SAN FRANCISCO -- With school out for the summer, fantastic weather and a new guy named Rafael Devers, the Giants have drawn more than 70,000 fans to the first two weeknight games against the Cleveland Guardians. They haven't done much to send all those fans home happy.
It was another quiet night for the new-look lineup as the Giants lost 4-2 to the Cleveland Guardians, who will go for a sweep Thursday. There has been a lot to be excited about since Sunday, but the Giants also have quietly lost five of their last six games.
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SIGN UP HERE Justin Verlander gave up a run in the first and a three-run homer in the fourth Wednesday, putting the Giants in an early hole. The bullpen held tough from there, and Heliot Ramos got two runs back with his 12th homer.
A walk and a balk put a runner on second with one out in the seventh, but Patrick Bailey and Ramos struck out.
Mike Yastrzemski got the crowd buzzing with a two-out single in the ninth, but Bailey went down looking. The Giants went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and they're 8-for-52 over their last six games with 51 runners left on base.
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Verlander never could have imagined being winless near the end of June, but he was 0-3 before he went on the IL with pec discomfort and he left with the Giants trailing 4-0 on Wednesday.
Three of the runs came on the biggest mistake of the night, an 0-2 fastball to second baseman Daniel Schneemann that was middle-middle and got blasted into the seats. That rally started when Tyler Fitzgerald made an error on a grounder to the right side.
Verlander struck out six and showed his normal velocity, but he also gave up seven hits and walked one. While the error hurt, the line also could have been worse. Spencer Bivens stranded a pair of Verlander's runners in the fifth.
Night Two
The second night was a lot quieter for Devers than the first. The new DH went 0-for-3 with a walk in his second game in orange and black, with his most notable at-bat ending quickly.
Willy Adames blooped a single to right to lead off the bottom of the eighth and bring Devers up as the tying run. The crowd started to rise as he dug in against lefty Tim Herrin, but Devers swung at the first pitch and skied it to left. A flyout by Wilmer Flores and a pop-up by Casey Schmitt ended the threat.
Welcome Back
There should have been little doubt that Bailey would have a solid night in his return from a neck strain. Bailey is extremely close with Guardians associate manager Craig Albernaz, a former Giants coach who refers to Bailey as one of his sons.
The two exchanged plenty of texts in recent days and Bailey assured his former coach that he would be in the lineup against his team. Bailey didn't show any rust behind the plate, throwing a runner out in his first inning back.
Bailey had just six hits in 42 right-handed at-bats before going on the IL, but he was 2-for-2 against left-hander Logan Allen. In his first at-bat back, he hit a slow roller that stayed true along the edge of the grass and went for an infield single. Two innings later, he singled to center.