SAN FRANCISCO — A ninth-inning rally by the San Francisco Giants ended in heartbreak Saturday night, encapsulating a season of offensive frustration in two pivotal plays. First, Jung Hoo Lee’s bid for a tying home run fell just short, striking the right-field arcade for a double—a shot that would have left any other MLB park. Moments later, Patrick Bailey’s scorching line drive, which had a 73% chance of being a hit, was erased by a spectacular leaping catch from New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, sealing a 2-1 Giants defeat.
While the final inning highlighted the team’s misfortune, the loss was a symptom of a much deeper, more persistent issue. The Giants went hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position, extending their slump in the series to 0-for-16. This offensive futility has become a defining trait; the team ranked 23rd in runs scored in May, 25th in June, and 22nd in July.
The lineup’s struggles are compounded by defensive liabilities. The team is accommodating first baseman Rafael Devers’ inexperience at the position, a concession that proved costly. In the Mets’ two-run sixth inning, Devers bobbled a transfer on a potential force-out, and earlier he cost pitcher Robbie Ray extra pitches by misreading a play. The Giants are banking on Devers’ bat to overcome his defensive learning curve, a gamble that has yet to consistently pay off.
However, the most telling moment of the night came not from a defensive miscue or a hard-luck out, but from a strategic choice in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and one out in a scoreless game, Lee stepped to the plate and attempted a bunt.
“A groundball can make it into a double play,” Lee later explained through an interpreter. “So what I was thinking is maybe do a sudden bunt… Pete Alonso, he was playing back at first base. So maybe I could have gone for that chance.”
Lee ultimately fouled off the bunt before hitting a soft grounder that scored a run on a fielder’s choice. While the immediate outcome was neutral, the decision revealed a mindset focused on avoiding the worst-case scenario rather than maximizing a prime scoring opportunity.
The choice was exceptionally rare and strategically questionable. Entering Saturday, only two bunt attempts had been made in nearly 10,000 bases-loaded pitches across MLB this season. Since the universal DH was adopted in 2022, there have been just 27 such attempts. The play inherently sacrifices the chance for a game-altering extra-base hit in favor of a high-risk, low-reward outcome. It was the move of a hitter feeling overmatched, not one looking to inflict maximum damage.
At 54-51, the Giants remain in a crowded National League playoff race, but their flaws are glaring. The pressure on the offense is set to increase as the pitching rotation thins, with a bullpen game scheduled for Sunday and a Triple-A call-up slated to start Monday.
These struggles raise questions about the team’s direction ahead of the trade deadline. Yet despite the logic for selling assets like Ray to a pitching-starved market, all signs point to the Giants staying the course. The franchise’s massive financial commitment to Devers through 2033 and the competitive philosophy of President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey make a sell-off highly unlikely. Having played on flawed teams that won championships, Posey is not one to concede a season with two months remaining.
Any trades the Giants make will likely be for immediate major-league talent to improve their chances now. After acquiring Devers, the organization has already made its biggest bet. Selling would be an admission of defeat, an artificial minimization of their season akin to bunting with the bases loaded. The Giants have committed to taking their swing, and as Saturday’s loss proved, the line between a game-ending out and a game-winning hit can be razor thin.
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