by
Greek Giant
It was not a good weekend for the Giants. As if getting swept by the surging Padres at Willie Mays Field were not enough, Logan Webb had a bad outing and Rafael Devers saw his season end with a stint on the 60-Day Injured List. It turns out the hottest hitter in baseball was not even fully healthy! Imagine that!
Let’st get to yesterday’s 6-4 loss first. It was the sweeping loss and it saw the Padres jump out to a 5-0 lead over the Giants and Ace Logan Webb after two innings. The Giants made things interesting with a Knizner two-run homer in the bottom of the second and two single runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh but the Padres were the better team in this series. Fernando Tatis man-handled Giants pitching in this game going 3-4 with two runs driven in. For the Giants, Logan Webb would go five innings and allow eight runs on six hits. It was not a good start. Webb also walked a batter that would score.
Eldridge, Whitcomb and Koss each had two hits for the Giants. Bryce is now batting .269.
Rafael Devers Goes on IL
Devers has spent the better part of two months hitting like Bonds meets Babe Ruth while knowing he was headed for season-ending surgery due to issues with his core and his groin. He was diagnosed with a core muscle injury sometime in the mid-Summer. Devers, being the competitor and Iron Man he is, told the Giants staff that he did want surgery and wanted to continue to play. He and the Giants reached a compromise: Club officials agreed to let him play as long as he could for a team out of contention while still leaving ample time to oversee his post-surgical recovery before the season ends and he returns home to his native Dominican Republic. That decision was made yesterday so that Devers could be attended to by the Giants medical staff immediately and right after the season ends. It was a compromise and it is also a shame because Devers will end his 2026 campaign with 37 homers and 98 RBIs in what is one of the best hot streaks of any Giant ever.
Devers became the San Francisco Giants’ first left-handed hitter since Barry Bonds to swat 11 home runs in an 18-game span, making his hot streak an epic one. This was the most productive season by a Giants left-handed hitter since Barry Bonds won the last of his seven National League MVP awards in 2004. Devers hit .258/.340/.525 with 37 homers and an MLB-best 36 doubles while driving in 98 runs, as I mentioned He is also the first Giant with a 35-homer, 35-double season since Jeff Kent in 2002, and he was on the verge of the Giants’ first 100-RBI season since Buster Posey’s NL MVP season in 2012. It’s hard to believe but it tells you much about the Giants that they have not had a 100-RBI man in 14 years and counting. That may be the most indicative stat of the franchise that has not made the postseason since 2021 and not won a postseason series since 2014.
“I think it’s something that’s bothered him for a few years now and kind of something that was a mystery to him. I think [head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner] and our people did a great job of giving him relief. Pretty significant relief and a little bit of joy out of him to just have an answer to what it was that was popping up. I can’t even directly say medically what it was, but kind of a core injury. Not the same thing as Chappy, but similar. He’ll deal with the same doctor Chappy did, so to have relief, I think, is big on his plan.”
-Tony Vitello
Vitello said Devers — who started 148 of the Giants’ first 149 games this year and didn’t receive his first off-day until Wednesday — wanted to keep playing as long as possible, but the Giants felt now was a good time to shut him down to ensure he has enough time to recover and be ready for the 2027 season
Devers has been the rare left-handed hitter who hits well at Willie Mays Field. His 62 RBIs in 73 home games are the most by a Giant in San Francisco since 2001, when Bonds drove in 71 runs during a season in which he hit 73 home runs to break the single-season major-league record.
Devers compressed nearly all that production into a four-month span, getting off to an ice cold start!
Now, with the Devers injury, right fielder Jung Hoo Lee is now the only position player who started for the Giants on Opening Day and has not been traded or suffered a season-ending injury this season. Second baseman Luis Arraez, left fielder Heliot Ramos and catcher Patrick Bailey were dealt earlier this year, while shortstop Willy Adames (left elbow sprain), infielder Casey Schmitt (left knee surgery), center fielder Harrison Bader (left foot injury) and Chapman are currently on the IL.
It’s been quite a bad year for our Giants!
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