The San Francisco Giants just cannot get out of their own way, crashing to a 4-3 loss against the Angels on July 26 and pushing their absolutely wild record to 0-5 in games where they had a shot at sweeping a series of three or more games. This isn’t just about opponents being tough, either; this time, they pretty much dug their own grave with some brutal challenge decisions and a little help from the ump show. This club has been swept six times, but actually doing the sweeping? Nope, not happening.
Blown Calls and Burned Challenges
Imagine the scene: 9th inning, tying run chilling on second base, and home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt calls Heliot Ramos out on strikes for the final out on an inside fastball. Game over. Now, you’d think in this era of ABS and challenges, a bad call like that gets instantly fixed. And it would, if the Giants had a challenge left. But they didn’t. Willy Adames had torched their last challenge earlier in the 9th on a 3-0 sinker from reliever Sam Bachman. Adames was convinced the ball had moved out of the zone, but the review said a “fiber of a seam” scraped the inside corner. Call confirmed. San Francisco had no more challenges, and Bachman, given a second life in that at-bat, ended up getting Adames to ground into a fielder’s choice forceout. That bad challenge in the 9th, down by three with no outs, ended up having huge consequences.
Chaos on the Mound and the Wall
The “no more challenges” thing immediately blew up in the very next at-bat. Bachman started losing the plate, and Wendelstedt seemed eager to help him out. On a 3-0 count, a change-up that was well below the zone got called a strike, and Cavanaugh, the rookie catcher who was 2-for-2 with two walks already, could only tap his helmet in disbelief. Bachman worked the count full, but then walked Cavanaugh anyway, bringing the tying run to the plate. Manager Kirk Suzuki made a move, swapping Bachman for the inexperienced lefty Mitch Farris, who had never pitched in a save situation before. Farris got pinch-hitter Daniel Susac to line out on his first pitch, but then his heart must’ve jumped into his throat on his second pitch to Luis Arraez. Arraez launched a 352-foot drive that looked like a game-tying three-run home run for what felt like forever, but it just kicked high off the brick wall in right field for a two-run double.
Angels Hang On, Giants Stay Stuck
Suddenly, the Angels were on the ropes, clinging to a one-run lead. This is a team that had already lost an MLB-leading eight games when leading after the 8th inning with an inexperienced arm on the hill without a split advantage. Ramos, who has been scuffling lately, fought hard in his final at-bat. He fouled off three pitches and then impressively spat on a change-up in the dirt in a 1-2 count. But the next pitch, an inside fastball, ended it all. The Giants just can’t close out a sweep, and this game, loaded with umpire calls and a costly challenge blunder, perfectly summed up their 0-5 futility in those situations. What a brutal way to lose.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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