by
Greek Giant
It sounds like a parody of a Rolling Stones song but no, it actually was a ninth inning defensive breakdown that cost the Giants in last night’s 4-3 loss to the Royals. It’s doubly sad when you consider that the Giants heroically tied the game with two outs in the top of the ninth thanks to a Jung Hoo Lee single and a Willy Adames two-run homer to right field that stunned the Royals and gave the San Franciscans new life in a game they were trailing 3-1 at the time.
It turned out that Adames’ clutch blow was merely a prelude to a defensive breakdown in the bottom of the ninth inning. Royals third baseman Josh Rojas started the final frame with a single off Caleb Kilian before catcher Daniel Susac elected to go for the lead runner at second base when Tyler Tolbert laid down a bunt with nobody out and a runner on first.
The throw to second by Susac was late, and Adames wasn’t standing on the bag for the force play. That put two runners on with nobody out. That was disaster number one. It appeared Adames was not expecting the throw and he had a dumbfounded look on his face after he caught the ball.
This is the caption that should appear under a photo of the moment: “What are you doing throwing the baseball to me? What is this? Oh! That’s right, I play shortstop for the Giants and this is a force play!@@”
It turned out that Adames’ clutch blow was merely a temporary reprieve. Royals third baseman Josh Rojas started the final frame with a single off Caleb Kilian before catcher Daniel Susac elected to go for the lead runner when Tyler Tolbert laid down a bunt with nobody out and a runner on first.
Rojas moved to third on a deep fly to left-center by Carter Jensen before Loftin bunted toward first baseman Bryce Eldridge, who couldn’t field the ball cleanly as Rojas came home for the winning run. It appeared Eldridge did not bend down enough or rushed his play to the plate. It was disaster number two in the inning and it was the end of the game!
In the bottom of the second inning Trevor McDonald worked out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam thanks to a catch and throw to home by Drew Gilbert that nabbed a Royal trying to tag up on a shallow fly ball. These are not your 2015 Royals, ladies and gentlemen. In fact, they are one of the few teams with more losses than the Giants in 2026, with a record of 41-60. But on this night they were better than the Orange and Black.
The aforementioned Trevor McDonald pulled himself out of the game in the beginning of the bottom of the fifth inning for an injury. He had what was described as “elbow discomfort” and that does not sound good.
Tonight’s Game
Game two of the series in Kansas City against the Royals continues tonight at 7:40 PM Local Time with Tyler Mahle (2-8, 5.31 ERA) facing Luinder Avila (4-3, 5.08 ERA).
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