BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES — There are few things better for a lineup than striking gold right away. You give your pitcher a nice early lead, you put the other starter in a hole, you get the other bullpen going right away, etc. etc. It’s what teams talk about every day when they have their hitters’ meetings. Be aggressive and get a big early lead. It’s the dream.
Unless you’re the San Francisco Giants.
For the third time in eight games, the lineup scored four runs in the first inning. The Giants have somehow lost all three games.
This time, it was Bryce Eldridge who came up big. The organization’s top prospect in a decade cleared the bases with a three-run double in the top of the first and picked up his first MLB hit. But the Giants let Tyler Glasnow off the hook in the 43-pitch inning, and by the time the offense got back on the board, they trailed.
Since moving into a tie for a Wild Card spot, the Giants have dropped seven of eight. They’re 1-4 on this road trip and will attempt to avoid a four-game sweep on Sunday behind rookie Trevor McDonald. They can’t be eliminated on the final day of an awful trip, but that could come as soon as Monday.
First Of Many
Eldridge scorched a couple of balls in Phoenix and hit a liner to right on Thursday night, but he still was looking for a batting average when he walked to the plate with the bases loaded in the first inning.
On a 2-1 count, he extended his arms and smoked a fastball the other way and off the base of the wall in left. It was the third ball that Eldridge has hit this week that would have been a homer in at least a half-dozen big league parks but the one he was playing in. He later struck out, grounded out to second and drew a walk.
Bryce Eldridge’s first MLB hit 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wLprJqHUER
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 21, 2025
The Roller Coaster
It’s hard to know what to make of Kai-Wei Teng’s audition for a big league job. The right-hander entered the night with a 6.41 ERA, but he has been elite when it comes to hard-hit percentage, expected statistics and strikeout rate. Saturday’s start at Dodger Stadium was another head scratcher.
Teng allowed just one hit and struck out six. He was also so wild, particularly in the third inning, that manager Bob Melvin pulled him after 74 pitches. In the third, Teng struck out Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, walked Mookie Betts, and hit Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernandez. On his final pitch of the night, he got a popup from Tommy Edman, leaving the bases loaded.
Teng left his eighth appearance of the year with a 6.37 ERA but also a 3.82 FIP. In 29 2/3 innings, he has 39 strikeouts but also 17 walks and seven hit batters. There seems to be a good big leaguer in there somewhere if the Giants can just figure out why some of the misses are so big.
The Shohei Problem
About 21 months ago, the Giants hosted Ohtani at Oracle Park and agreed to his ask of a heavily-deferred $700 million contract. He instead chose the Dodgers, and he has spent the last two seasons absolutely demolishing the team that hoped to build a future around him.
Ohtani went deep in the sixth, giving the Dodgers a fourth homer and extending their lead. It was his sixth homer against the Giants this season and 10th in 25 rivalry games since signing with the Dodgers.
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