Giants brought back to earth after torturous series against the Yankees originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – After winning two of three games from the MLB’s best Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park, the injury-plagued Giants were in perfect position to face the New York Yankees in three games.
Instead, a ninth inning implosion and another injury to their biggest offseason signing has the Giants hitting the road looking for answers to what just happened in a sweep that turned sideways from the start.
San Francisco’s three best starting pitchers – Jordan Hicks, Logan Webb and Blake Snell – hit the rubber in that order. Hicks and Webb received Ls, and Snell is probably going to the 15-day injured list after dealing with yet another issue with his left adductor and groin area.
Snell was on pace to complete his best and longest start as a Giant before being thrown out mid-strike during the top of the fifth inning. O same injury earlier this season caused Snell to miss over a month and 25 games in total. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday to find out the severity of his injury.
The 2023 NL Cy Young winner said the injury was the same as the last time he dealt with it, and he didn’t feel any other pain until a 97 mph fastball was his last pitch of the day.
“It’s frustrating,” Snell said. “I felt really good. Even in that situation I felt very good. … Overall I felt good, I felt confident. Things are there, everything is falling into place. I was very confident in that, even Soto’s home run. I lost the middle, but I learned from it.
“So it’s definitely a bummer, frustrating. But you have to look at what’s next, attack, improve and get back on the field.”
Snell struck out Anthony Volpe on five pitches to start the game, but on the fifth pitch he threw to the next batter, Juan Soto, every fan wearing orange and black must have been thinking, “Here we go again.”
Aaron Judge had already hit three home runs in his first two games against his childhood team, playing for the first time at Oracle Park. Giancarlo Stanto took to the yard on Saturday night, and Soto joined the party on Sunday – throwing a 97 mph fastball in the zone that traveled 430 feet to clear the brick wall at Triples Alley.
But Snell settled down after that. The Yankees managed just two hits over Snell’s next three innings, while striking out three before the lefty ran into some trouble in the fifth. The Giants’ bats, led by 24-year-old Heliot Ramos and 25-year-old Casey Schmitt, woke up after apparently taking two days off. Superstar power then showed up as the Giants tried to close the door on their All-Star closer, Camilo Doval.
With a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning, Doval collapsed before a sold-out crowd. By the time the flamethrower recorded two outs, the Yankees had already scored four runs on four hits and two walks. Sunday marked the first time Doval gave up four hits in a single appearance.
“I guess I would say there’s a first time for everything,” Doval said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “Today was not my day. I just have to accept it and move on.”
Soto, who is set to become a free agent this offseason and could very well have received a blank check from Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi in his locker, annihilated a 98 mph cutter over the middle of Doval for his second home run of the day. The 25-year-old was 6-for-12 in the series with two homers, a triple and four RBI.
Judge, the 2022 AL MVP known for choosing the Yankees over the Giants and San Diego Padres two seasons ago, followed Soto walking on six pitches and proceeded to steal second base and advanced to third on a wild throw to the outfield. by receiver Curt Casali. He had two hits in all three games, going 6-for-10 with three homers, six RBI, five runs scored, three walks and two stolen bases.
Stanton, who used his no-trade clause in 2017 to turn down a trade from the Miami Marlins to the Giants, then hit a 112.6 mph ground-rule double right off the bat for his 1,500th career hit, giving the Yankees a 7 -5 lead forever. The 2017 NL MVP played in two of three games against the Giants and left town 3-7 with a home run, ground-rule double and three RBI.
“These are just some big ABs in a comeback scenario,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The Giants are currently without Michael Conforto and LaMonte Wade Jr, among others. Jung Hoo Lee is out this season because of a shoulder injury he suffered when he crashed into the center field wall. Matt Chapman has been on a roll lately, but he currently has a career-low .709 OPS. Jorge Soler had his second three-hit game as a Giant, but still has just six home runs on the season and a .666 OPS. Snell has yet to pitch five innings for San Francisco and his ERA improved to 9.51 after his short start on Sunday.
“It’s still difficult because we’re not looking at a full roster at this point,” Giants coach Bob Melvin said when asked to assess where his team stands compared to the rest of the league. “I think the only thing we can take away is that some of the young guys that have come up have done well, especially in key positions.”
There were several positives the Giants could take with them on the team plane Sunday. It’s hard to argue with Melvin’s collapse at this point, with all the obstacles they’ve faced. Let’s also face facts: Watching the Yankees’ big boppers in a power display where weather was never a factor gave a clear idea of where the Giants are now and what the front office’s mindset is moving forward.
