outs, Jung Ho Lee grounded out to second, bringing home Chapman to make it 5–3. The tying run stood at third, but Luis Matos grounded out to short to seal the loss.
Despite the early deficit, the Giants’ bullpen delivered another steady performance. Bivens, Keaton Winn, JT Brubaker, and Jose Butto combined for 7.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs. Since August 5, San Francisco’s bullpen has posted a league-best 2.88 ERA — a key reason the team remains in the Wild Card race.
With the loss, the Giants fell to 74–72, still two games back of the Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot. Eyes in the Bay Area now turn to Philadelphia to root for the Phillies, and then to New York, hoping the Mets slip and surrender their edge in the race.
San Francisco now faces a grueling closing stretch: two series against the Dodgers (one at home and one on the road) for a total of seven games, three more in Arizona, then a final homestand with three against St. Louis and three against Colorado. Every game from here on out will matter.
The afternoon began poorly for San Francisco when Geraldo Perdomo launched a 380-foot leadoff homer into the right-field seats. Seymour faltered again in the second inning, as Blaze Alexander and Alek Thomas singled to start the frame before Tim Tawa lined an RBI hit to left. A sacrifice bunt and Perdomo’s second RBI of the day stretched the lead to 3–0, and Ketel Marte added a sacrifice fly to make it 4–0.
Seymour exited after just 1.1 innings, charged with six hits and three runs. Spencer Bivens entered in relief and provided a much-needed escape, stranding the bases loaded.
Meanwhile, Rodríguez was firmly in control. The veteran lefty held the Giants hitless through four innings, mixing his fastball and changeup to keep hitters off balance. San Francisco finally broke up the no-hit bid in the fifth when Casey Schmitt lined a single to left, but the Giants couldn’t mount any further threat. Rodríguez carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh before showing signs of fatigue. He finished with 6.1 innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six in one of his sharpest outings of the season.
Arizona padded its lead in the sixth with an RBI double by Jake McCarthy that chased home Tawa, pushing the margin to 5–0. The Giants finally showed life in the eighth. Patrick Bailey singled, Heliot Ramos followed with another hit, and Rafael Devers — continuing his torrid stretch — smashed a towering drive off the center-field wall for a two-run double, the longest of his career, cutting the deficit to 5–2. Prior to first pitch, Devers was hitting .333 with a 1.108 OPS, six homers, and 17 RBIs over his previous 15 games.
In the ninth, San Francisco mounted one last rally. Matt Chapman walked and Schmitt dribbled a double down the left-field line. With two outs, Jung Ho Lee grounded out to second, bringing home Chapman to make it 5–3. The tying run stood at third, but Luis Matos grounded out to short to seal the loss.
Despite the early deficit, the Giants’ bullpen delivered another steady performance. Bivens, Keaton Winn, JT Brubaker, and Jose Butto combined for 7.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs. Since August 5, San Francisco’s bullpen has posted a league-best 2.88 ERA — a key reason the team remains in the Wild Card race.
With the loss, the Giants fell to 74–72, still two games back of the Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot. Eyes in the Bay Area now turn to Philadelphia to root for the Phillies, and then to New York, hoping the Mets slip and surrender their edge in the race.
San Francisco now faces a grueling closing stretch: two series against the Dodgers (one at home and one on the road) for a total of seven games, three more in Arizona, then a final homestand with three against St. Louis and three against Colorado. Every game from here on out will matter.
