Brewers Dominate Giants in Heavy Loss

MILWAUKEE — The Giants initially seized control of the game with a strong opener featuring their best pitcher and an impressive 19 runs on 25 hits at Coors Field.

However, as tends to happen with San Francisco’s season, that lead quickly evaporated.

In the second inning, Landen Loup started to crumble after Matt Chapman belted a two-run homer that soared past Jackson Choriot’s outstretched glove. Things spiraled further as the Brewers racked up seven runs against Loup in that same inning, ultimately leading to a hefty 16-2 victory in the series opener.

The game took a turn for the worse, as position player Buddy Kennedy, who had just been called up, ended up pitching, while catcher Daniel Susak—having only two previous games as a first baseman in the minors—was forced into third base duty.

After a leadoff walk drawn by the Brewers’ left fielder, Loup managed to strike out Jake Bowers, mercifully bringing a nine-batter second inning to a close. Sal Frelick and Choriot both capitalized on the first fastballs they saw, while Chapman couldn’t quite connect on a bunt attempt from speedy No. 9 hitter David Hamilton. Loup then issued yet another walk to Christian Yelich.

The inning’s key moment came when Bryce Turan delivered a powerful hit, giving newcomer Jonah Cox a shot to display his defensive skills. Cox raced toward the ball, but it struck the wall in left-center field, allowing Turan to connect on a bases-loaded triple.

Turan later scored on a sacrifice fly from the next batter, marking the Brewers’ seventh run.

The Brewers continued to pile on runs, adding one more in the following inning and racking up eight by the time the game ended against the Giants’ bullpen, including Kennedy. At that point, it was clear the Giants were well out of contention.

What It Means

Whatever morale boost the Giants may have gained from their previous victory against the Rockies vanished by the end of the second inning.

Advancing in the game has been a struggle for the Giants, and maintaining a lead proves equally challenging.

This season, they’ve only held a lead in 48 of 60 games—the lowest in the league—and are among just five teams that have blown leads multiple times, now sitting at 23-25.

The bullpen has often faced criticism, but in this match, Loup was the main culprit. He had trouble finding the strike zone, suffering significantly when he did manage to throw strikes.

By the end of the fourth inning, Loup had thrown 96 pitches, with only half landing as strikes, marking new season highs in both walks (four) and earned runs (eight). His ERA jumped nearly a full run, moving from 3.30 to 4.22.

Who Is Hot

Lee continued his impressive form with 11 hits in 15 attempts over three games in Colorado—the most hits in a single series for the Giants since 2017.

His second hit stretched his hitting streak to nine games, and Chapman’s initial two runs helped the Giants momentarily take a 2-0 lead.

Bryce Eldridge, who had a rare chance to start in the field, executed a nice 3-for-6 double play, diving to snag Frelick’s hard hit, tagging first, and throwing accurately to second baseman Willie Adams.

Eldridge also smacked a double at 167.7 mph, the hardest hit of the game for the Giants (his sixth in four games on the road).

Who Is Not?

After finishing May with the fourth-worst ERA in the majors at 5.21, the Giants’ starting rotation didn’t kick off June on a strong note.

As a group, they have surrendered at least six runs in six of the last seven games, failing to contain the opposition in all but the initial three games of this road trip at Coors Field.

To the Next

Adding salt to the wound, as the Giants aim to recover, former top prospect Kyle Harrison will be up against them. Having blossomed into a National League Cy Young candidate after being traded to the Red Sox in exchange for Rafael Devers, he was traded once more to Milwaukee this offseason.

This time, the Giants will turn to veteran Trevor McDonald on the mound.