The Giants need to show some fire and they did in an emotion-filled win over the Reds

AL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksPower RankingsFans Speak UpTop ProspectsThe Giants need to show some fire and they did in an emotion-filled win over the RedsTempers flared at the end of Wednesday night's game and Thursday's game featured a benches clearing meeting after the final out. Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA Today Network via Imagn Images Share articleThe San Francisco Giants allowed just one hit in a feisty 3-0 win over the Reds on Thursday afternoon, looking like the best version of themselves in the process. Landen Roupp pitched like a stopper, which is exactly what his team needed. The Giants’ hits were timely, and their defense was sharp. The bullpen looked both untouchable and comfortable — a normal bullpen, calmly preserving a three-run lead without incident, just like they’re supposed to. With the win, the Giants moved to 7-12, which is still one of the worst starts in franchise history. For the second day in a row, there was unexpected nincompoopery: On Wednesday night, the Giants took an automatic ball because Jerar Encarnacion couldn’t find his glove, and on Thursday, they declined to challenge a catch that everyone watching at home knew wasn’t caught. They somehow find new and inventive ways to look sloppier and sloppier every day. It’s not a great look during one of the worst starts in franchise history. The non-review didn’t make a difference, though, and if you ignore it, the Giants might have played their sharpest game of the year. Let the recency bias wash over you, don’t be afraid. It’s refreshing before it gets chilly. The one-hitter was the fewest hits the Giants have allowed since Blake Snell’s no-hitter against the Reds in 2024, which was the fewest hits allowed since an Alex Cobb masterpiece against the Reds in 2023. Maybe they just need a game against the Reds every so often, preferably when Sal Stewart is on a minor-league team far, far away. There was also some rigorous enforcement of unwritten rules, as Spencer Steer was plunked with one out and one on in the second inning, possibly in response to a kerfuffle he had with JT Brubaker the night before. It would have been a rather silly time to hit Steer on purpose, with a runner already on, just one out and a Giants team that isn’t built to come back from early deficits. The Reds seemed to think it was intentional, however, and reliever Connor Phillips hit Willy Adames with two outs and nobody on in the eighth inning, which is a normal time to hit someone with a message pitch. Phillips was ejected. Benches got up and benches shifted nervously, but benches did not clear. Not until the final out of the game, when there were words between Erik Miller and Sal Stewart. Lip readers rejoice, here’s the best video for you so far this season. Did Miller use his Stanford education to quote Oscar Wilde and scream, “Sir, you are a peacock in everything but beauty” at Stewart? Possibly. My lip-reading might be a little rusty. I am pretty sure that he pointed to various Reds and screamed, “UNINVITED FROM MY SLEEPOVER” to each of them, though. Either way, it was a second-straight game with a show of life from the Giants, who looked utterly decrepit during most of the preceding four-game losing streak, only showing some energy toward the end of Wednesday’s game. It almost makes you forget that they have to set the “Days Without Looking Silly” counter to zero again. Almost. Other notes from a series-salvaging win: • Roupp pitched as well as anyone could have hoped, going six innings in his second straight excellent start. He lowered his ERA to 2.38 and picked up his third win, or roughly 40 percent of the entire team’s total. It wasn’t quite a vintage Logan Webb, ace-like stopper performance — you need at least seven innings for that — but the comparison coming up at all is high praise for how Roupp pitched. It was an ace-adjacent stopper performance, then, from the best story of the Giants’ season so far. • Unless Luis Arraez is the best story of the Giants’ season so far. He technically went hitless on Thursday, although he was the batter who was robbed by the non-review mentioned earlier, but he continued to sparkle defensively, adjusting to tricky hops and helping to turn a pair of slick double plays. He’s not just passing the eyeball test, either: He’s currently tied for seventh in baseball in Outs Above Average, keeping company with reliable defensive stalwarts like Nico Hoerner and Francisco Lindor. It’s still ridiculously early, but if just about any of these defensive gains hold, the Giants should start talking to him about an extension. If Arraez can play a strong second base, it changes the math entirely. • Erik Miller got the first save of his career, coming into the ninth to face Dane Myers, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz, all swinging from the right side, with right-handed sluggers Stewart and Eugenio Suárez looming after that. That is not a typical spot for a left-handed pitcher. You’ll see Josh Hader and Aroldis Chapman get those kinds of innings, but not your left-handed setup man, if you can help it. It’s the kind of inning given to someone throwing so well that his manager is willing to challenge him and give him a chance to close. Challenge accepted, as Miller mixed in a variety of sharp sliders and high-90s sinkers that improved in location as the inning went on. It was an impressive inning, save for a one-out walk to McLain, who was behind in the count, 0-2, at one point. If there’s a concern with Miller as a potential closer, it’s here, as his command and control are still unrefined, to put it gently. If he takes a step forward in those areas, even a little bit, innings like this one will start to make a lot more sense. • From the files of the easily impressed: Patrick Bailey instantly calling for an ABS review on this pitch is one of the cooler things I’ve seen all season. It was so far away from Bailey’s target that his momentum almost carried him to the left-handed batter’s box: Yet he knew, even while having to chase the pitch, that it was a strike, without question. If there’s anything that ABS has taught me so far, it’s that (most) umpires are absolutely amazing, and a few players have the potential to be ABS champions, too. I know Susac-mania is running wild, and for good reason, but hear us old-timers out every now and again. This kind of stuff has value, too, and you should hope that Bailey fixes his bat so that you can keep seeing it. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Grant Brisbee is a senior writer for The Athletic, covering the San Francisco Giants. Grant has written about the Giants since 2003 and covered Major League Baseball for SB Nation from 2011 to 2019. He is a two-time recipient of the SABR Analytics Research Award. Follow Grant on Twitter @GrantBrisbee