The Giants finally hit the point where the math caught up with the reality. Even after beating the Cardinals on Tuesday, San Francisco was officially out of the playoff race, with Monday marking the moment the last hope disappeared. What’s left now is finishing out a fifth straight non-winning season - something that has never happened before in franchise history.
There were still a few bright spots in the 2-1 win, and they came from a mix of youth, power and pitching. Bryce Eldridge launched a solo homer and worked a walk, Christian Koss kept his recent surge going with his third home run in four games, and Landen Roupp delivered six shutout innings. Joel Kuhnel then handled the final four outs for the save as the Giants improved to 61-85, leaving them two wins shy of avoiding the second 100-loss season in team history.
Eldridge’s blast, his 16th homer of the season, stood out as one of the best swings of his young career. Facing left-hander Quinn Mathews with a 2-2 count, the 21-year-old rookie stayed on an elevated four-seam fastball and drove it the other way into the left-field bleachers. It was a clean win in a left-on-left matchup.
He’s been more than comfortable against lefties all year. Including Tuesday night, Eldridge owns an .893 OPS against left-handers over 127 plate appearances.
Roupp’s outing was notable for its efficiency as much as its length. It was the first time he’d gone at least six innings since July 22 against the Kansas City Royals, and the Giants clearly had a shorter leash on him down the stretch.
After throwing 75 pitches over five innings last week against the Pirates, he was at 81 pitches through six against St. Louis.
The bullpen, as it so often has, made things interesting. Carson Seymour walked two batters, Andrew Knizner’s dropped third strike opened the door further, and the Cardinals loaded the bases before Kuhnel came in and got the final out of the eighth.
Kuhnel later allowed St. Louis’ only run.
Nathan Church singled, moved to second on defensive indifference and scored on Bryan Torres’ single. Still, Kuhnel steadied himself and finished the job by getting Iván Herrera to ground out with the tying run in scoring position, securing his first save as a Giant.
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None of that means the picture is settled, of course, but it does give San Francisco something it has needed: a little clarity on which younger pieces are worth carrying forward. The next few weeks will still matter for each of them, and the Giants decisions could shift as they keep evaluating, but the organization is no longer guessing quite as much about who belongs in the long-term conversation. [Read more 🡒]