For one month, the San Francisco Giants at least nudged in the right direction.
June didn’t turn into a breakthrough, and it certainly didn’t rescue a season that has been dragging for months. But after a rough May, the Giants did manage to look a little more like a functioning club. They went 12-14 in June, a modest step up from the 10-18 finish they posted in May, and that left them at 35-50 overall.
The numbers tell the story pretty cleanly. San Francisco’s run differential in June was minus-9, with 111 runs scored and 120 allowed.
That’s not good, but it was a clear improvement over May’s minus-22. The biggest reason for the bump was the pitching staff, which did a better job of keeping opponents in check.
Batters hit just .245 against Giants pitching in June, down from .261 the month before.
The offense, though, stayed stuck in place. It mostly did what it had been doing all season, which meant the improved work on the mound still wasn’t enough to turn June into a real success story.
There were some bright spots on the schedule. The Giants closed the month with back-to-back series wins over the Athletics and the Atlanta Braves.
They also picked up series victories against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs. But those gains were offset by a sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins, along with losses to the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks, with Tuesday night’s game described as rough.
That leaves the Giants in a familiar spot: not quite good enough to inspire real confidence, but not so bad that the whole thing feels ready to be blown up on the spot.
For fans looking for something encouraging, June offered a small one. Maybe this group can stack together enough good weeks to keep the season from becoming a total lost cause. For the more skeptical crowd, it was just more evidence of a team that has settled into an uncomfortable middle ground.
Either way, the takeaway is simple. The Giants were better in June than they had been earlier in the year. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was improvement.
In Other News...
Luis Arraez Is Already Being Tied To One Trade Landing Spot
Luis Arraez has only been a Giant for a short stretch, but his name is already surfacing as one to watch when the trade deadline chatter heats up. San Francisco is widely expected to be in seller mode, and players on expiring contracts tend to draw attention quickly, especially someone like Arraez, whose game has remained as steady as ever while also showing improvement with the glove.
ESPNs David Schoenfield floated the Texas Rangers as a logical place to watch, which says plenty about where the market could go if the Giants decide to move him. Arraez has been productive enough to fit a contenders lineup, and Texas has been searching for stability at second base, so the fit makes sense on paper even if nothing is close to finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Heliot Ramos Just Forced A Giants Outfield Conversation Again
Heliot Ramos is back in the Giants lineup after a six-week absence with a right quad strain, and the early signs have been encouraging. Following a seven-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento, he returned to the big club and wasted little time making an impact, adding power and run production in his first few games back.
His return has also forced another look at the outfield mix, with the Giants working Ramos into right field while Jung Hoo Lee remains in center. For a club trying to settle on the best alignment, Ramos bat makes the conversation harder to ignore, and the next few games should tell a lot about how permanent this arrangement might become. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans May Be Stuck With Devers Longer Than Expected
When the Giants brought in Rafael Devers from the Red Sox last year, they took on far more than just a middle-of-the-order bat. They also inherited a contract that runs through 2033, which means this is the kind of move that can shape the roster long after the headlines fade. Devers has still given San Francisco production this season, hitting .242 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs, but the fit has already become a conversation piece around the league.
That matters because the Giants may not be done with the Devers discussion yet. Even with the deadline approaching, any attempt to move him would have to navigate the reality of a deal that can look unwieldy to other clubs, especially for a player who will be in his mid-30s by the end of it. For a team trying to balance present value with future flexibility, Devers remains both an asset and a complication, and it is not hard to see why the market could be more complicated than the name alone suggests. [Read more 🡒]