If you don’t quite know how to feel about the Giants chances of contention as the team flies home from Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon, you’re not alone. It’s complicated, to say the least. A week ago, the Giants essentially flashed the white flag from the trenches of a brutal stretch that buried them six games back of the third wild card after a winless homestand. It’s still prudent to be pessimistic, given that this team has shown time and time again that it will regress to the .500 mean even after some notable high highs.
But the natural yearn for hope has been fueled over the past week. The Giants took two of three from the Mets in New York, and just finished up a series win in Pittsburgh over the Pirates, one that should have been a sweep if not for a blown save on Monday night. You can’t blame the most passionate fans for pointing out a pulse.
After Monday night’s ninth inning meltdown that cost the Giants the series opener in Pittsburgh, more questions about Bob Melvin’s bullpen management surfaced. Some of those shortcomings were masked in the first half when the Giants bullpen was the best in the league. Natural regression, plus the subtraction of Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval, only intensifies the scrutiny on Melvin.
Markus Boucher outlined as much on the morning show Tuesday.
Christian Koss smashed a homer to spark an offensive onslaught on Tuesday night. H’es made the most of his time at the big league level this year, battling injury at times to remain with the club.
It was a hit parade in a much needed blowout win for San Francisco, licking its wounds from Monday night’s taxing loss. For the first time in 2025, every starter recorded a knock.
It continued Wednesday morning, on a smaller scale in volume but a grander scale in awe inspiring power. Jerar Encarnacion smashed a tape measure home run to get the Giants on the board. KNBR radio voice Joe Ritzo was in awe of the majestic blast as it flew out of PNC Park.
The Giants head home to San Francisco for three games against the Washington Nationals beginning Friday night. On paper, it’s a series the Giants should absolutely take and one they should think to sweep. But it’s been far from a sure thing against bad teams for these Giants. A laundry list of disappointing results against sub .500 teams has supplemented some great play against some of the league’s best in the first half. If the Giants are truly going to get back in the Wild Card race, they absolutely need to take care of business against lesser teams.
The Giants didn’t go full sell at the deadline. They subtracted key pieces, but kept others that will be vital for the remainder of 2025. It’s reasonable to discount them given the bullpen decimation, but we’ll know in short order whether they feel the same way.