When Joe Musgrove finished off the Giants in the top of the third inning he had recorded ten straight outs with six being strike outs. He had not given up a hit and he looked dominant, like NO-HITTER dominant.
He would not make it out of the fourth inning.
Baseball is a funny game. The Giants put up six runs in the top of the fourth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Matt Chapman after Heliot Ramos’s fly ball fell in for a double when Fernando Tatis Jr. lost it in the sun. Ramos would wind up on second when he presumably could have made it to third if he were running harder out of the box. Bob Melvin addressed it after the game and in his press conference. Evidently Ramos was apologetic.
Then the Giants had two more hits then a three-run bomb from Jerar Encarnacion off a Musgrove curveball. Suddenly it was 5-zip Giants and they were not finished. Luis Matos then hit a solo homer to make it 6-0 and Musgrove was sent to the showers by his Manager. Encarnacion’s homer went deep into the second deck. The slugger has some serious power and is kind of that textbook power-hitting first baseman the Giants have been lacking since Brandon Belt retired, no disrespect to LaMonte Wade Jr. Encarnacion went 1-4 on the day but that one hit was a big one and it shows you the importance of the long ball in today’s game.
The Padres scratched a run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-1. Then Curt Casali got that run back with a solo homer. If you are keeping score at home that makes four homers for the Giants against Musgrove and company. The Casali shot came off a fastball in the top of the sixth inning. But the Padres would plate three in the bottom of the seventh and two in the bottom of the eighth to scare the living daylights out of Giants fans. The Giants bullpen held firm in the ninth inning with Ryan Walker recording a save after pitching 1 2/3 innings.
Spencer Bivens started for the Giants and pitched four shutout innings, looking very good in the process. Taylor Rogers and Camilo Doval were roughed up a bit in their appearances but the Giants held on for a series win over a hot Padres team in San Diego. It was a very interesting game with many twists and turns along the way. The Giants played great defense, particularly with good plays by Matt Chapman and Marco Lucian, at third and second, respectively. That is, until Luciano and Fitzgerald dropped a routine fly ball in the bottom of the seventh inning. Fitz wandered into second base and got into Luciano’s way. It was a misplay by the rookie and cost the Giants two runs. Evidently the two players had words in the dugout afterwards and Bob Melvin had to separate them. Fitz would end up owning the error.
“It wasn’t my ball. It’s my mistake. Hopefully going forward we’ll just scream as loud as we can.”
-Tyler Fitzgerald
C’est la vie.
This was a great win by the young players and it showed both their potential and their inexperience. The Giants stitched together a win with a bullpen game because “The best starting rotation in baseball” is gassed.
Erik Miller earned the win to go 4-5 for the season. Walker earned his seventh save. Camilo Doval is in a serious funk and needs a Witch Doctor.
The Giants are now 71-73 in their season-long fight to .500.
The Highlights
﹟1️⃣ for Curt Casali pic.twitter.com/z4PXqFHoxE
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 8, 2024
Luis Matos 🤯 pic.twitter.com/WFWFQ4heda
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 8, 2024
Boom, boom, ka-boom boom 💥 pic.twitter.com/cbTavhtJoG
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 8, 2024
Boom 💥 pic.twitter.com/Fd5WpFTUSc
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 8, 2024
