SAN FRANCISCO – In an ideal world for the Giants, there would be a smooth path to the MLB playoffs. That’s not Giants baseball, though. Torture is.
So is hating the Los Angeles Dodgers, and having that emotion run through your veins at the most important part of the season. The Giants didn’t look ahead Wednesday in their 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, but they did make their upcoming three-game home series against the Dodgers that much more nerve-racking.
Waking up early for afternoon baseball in front of their home fans, the Giants watched their bats go silent for far too long and saw a weakness in their starting rotation exposed. The Giants were no-hit until there was one out in the fifth inning, and their starting pitcher, Carson Seymour, only lasted 1 1/3 innings before being pulled by manager Bob Melvin.
Now, they’ll need a little help entering a day off Thursday before gearing up to battle the Dodgers beginning Friday night.
Handing 42-year-old Justin Verlander a $15 million contract in the offseason looked like a grave mistake, as the future Hall of Famer struggled mightily in the early portions of the 2025 MLB season. In his last three starts, however, Verlander has more closely resembled the pitcher who has won three Cy Young Awards and an MVP than the one who went 16 starts before finally getting his first win in a Giants jersey.
Verlander in that span has gone 2-0 with a no-decision, allowing only two earned runs in 17 innings. He racked up 21 strikeouts while walking only six and didn’t give up any home runs in those three starts against the Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals. Verlander has not pitched against the Dodgers this season. That will change come Friday night.
It sure sounds like he’ll be followed by the Giants’ two All-Star starting pitchers. Melvin didn’t give a firm answer, but did allude to Logan Webb and Robbie Ray starting after Verlander thanks to Thursday’s day off.
“That’s definitely an option,” Melvin said Wednesday during his pregame press conference.
Webb on Monday eclipsed 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career when he struck out seven and gave up one earned run in Monday’s 14-9 win against the Diamondbacks. The staff ace last faced the Dodgers on July 11, earning a win despite giving up two homers and six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. Although Webb has a 5.84 ERA against LA this season, he has won both of his starts against the rivals and the Dodgers are batting .185 off him.
The Giants’ 5-3 win against the D-backs on Tuesday night put a stop to a rough stretch for Ray. After three straight bad starts, Ray earned his first win since Sept. 18, putting together five strong innings. He has pitched against the Dodgers just once this season.
Ray was given a no-decision in the Giants’ 11-inning loss on July 13 as he gave up three hits and two earned runs in six innings.
Even though the Giants can get a breather Thursday, it’s still a big day – specifically for Giants third baseman Matt Chapman.
The league will hear Chapman’s appeal of his one-game suspension stemming from last week’s brawl with the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Chapman has yet to serve his suspension and would miss one of the Giants’ three games against the Dodgers. In the game he was ejected from and given a suspension, Chapman didn’t have any plate appearances and didn’t play at all in the field.
“I have a pretty good feeling that hopefully it’s reduced and he just gets fined like the other guys did,” Melvin said.
There’s needing help from other teams to beat the New York Mets, currently ahead of the Giants for the third NL wild-card spot, and those on their heels in the standings. There’s hoping for good results when it comes to Chapman, and then there’s relying on their Big Three of Webb, Ray and Verlander.
Scoreboard watching is natural with so much on the line.
It’s up to the Giants to keep their focus on themselves.
“What’s in our control is just trying to win a baseball game,” Melvin said. “There’s a lot of teams bunched up. A couple behind us, or whatever. A couple ahead of us. It’s just trying to win as many baseball games as we can. That’s what we’ve been talking about more so than who, where and when.”
This is what September baseball is all about. The Giants’ season coming down to two more series with the Dodgers, one at home and then one on the road, is perfectly – and torturously – fitting.
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