San Francisco – Luis Matos nearly delivered a dramatic comeback for the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, launching a pinch-hit, two-run home run with one out in the ninth inning to tie the game at 2-2.
However, the Los Angeles Dodgers answered with a three-run rally in the 11th, securing a 5-2 victory, clinching the series, and seizing momentum heading into the All-Star break.
“Baseball can be a cruel game,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work in our favor. But, you know, you pick yourself up and you move on.”
The Giants looked to capitalize on Luis Matos’ ninth-inning heroics in extra innings, but their best chance came on a deep fly to center by Rafael Devers that Dodgers outfielder James Outman tracked down near the wall. It was the closest San Francisco came to a hit in extras.
The Giants went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine baserunners in the 5-2 loss.
The offensive struggles overshadowed a strong outing from left-hander Robbie Ray, who struck out six over six innings while allowing just two runs on three hits. An NL All-Star selection, Ray heads into the break with a 2.65 ERA and a .198 opponent batting average, both career highs. His ERA ranks sixth in the National League at the midway point.
“I felt like I did a pretty good job of mixing it up,” said Ray. “There at the end they got some tough luck hits, but overall I think I felt really good.”
The Giants’ offensive struggles on Sunday, paired with Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Dodgers, underscored ongoing inconsistency at the plate, a sharp contrast to Friday night’s series opener, when they exploded for eight runs on nine hits in an 8-7 win. Over the final two games of the series, San Francisco managed just eight hits and three runs combined.
The Giants head into the All-Star break near the bottom of the league in several key offensive categories, ranking 28th in team batting average (.229), 21st in runs scored, 21st in RBIs, and 28th in total hits.
Despite the slump, manager Bob Melvin remains optimistic that the offense will bounce back, noting the break could help reset the team’s rhythm at the plate.
“It’ll be a nice break for everybody,” he said. “We’re going to be better offensively. We have some guys that are coming around a little bit. We have some guys that will come around a little bit more. We have guys in the middle of the lineup, they’re going to do more damage. I think our offense is going to be better in the second half.”
“I feel like going into the second half, I like where we’re at,” Ray added. “I think we’re in a really good spot. Obviously, this game was tough, but we’ve been playing really good baseball. We’re looking forward to getting to the second half.
“We do a really good job of putting games like this behind us and focusing on the job.”
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