Giants Struggle in Disappointing Game Against Marlins
MIAMI — The Giants are facing quite a bit of competition for what might be their most chaotic baseball performance yet, particularly given their rocky start to the season.
And a new contender might just be emerging.
While the scoreboard showed a 6-3 win for the Marlins on Saturday, the Giants actually recorded 10 hits—five of them being extra-base hits—against Miami’s six. Seems good, right? But the reality is a bit more complicated.
You have to look at the details: there was a startling third bases-loaded walk of the inning. The Giants’ starting pitcher saw three batters get hits within just three innings, and even the relief pitcher gave up one. Errors were popping up both in the field and on the bases.
Manager Tony Vitello summed it up succinctly: “It’s harder to play defense and swing the bat if you don’t attack the strike zone. It just throws everything off. … If you give up that many free bases—whether it’s walks or hit-by-pitch—or whatever, you’re not going to win very many games.”
To add insult to injury, the Giants were in trouble before they even finished their fifth at-bat.
“Overall, it’s really disappointing,” lamented starting pitcher Trevor McDonald, who, well, had a tough outing with three walks, three hits, and five runs (three earned) in a short one-inning appearance.
Not to mention the lackluster at-bats, like when Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers were simply frozen by strike-threes or the soft ground balls that Devers didn’t rush to get to.
Drew Gilbert managed to hit a single to score the go-ahead run, but then almost immediately negated a stolen base in a confusing play. Vitello mentioned that they had planned a safety squeeze, which Eric Haas didn’t execute properly after missing a second strike.
Essentially, the same unfortunate scenarios repeat, leaving the Giants 14 games below .500 after this loss.
But perhaps most shockingly, the Giants hit a new low; they had never committed four errors in a game during Vitello’s time in San Francisco, and they struck out four opposing players in the process.
What Went Wrong
On the bright side, Casey Schmidt shone as a rare positive for the Giants during this game.
“I’m just trying to hit a line drive,” Schmidt noted, as he reflected on his efforts after not hitting a home run for 11 games—the longest streak of the season. “I’m just calm and relaxed in the box. That’s always important to me.” His perseverance paid off as he hit his team-leading 16th home run but had to settle for an odd double that set up Gilbert’s RBI beforehand.
Center fielder Jacob Marzee nearly stole Schmidt’s home run; the ball hit the wall and bounced back to him. Due to the confusion, Lee Jung-hoo, who had led off with a double, stayed at third base but soon scored on Gilbert’s single.
“He nearly made a fantastic catch,” Schmidt said. “But when you look at the replay, you can see the ball hit his glove and then bounced out.”
The Giants briefly took the lead and Schmidt’s home run tied it at two points in the fourth inning. But disaster struck; McDonald couldn’t register an out, while Matt Gage hit a batter, issued a walk, and then allowed a home run. JT Brubaker had to step in to manage the inning.
“The fourth was basically a mismanagement on everyone’s part,” Vitello commented. “It turned into a big inning and a game-breaker.” He explained how McDonald had initial success, but they couldn’t maintain it.
McDonald was among the culprits for the Giants’ four errors, though he felt let down by the defense around him.
“When I walked three batters—yeah, that doesn’t help,” McDonald admitted.
One crucial error came when Devers mishandled a grounder from the second batter, leading to the Marlins’ first run. Devers later had a chance to redeem himself with the bases loaded, but McDonald just missed the bag while trying to make a play—leading to another unearned run.
“I focused too much on the ball from Raffi instead of getting to the bag,” McDonald confessed.
Catcher Eric Haas also made his share of mistakes, allowing another runner to reach due to interference and failing to catch at least three stolen base attempts, with some throws going well into the outfield.
“When there are multiple instances of poor execution, it starts to look sloppy,” Vitello added.
Looking Ahead
The Giants, who recently recorded a doubleheader sweep against the formidable Braves, now find themselves back where they started, having lost two straight to the Marlins.
Who’s Performing Well?
Drew Gilbert had a decent game despite some hiccups in his stealing attempts, contributing two hits, including a double, and achieving a season-high in RBIs. His batting average stands at .196, but this is just his fourth multi-hit game since late April. He even made a highlight-reel catch in center field, adding to his growing confidence.
Vitello noted how Gilbert seems to be settling in, “I think he’s realizing that he belongs and can do good for us.”
Who’s Struggling?
Adrian Hauser has stepped into the bullpen before Tyler Mahle’s return, but McDonald struggled to find the strike zone, raising concerns about his pitching consistency.
McDonald has been faltering since his impressive outing on May 16, where he recorded a win and lowered his ERA to 2.37. Following that, his performance has dropped, with five losses and a 6.75 ERA.
He has walked three batters in each of his last four outings. McDonald recognized that something felt “off” about his mindset during Saturday’s game, admitting that pitching coach Justin Mecage only pointed it out much later.
Next Game
Logan Webb is set to pitch against Ryan Gast in the series finale on Sunday at 10:40 a.m. Pacific Time. Webb has looked more like his usual self since returning from injury, having pitched 25 innings and allowed just one earned run over his last three starts.
