Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — The San Francisco Giants have played a fair share of tough teams to start the season — and came out the other side having won or tied all but two series, in the running to rule the roost atop the National League West.
This hot start happened without having to face any of their divisional rivals until Tuesday, when the Giants began a quick two-game series against the San Diego Padres. It’s a brief test to see how the Giants compete within a division and, ultimately, served as a bit of a wake-up call as the Padres handed the Giants a 7-4 loss in front of a crowd of 47,345, the second-largest crowd in Petco Park history.
The Padres attacked early in the count to cause trouble for Giants starter Logan Webb. Though San Diego didn’t generate a ton of hard contact, they put the ball in play enough to score three runs on four hits and a walk in the first inning.
Article continues below this ad
Willy Adames, getting more comfortable at the plate, earned a run back with his second home run of the year — an opposite-field solo home run of Nick Pivetta. But San Diego got that run right back, and more. Left fielder Heliot Ramos misplayed a single from Jason Heyward, allowing him to trot into second as the ball trickled behind Ramos. Once advanced to third, Luis Arraez’s sac fly and a Manny Machado single made it 5-1.
The Giants fought back against a Padres bullpen boasting baseball’s best ERA (1.63). Adames’ double and Jung Hoo Lee’s RBI single got Pivetta out of the game for reliever Jeremiah Estrada. With two outs and two strikes, Ramos singled up the middle, opening an opportunity for scuffling LaMonte Wade Jr., who took a breaking ball outside into the left-field corner for a double to score a pair and cut the Giants’ deficit to one.
The Padres answered again in the seventh. Randy Rodriguez, without having allowed a run in his first 11 appearances out of the bullpen, left a slider over the plate for Xander Bogaerts, who yanked it for a two-run home run.
Article continues below this ad
April 29, 2025
