by
Greek Giant
Those of you old enough to remember what Major League Baseball was like in the 1970s and 1980s will recall that opposite field home runs by any hitter were a thing as rare as a no-hitter. They simply did not happen often at all. I remember Dale Murphy hitting a few in Atlanta, but not many others. Last night the Giants were victimized by three opposite field home runs by the Reds in the first two innings. Two of those were hit by Sal Stewart, an emerging superstar for the Reds, and each was a three-run dinger. The other was hit by Eugenio Suarez, a solo homer. The three together amounted to seven runs and put the Giants in a 7-2 hole after two innings. It is interesting (at least to me) to note that neither of those three homers would be gone at Willie Mays Field.
The result: an 8-3 Reds win over the Giants.
Home Field Advantage extraordinaire for the Reds. That’s Major League Baseball today: hitters with sensational power to all fields, pitchers throwing harder and allowing more long home runs and perhaps, baseballs being a bit more poppy in their construction designed to travel farther. For you young fans, those opposite field homer runs represent one major sign of the evolution of hitting and the evolution of the game. It was not always that way.
As it turns out, it would not have mattered had those Reds homers been doubles, the Giants would still have lost. Tyler Mahle eight runs in his four innings of starting pitching. The key stat for hime was five walks allowed, three of which scored. He also allowed eight hits, for a grand total of 13 base runners in four innings, an absurd amount. The former Red was struggling with his control and fooling very few Reds on this night.
Mahle’s counterpart, Rhett Lowder (my vote for Most Valuable Baseball Name in 2026) was pretty sensational against a slump-ridden, weak-hitting Giants team that saw their Manager shake up the lineup in an effort to get more runs home. Lowder mixed curves and sliders very well and managed enough juice on his fastball to keep the Giants hitters at bay, except for Daniel Susac! Lowder would give up five hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings of work. Technically he gave up a third run but that’s because his bullpen failed him. Reds Manager Terry Francona made a rash, and the wrong decision to yank his starter after 89 pitches in the top of the seventh inning after allowing two singles and a line out to Lee at center that put runners on first and third. I would have kept him in.
The story of this game for the Giants may well be that Daniel Susac was playing in favor of the SLUMPING Patrick Bailey. Once again Susac delivered, hitting a two-run double in the top of the second inning and a single in the top of the seventh. The kid looks very hitterish, as Hunter Pence likes to say. Kudos to Giants Manager Tony Vitello for letting him play. Unfortunately Susac’s hitting still was not enough for the Giants on this night who were out-homered, out-pitched and out-played entirely, to lose their fourth consecutive game and fall to 6-12 on the young season.
It’s easy to get disillusioned and to panic after 18 games even though Major League Baseball teaches us it is a long season with ups and downs but I simply do not see many ups in the future of this 2026 Giants squad. Their starting pitching depth is simply not there. Too many hitters have holes in their swings. The Giants outfield is one Giant black hole offensively. This could be a long year.
For those of you who want to watch exciting and solid baseball and forgot what that looks like I invite you to watch last night’s Padres-Mariners game, in particular the heroics of Jackson Merrill.
Today’s Game
The finale of the series in Cincinnati takes place today at 9:40 PM with Landen Roupp (2-1, 3.24 ERA) VS Chase Burns (1-1, 3.31 ERA).
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