Giants return to earth after torturous series against Yankees originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – After taking two of three games from MLB’s top Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park, the injury-plagued Giants were in perfect position to face the New York Yankees for 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 swung sideways from the start.
San Francisco’s three best starting pitchers – Jordan Hicks, Logan Webb and Blake Snell – scored in that order. Hicks and Webb received L and Snell is probably headed to the 15-day disabled list after dealing with yet another issue in his left adductor and groin area.
Snell was on pace to complete his best and longest start as a Giant before being thrown out in the middle of an at-bat during the top of the fifth inning. He Same injury earlier this season. It caused Snell to miss more than a month and 25 games total. An MRI is scheduled to be performed on Monday to find out the severity of his injury.
The 2023 National League Cy Young winner said the injury felt the same as the last time he had to deal 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 very well. Even in that situation I felt very good. … Overall I felt good, I felt confident. Things are there, everything is coming together. I had a lot of confidence in it, even Soto’s home run. I missed half of it, but I learned from it.
“So it’s definitely a bummer, frustrating. But we have to look ahead to what’s coming, attack it, 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 in orange and black had to be 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 went to the outfield Saturday night and Soto joined the party Sunday, throwing a 97 mph fastball in the zone that traveled 430 feet to clear the brick wall at Triples Alley.
But Snell adapted after that. The Yankees managed just two hits over the next three innings against Snell and struck out three before the left-hander ran into trouble in the fifth. The Giants’ bats, led by Heliot Ramos, 24, and Casey Schmitt, 25, woke up after apparently taking two days off. The 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 in front of a packed 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 allowed four hits in a single appearance.
“I guess I would say there is 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 will 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 up the middle from Doval for his second home run. of the day. The 25-year-old went 6-for-12 in the series with two home runs, a triple and four RBIs.
Judge, the 2022 American League MVP known for choosing the Yankees over the Giants and San Diego Padres two offseasons ago, followed Soto with a walk on six pitches and proceeded to steal second base and He advanced to third on a wild throw into the outfield by catcher Curt Casali. . He had two hits in the three games, going 6-for-10 with three home runs, six RBIs, five runs scored, three walks and two stolen bases.
Stanton, who used his no-trade clause in 2017 to reject a trade from the Miami Marlins to the Giants, then hit a ground-rules double at 112.6 mph off the bat for the 1,500th hit of his career to give the Yankees a 7-5. lead forever. The 2017 National League MVP played in two of three games against the Giants and went 3-for-7 out of town with a home run, a double and three RBIs.
“That’s just some great 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 for the season due to a shoulder injury he suffered when he collided with the center field wall. Matt Chapman has been strong lately, but he currently has a career-low .709 OPS. Jorge Soler had his second three-hit game as a Giant, but he still only has 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 brief exit on Sunday.
“It’s still tough because we’re not looking at a full roster right now,” Giants manager 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 younger guys that have come up have done well, especially in the big spots.”
There were a handful of positives the Giants were able to take home to the team plane on Sunday. It’s hard to argue with Melvin’s collapse right now with all the obstacles they’ve faced. Let’s be real too: Watching the Yankees’ big players put on 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 mentality needs to be moving forward.
