Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 411

Tyler Fitzgerald homers for 5th game in a row, but SF Giants muster little else in loss to Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — Can Tyler Fitzgerald get some help?

The rookie shortstop is just about the only thing working in the Giants’ beleaguered lineup, and once again Tuesday night he was responsible for the bulk of their offense against the Dodgers. Once again, one man’s superhuman effort wasn’t enough to lift up eight other slackers.

Launching a no-doubter to left field that got the Giants on the board in the second inning, Fitzgerald homered for his fifth game in a row — the first Giants rookie ever to do so — but his teammates weren’t able to muster much else in a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers.

“We still lost the game,” said Fitzgerald, who finished 3-for-3 with a walk, accounting for all but two of the Giants’ hits and both their RBIs. “It’s cool and all, but it would be cooler if we would have one. At the end of the day we come here to win, so everything that I do is cool and all — at the end of the year I’ll look back and smile about it — but we lost the game. So not a whole lot of good came from it.”

The loss was the Giants’ fourth in five games since the All-Star break, and they have failed to crack four runs once. In 17 games this month, they are averaging a paltry 3.47 per game, and it has been five weeks — dating back to June 17 — since they scored five runs, or the number it would have taken to overcome Jordan Hicks second-shortest start of the season.

“It’s frustrating,” Melvin said. “We talked about it today. We need to do a little bit more damage early on, create some traffic, take some pitches, get some guys on base, hopefully do some damage early.”

With six more games until the July 30 trade deadline, the Giants dropped six games below .500 and five games back of the final National League wild card, the furthest they have been from playoff position all season, needing to jump six teams.

They will add Robbie Ray to their rotation Wednesday, but even Melvin is beginning to worry their reinforcements may be arriving too late.

“You can’t help but know where we are (in the standings),” Melvin said. “There’s some other teams separating a little bit. We’re dropping further back. We’ve talked about the cavalry coming, but we need to do it now. We’re going to have to wear this one today and come out and win a game tomorrow because the more we dig a hole for ourselves, the tougher it’s going to be for us.”

Fitzgerald’s home run was his fourth in four games since the All-Star break, and his streak dates back to July 9 for five in a row. In doing so, he joined some exclusive company, becoming only the fifth player in the San Francisco era to homer in five straight games and the first since Barry Bonds homered in seven straight games in 2004.

No rookie in major-league history has homered six games in a row.

“I try not to think about it, to be honest with you,” Fitzgerald said. “Just seeing (the ball) well and swinging at good pitches and doing damage when I get the pitch I want. It’s cool and all but I’m just trying to keep my head down and keep working and not get too caught up in everything that’s going on.”

When he started his first game of the second half Saturday in Colorado, Fitzgerald said it had been 11 days since he faced live pitching. Ever since, Melvin hasn’t been able to take him out of the lineup, moving him up to the seven hole Tuesday night.

“Life comes at you fast,” Fitzgerald said.

In four trips to the plate, he reached base four times. After homering in his first at-bat, he worked a four-pitch walk his second time up and shot a single the opposite way that could have kickstarted a seventh-inning rally. However, the next batter, Mike Yastrzemski, grounded into an inning-ending double play.

After Alex Vesia walked the first two batters of the ninth, Fitzgerald added another hit and RBI to his line, driving home Matt Chapman from second to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 5-2. It brought the potential tying run to the plate with no outs, but Wilmer Flores popped out, Brett Wisely went down swinging and LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded out to end the game.

Excluding Fitzgerald, the rest of the Giants lineup combined to go 2-for-29, with both of their other hits coming courtesy of Heliot Ramos.

Since the start of the second half, Fitzgerald is responsible for six of the Giants’ 11 RBIs while going 7-for-13 with four home runs and a double. The rest of the team has combined to bat .149 (22-for-148) with 42 strikeouts and seven extra-base hits, or only two more than Fitzgerald alone.

“We had our best at-bats off Vesia late in the game,” Melvin said. “We’ve been taking pretty good at-bats against relievers all year, but we need to be able to get some better at-bats early in the game.”

Fitzgerald’s home run in the second inning could only pull the Giants within one run after Hicks spotted the Dodgers two runs in their first trip to the plate, hitting Freddie Freeman, walking Teoscar Hernández and allowing Gavin Lux to double them both home, opening a 2-0 lead.

Making one of his final starts before transitioning to the bullpen, Hicks looked like a pitcher running on fumes. Although he was making only his third start since July 3, the converted reliever has already surpassed his career-high in innings and has “probably one more (start),” Melvin said before first pitch, “and then we have a decision to make.”

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Struggling to find the strike zone or record efficient outs, Hicks buried two wild pitches past catcher Patrick Bailey, issued a season-high five walks and hit a batter but had mostly pitched his way out of trouble until the Dodgers lineup turned over for a third time with runners on the corners and one out in the fourth.

After putting away Shohei Ohtani twice, Hicks was unable to do it a third time as the two-time MVP laced a 1-1 slider into right field, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-1 with a two-RBI double and putting an end to Hicks’ evening after 3⅔ innings and 92 pitches, only his second time in 20 starts that he failed to complete four innings.

“Today my arm felt better than the last few, but overall the body is still a little worn down,” Hicks said. “I felt like my stuff was there when I did make the pitch and then when I didn’t, it wasn’t even close. It was pretty frustrating because the stuff when it was in the zone was really good. I just don’t think I had my best command.”

Notable

With their seventh straight loss at Dodger Stadium, the Giants’ futility in their archrivals’ ballpark is nearing historic proportions. They haven’t gone as long without a win in Chavez Ravine since 1980, when they dropped eight in a row here for the second time in three seasons. Since the start of 2022, they are 5-16 in this venue.

Up next

It doesn’t get any easier, as the Dodgers are expected to activate RHP Tyler Glasnow and LHP Clayton Kershaw from the injured list for the final two games of the series. On Wednesday, LHP Robbie Ray will oppose Glasnow while making his club debut and his first start since March 31, 2023, before undergoing surgeries on his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Paris Olympics: Here’s what’s on TV today (West Coast times)

The 2024 Summer Games are underway — with the opening ceremony on July 26 — and run through Aug. 11.

Here’s the full schedule of events and how to watch or stream the events.

How can I watch the Olympics?

In a variety of ways, on a variety of channels.

Each day’s most popular events will air live on NBC in the morning and afternoon in the United States. NBCUniversal says the Paris Games will have more programming hours on NBC than any previous Olympics.

Mike Tirico will host two daily Olympics shows, one that coincides with prime time in Paris (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. PST in the U.S.) and features live competition in marquee sports like swimming and gymnastics. The other, during prime-time hours in the United States while Paris sleeps, will be a curated view of the day’s best action.

USA Network, E!, CNBC and GOLF Channel also will show live action and Olympic programming. Peacock will serve as the U.S. streaming home. It will stream every sport, including all 329 medal events.

Here’s what is on TV today:

Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts (all times Pacific):

Wednesday, July 24RUGBY

8 a.m.

USA — Men’s Pool Play

10 a.m.

USA — Men’s Pool Play

4 p.m.

USA — Men’s Pool PlaySOCCER

5:45 a.m.

TELEMUNDO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Argentina vs. MarruecosUNIVERSO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Uzbekistán vs. España

6 a.m.

USA — Men’s Group B: Argentina vs. Morocco

8 a.m.

TELEMUNDO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Egipto vs. República DominicanaUNIVERSO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Guinea vs. Nueva Zelanda

9:30 a.m.

USA — Men’s Group C: Egypt vs. Dominican Republic

10 a.m.

TELEMUNDO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Japón vs. ParaguayUNIVERSO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Irak vs. Ucrania

Noon

TELEMUNDO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Francia vs. Estados UnidosUNIVERSO — Fútbol Paris 2024 – Malí vs. IsraelUSA — Men’s Group A: France vs. USA

2 p.m.

USA — Men’s Group C: Uzbekistan vs. Spain

5 p.m.

USA — Men’s Group A: France vs. USA

7 p.m.

USA — Men’s Group D: Japan vs. Paraguay

8:45 p.m.

USA — Men’s Group B: Iraq vs. Ukraine

SF Giants’ reliever enters exclusive company with ownage of Shohei Ohtani

LOS ANGELES — As a middle reliever, Erik Miller doesn’t typically handle many media responsibilities. But a few hours prior to first pitch Tuesday afternoon, a crowd of reporters huddled around the left-hander’s locker in the visitors’ clubhouse.

The group included a fair share of the Japanese press, who track Shohei Ohtani’s every movement.

That’s because word had gotten around.

The 26-year-old Stanford-educated southpaw has proven to be kryptonite for the most prodigious slugger in the sport. Of the 278 pitchers to match up against Ohtani at least four times, Miller is part of an exclusive group to strike him out each time.

“That’s not easy,” manager Bob Melvin said, putting it mildly. “He just doesn’t see him well at this point, knock wood. That’s why he’s in the game there.”

San Francisco Giants’ Erik Miller pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Friday, July 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

While Miller was handed the loss, allowing the decisive run of the 3-2 loss to reach base in the eighth inning, he did his job against Ohtani. He started him with a slider low and away that was met with an empty swing, came back with another slider in the dirt and then went to the top of the zone with a 97 mph heater for strike two.

The shoulder-high fastball only served to set up the next pitch, an 85 mph changeup that snapped back over the inside corner and sailed past Ohtani’s bat.

“Anytime you strike him out, it’s cool,” Miller said. “You always want strikeouts, but obviously there are certain guys that it feels a little better with.”

Only two other pitchers know the feeling specific to Ohtani: Darwinzon Hernández, now pitching in Japan, and Zach Jackson, a 29-year-old right-hander hanging around in the A’s farm system. Both pitchers own the same line as Miller: four at-bats, four strikeouts. Mets closer Edwin Díaz has struck out Ohtani four times in four at-bats, but issued a walk in their other meeting. No active pitcher has faced Ohtani five times and struck him out in each one.

With three games left at Dodger Stadium, it stands to reason Miller will get his shot.

“Get him 0-for-6, 0-for-7,” said left-hander Kyle Harrison, who can appreciate Miller’s ability to match up with the left-handed power hitter. “Miller’s got 98-99 in the tank all the time – I wish I had that – so if you’ve got that I would try to blow him away at the top of the zone every time. Guys like that, you can’t really show it twice. So he’s done a really good job of mixing it up and finishing with different pitches.”

Miller has gotten Ohtani swinging three times and looking once. He’s finished him off twice with sliders off the plate away, painted the black with 99 mph gas and, of course, broke out his changeup on his hands to get him Monday night.

“I mean, I only have three pitches, so he’s seen all the tricks I’ve got at this point,” Miller said. “I think it’s now just a sequencing thing, like can you do something he hasn’t see before? At some point if you face a guy long enough, it’s just like mano a mano, can I beat you? Here’s my best stuff.”

So, what is it about Miller that makes him so difficult on the game’s most-feared hitter? It’s not the platoon advantage. Ohtani has historically been slightly worse against lefties but still possesses a career .835 OPS (.986 vs. righties) while striking out at a 27.6% rate (24.9% vs. righties).

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Harrison might be on to something with pounding the top of the strike zone with heaters. Ohtani’s weakest area of the strike zone this season has been up and in, batting .171 on 35 pitches. When he chases above the strike zone, that figure is even lower, a .111 batting average.

Against sliders, the pitch Miller has gotten him with twice, Ohtani demolishes the inside of the plate but struggles to cover the outer portion. Of the 208 sliders he’s seen on the outer third of the plate or outside the strike zone in his career, he has managed 38 hits, a .185 batting average.

“I think what I throw is some of his weaknesses, being able to go up in the zone with a fastball with higher velocity and then sliders down and away, mixing in changeups, that’s probably something he doesn’t see too often,” Miller said. “I think what I throw naturally kinds of leads to where the holes in his swing are. I don’t know how long I can keep it up, striking him out every time. But hopefully as long as I can.”

One man dead, one injured in DUI multi-car crash

SALINAS >> A Salinas man was arrested for suspected drunk driving in the wake of a car accident that led to the death of one person and injured another.

A silver Chevrolet Colorado pickup was driving on the right shoulder of southbound Highway 101 Saturday afternoon, south of Laurel Drive where an unidentified Salinas resident was replacing the left rear tire of a pickup according to a press release from the California Highway Patrol.

Krystal Cortez, a 38-year-old from Salinas was also standing next to the pickup.

During this time, a black Acura TL was being driven by Jose Sanchez Jr., a 24-year-old from Salinas, in the second lane of  southbound Highway 101.

The Acura veered off the road and sideswiped Cortez and continued in a southerly direction until the car crashed into the individual changing the tire and the pickup.

The impact caused the pickup to overturn onto its right side, and the Acura continued to spin and crashed into a white Honda Pilot, driven by Miguel Narez, a 29-year-old from Soledad. Narez had young children in the car with him.

After the crash, all the parties remained on the scene. Narez and his passengers did not report any injuries. Cortez suffered from “abdominal contusions.” The pedestrian replacing the tire succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The CHP said alcohol was a factor in the crash and Sanchez Jr. was arrested.

According to the press statement from the CHP, the individual killed in the incident was  a 77-year-old man from Salinas.

Joby takes 523-mile hydrogen-electric flight above Marina

MARINA – In June, Joby Aviation successfully completed a 523-mile flight above Marina of its first-of-its-kind hydrogen-electric technology demonstrator aircraft, and in July, California became the first state to officially launch a Hydrogen Hub, with both developments having a stake in furthering the state’s goal of cutting pollution and expanding clean energy.

Joby’s test flight is believed to be the first forward flight of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen using a converted Joby pre-production prototype battery-electric aircraft fitted with a liquid hydrogen fuel tank and fuel cell system. The aircraft landed with 10% of its hydrogen fuel load remaining and had no in-flight emissions except water.

Last week, the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems – ARCHES – and the United States Department of Energy officially announced the signing of a landmark $12.6 billion agreement, including up to $1.2 billion from the DOE and $11.4 billion in public and private matching funds, to build and expand clean energy infrastructure across California.

“Traveling by air is central to human progress, but we need to find ways to make it cleaner,” said Joby Aviation founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt in a press release. “With our battery-electric air taxi set to fundamentally change the way we move around cities, we’re excited to now be building a technology stack that could redefine regional travel using hydrogen-electric aircraft.”

The aviation company has designed and produced an electric air taxi that will carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds up to 200 mph offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.

Joby has been doing business and developing a manufacturing facility in Marina for about the past seven years where it launched production of its aircraft at its Pilot Production Plant with the first aircraft rolling off the line in June 2023. The Marina facility is one of three in California with others at Santa Cruz — where the company is headquartered — and San Carlos. Joby Aviation also has a facility in Munich and chose Dayton, Ohio, last year, as the site for its new manufacturing plant.

“The vast majority of the design, testing and certification work we’ve completed on our battery-electric aircraft carries over to commercializing hydrogen-electric flight,” said Bevirt. “In service, we also expect to be able to use the same landing pads, the same operations team and Joby’s ElevateOS software that will support the commercial operation of our battery-electric aircraft.”

According to the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, California recently led the nation in multiple hydrogen-powered transportation innovations, with the world’s first entirely hydrogen-powered ferry in San Francisco Bay and the successful 523-mile hydrogen-electric flight.

“Joby is a stellar example of why California continues to lead the world in clean technology and high-tech manufacturing,” said Dee Dee Myers, senior advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, in a press release. “Their pioneering work to decarbonize aviation, by advancing battery and now hydrogen fuel cell technology, is helping to fight climate change and create a clean energy future that will improve the lives of all Californians.”

Joby’s hydrogen-electric demonstrator is part of the Company’s future technology program and is the result of several years of collaboration between a small team at Joby and H2FLY, Joby’s wholly-owned subsidiary based in Stuttgart, Germany. The converted Joby aircraft previously completed more than 25,000 miles of testing as a battery-electric aircraft at Joby’s facility in Marina.

According to the Department of Energy, the California Hydrogen Hub spans across the state and will leverage the state’s leadership in clean energy technology to produce hydrogen exclusively from renewable energy and biomass.

Renewable energy sources include, solar, wind, and ocean, and biomass sources include agriculture residues, animal waste and algae.

At Joby’s Pilot Production Line expansion groundbreaking in April 2024, the second production prototype aircraft to roll off the company’s production line was the backdrop for the ceremony where Joby workers and others were allowed a close-up view of the aircraft. (James Herrera/Monterey Herald)

Last year, California was selected as a national hub. ARCHES is the first of seven Hydrogen Hubs throughout the country to officially sign their agreement with the DOE.

The ARCHES hub will facilitate a network of clean, renewable hydrogen production sites to cut fossil fuel use throughout California, with the ultimate goal of decarbonizing public transportation, heavy duty trucking, and port operations by 2 million metric tons per year – roughly the equivalent to annual emissions of 445,000 gasoline-fueled cars. The California Hydrogen Hub is expected to create an estimated 220,000 new jobs, including 130,000 in construction and 90,000 permanent jobs.

Illegal cannabis grow raided by county SWAT team

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Monterey County Sheriff’s SWAT team served a search warrant Monday at an illegal cannabis growing site on the 33,000-block of Carmel Valley Road in Carmel Valley.

A total of 196 pounds of processed cannabis, along with 103 cannabis plants still under cultivation were seized, according to a press statement from the Sheriff’s Office.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office found a total of 196 pounds of processed cannabis, along with 103 cannabis plants still under cultivation. (Photo courtesy of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office)

Police also found $22,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency and 11 firearms, including an assault rifle and an un-serialized semi-automatic rifle.

The case remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.

Christina Sandera, longtime partner of film legend Clint Eastwood, dies at 61

LOS ANGELES — Christina Sandera, the longtime companion of film legend Clint Eastwood, has died at 61.

“Christina was a lovely, caring woman, and I will miss her very much,” the 94-year-old Eastwood said in a statement Thursday.
No details about Sandera’s death were immediately available, and a representative for Warner Bros. did not comment further when reached by The Times.

Sandera and the Academy Award-winning director reportedly met when she worked as a host at Eastwood’s Mission Ranch in Carmel. They started dating in 2014, but the notoriously private Eastwood remained tight-lipped about their relationship.

While the pair kept quiet about their romance, Sandera occasionally joined the “Dirty Harry” star on red carpets. She made her red-carpet debut with him at the Academy Awards in 2015, when his film “American Sniper” was up for six Oscars. She also joined him at events surrounding 2016’s “Sully,” 2018’s “The Mule” and 2019’s “Richard Jewell.”

Before his relationship with Sandera, the “Million Dollar Baby” and “Unforgiven” director was married to model Maggie Johnson from 1953 to 1984 and to news anchor Dina Ruiz from 1996 to 2014. He shares a son, actor Scott Eastwood, with ex Jacelyn Reeves and has seven other children from his other relationships.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Horoscopes July 23, 2024: Woody Harrelson, keep up with the times

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Daniel Radcliffe, 35; Paul Wesley, 42; Marlon Wayans, 52; Woody Harrelson, 63.

Happy Birthday: Think twice before you spend or donate cash. If you want to be helpful, offer your skills or time to organizations you favor, and you’ll make valuable connections that lead to bringing cash in instead of giving it away. Be receptive to what’s trending, and keep up with the times to ensure you don’t get left behind by those quick to incorporate the latest and most remarkable techniques. Your numbers are 3, 14, 22, 25, 31, 46, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): It’s OK to share your talents, but first, attach a price to your time. People will respect and appreciate what you offer if you set boundaries. Insight will pave the way to a lucrative future. Invent and manifest what you desire. 4 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Reevaluate your worth, rethink your next move and take the path that makes sense. At the end of the day, it’s you who must be happy with the decisions you make. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can buy love, trust and equality. 2 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t give up or get angry. Consider what you are trying to achieve, and come up with a plan dedicated to learning. Follow your heart, not someone misusing your attributes. Believe in yourself and do what’s best for you. 5 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Hold your head high and navigate a path to the top. Set standards to live by and goals that stretch your imagination but are still within reason. Interviews, meetings and financial matters will turn out better than you anticipate if you pay attention to detail. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Sign up for something that excites you or improves your health. Start a regimen focused on getting you in shape. The better you look and feel, the easier it is to advance. Don’t be a slouch; activity and participation are the keys to life, love and happiness. 3 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Target your goal and stick to your plans. If you venture off course, you will need help completing your mission. Be cautious of anyone trying to change your mind. Discipline and hard work will get you to your destination. 3 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You’re on the right track; don’t let lethargy step in and take away your pep. Stay focused, be creative and don’t be afraid to dance to the beat that draws you. The trick to success is finding enjoyment in what you do and being grateful for your skills. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Spend more time caring for yourself and your environment. Change begins with you, so make every move count. Refrain from allowing others to disrupt your plans or take advantage of what you have to offer. Make changes for the right reason. 5 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Be resourceful, gather information, ask questions and agree to something only once you are satisfied that you can achieve your goals. Trust yourself and distance yourself from those offering pretenses or conspiracy theories. Verify facts and move forward. Arguing is a waste of time. 2 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take a closer look at your investments, contracts and qualifications. Question anything that appears to be outdated or overdue. A domestic change needs careful handling if you want to avoid interference. A joint venture will require proper management. Avoid shared expenses. 4 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Devise a more efficient way to live and implement change. Don’t expect everyone to agree with your plans. Don’t hesitate to remove yourself from a situation lacking what you need to be happy. Take responsibility and explore your options. Self-improvement will lead to personal opportunities. 3 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You need time to think. Avoid argumentative individuals who stretch the truth. Stick to what and who you know and trust. Don’t let an emotional matter infiltrate into other aspects of your life. Separate business from pleasure. 3 stars

Birthday Baby: You are outgoing, ambitious and entertaining. You are impulsive and generous.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.

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Lacking timely hits, SF Giants waste Blake Snell’s effort in loss to Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — When it mattered most Monday night, the Dodgers did what the Giants were unable to accomplish.

With runners at the corners and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Teoscar Hernández broke a tied ballgame with a single up the middle off Randy Rodríguez, scoring the go-ahead and decisive run to hand the Giants a tough 3-2 loss to begin their four-game series.

Hernández slammed his bat in celebration as he made his way up the first-base line, coming through with his third RBI knock of the game of the game and his second with runners in scoring position, something the Giants weren’t able to muster in seven chances, wasting a third straight strong effort from Blake Snell, who came as advertised by holding the powerful Dodgers lineup to two runs on four hits over six efficient innings.

“It was his night,” Snell said. “We need wins. Anytime I take the ball I expect that we should win, so I’ve got to be better and help us anyway I can by limiting runs.”

The decisive knock was set up by a leadoff double from Kiké Hernández, the No. 9 hitter, against Erik Miller that fell in between Heliot Ramos and Luis Matos as the two outfielders converged on the track in left-center field, and a broken-up double play that was ruled not to be obstruction.

“I think Heliot called it, and then when he got close and felt like they were going to run into each other, he backed off,” manager Bob Melvin said.

The loss was the Giants’ sixth in a row at Dodger Stadium, where they are 5-15 over their past 20 games and was their 13th in their past 17 meetings overall. A week away from next Tuesday’s trade deadline, it also sent them five games below .500 and behind five other teams for the final National League wild card, including the Cubs, whose president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, came out Monday and outlined a strategy to sell off assets.

Signed in part because of his historic success against the Dodgers, Snell was unavailable all three of their previous meetings this season, and just to get him to Los Angeles from his All-Star break home in Seattle required rerouting him through San Francisco, instead of meeting the team in Colorado, after he was caught up in the Crowdstrike system outage last week that grounded flights nationwide.

Limiting the Dodgers to four hits and issuing two walks, Snell needed only 83 pitches to complete six innings and departed with the score tied at 2. Both runs came courtesy of Hernández, who crushed an inside slider for a solo home run in the fourth and and shot a two-out single up the middle to drive home Freddie Freeman in the sixth.

The runs were the first Snell has allowed in 18 innings since returning from the injured list and only the sixth and seventh of his career in six starts at Dodger Stadium. In 17 career starts against the Dodgers (including postseason), Snell possesses a 2.62 ERA and the lowest opponent’s batting average of anyone with at least 15 career starts.

“I think my sequences still need to get better, understanding just the feel that I had throughout the game, trusting it. But I’m getting there,” said Snell, who lowered his ERA to its lowest point in nine starts this season at 5.83. “I still think there’s a better version of me still coming. It’s hard to say without giving stuff away, but I’m definitely going to keep getting better.”

Making his major-league debut, Snell’s opponent, 25-year-old right-hander River Ryan, never gone deeper than five innings in any of his minor-league starts, but the Giants allowed him to pitch into the sixth without issue, failing to score more than three runs for their fourth straight game since the All-Star break.

Once again, it was Tyler Fitzgerald who provided a good portion of the Giants’ offense, slugging a solo home run off the first pitch he saw from reliever Ryan Yarbrough that briefly evened the score at 2 after Hernandez had given the Dodgers a 2-1 lead the previous inning.

Receiving his third straight start at shortstop, Fitzgerald continued to reward Melvin for penciling his name into the lineup. The homer was his third in as many games — four straight predating the All-Star break, the first Giants batter to do that since Brandon Belt in 2018 — and he has four hits in eight at-bats since the break.

“He’s playing with a lot more confidence and a lot calmer now that he knows he’s going to be here and get more playing time,” Melvin said. “Since we made a move at shortstop with (Nick) Ahmed, he’s been a lot more secure in his time here.”

Fitzgerald was also at the center of the eighth inning defensively, ranging behind the bag at second base to glove a would-be base hit and flipping the ball from his mitt (and the seat of his pants) to Brett Wisely, who fired too late to first base as the runner, Will Smith, popped up in front of him.

The Giants asked the umpires to review if Smith violated the clear-path rule, which would have automatically ruled the runner at first out and ended the inning with the score still tied, but it was unsuccessful and Melvin acknowledged after the fact, “it was probably a stretch.”

The only run the Giants scored off Ryan came in the fourth, opening an initial 1-0 lead, when catcher Will Smith wasn’t able to corral a fastball off the plate, allowing LaMonte Wade Jr. to scoot home from third base. But left with two men still on after Patrick Bailey’s single and Matt Chapman’s bases on balls, the Giants were unable to make any more of the scoring opportunity as Mike Yastrzemski went down swinging to end the inning.

Even hard contact was hard to come by, averaging only 82.5 mph on the balls put in play against Ryan. It wasn’t until Ryan’s final batter of the night, Bailey, ripped a single to the foot of the wall at 101.8 mph that the Giants notched a triple-digit exit velocity.

“He’s gonna be a problem. That’s one of the better sliders I’ve seen,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s real sneaky. It’s 90-92 (mph) as a slider. So when he throws it early in the count, it looks just like a heater. … We didn’t have too much info on him. We saw a couple of his minor league games, but hopefully the next time we see him we’ll have a better gameplan.”

Bailey’s hit, one of three times on base, gave the Giants runners at the corners with one out, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on lefty Alex Vesia, who won his matchups with Luis Matos, pinch-hitting for Michael Conforto, and Matt Chapman, striking out both batters swinging on high fastballs.

After being held to nine runs over their three-game series in the hitter’s paradise of Coors Field, the Giants’ challenge to come up with timely hits followed them back to sea level, where they were greeted by high temperatures in the 90s and 77-degree conditions by the 7:11 p.m. first pitch.

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In seven chances with runners in scoring position, the Giants couldn’t muster a single hit and stranded seven men on base. Since arriving in Denver from the All-Star break, they are 2-for-21 in those situations and have stranded 21 runners.

“We’ve had bouts with (runners in scoring position) all year,” Melvin said. “We’d been a little better with it recently, but since the break, it’s the difference in games like that. We’ve got to cash in on some of those opportunities like they did.”

Notable

The Dodgers honored the late Willie Mays in a pregame ceremony that featured his son, Michael, and a video of Vin Scully reciting the story of “the best catch I’ve ever seen” — not the one you’re thinking of — while both teams lined up on the foul line. Addressing the crowd, Mays said, “This is crazy. Because I’m surrounded in blue. I had this nightmare when I was 15 years old. It’s a classy organization to do something like this.”

Up next

RHP Jordan Hicks (4-6, 3.79) will make one of his final starts before transitioning to the bullpen, opposed by RHP Landon Knack (1-2, 3.23). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Robbie Ray ‘rearing to go’ ahead of SF Giants debut this week

LOS ANGELES — Robbie Ray threw a bullpen Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, and his next step will mean moving to the mound on the middle of the diamond.

At long last, the 32-year-old left-hander can see the finish line of his 16-month journey back from surgeries to repair his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor tendon in his throwing elbow. On Wednesday, the former Cy Young winner will make his first major league start since March 31, 2023 — and first ever in a Giants uniform.

“I’m excited. It’s been a long journey,” Ray said from his locker in the corner of the visitors’ clubhouse. “It’s had its ups; it’s had its downs. I’ve been able to take a lot of positives out of this. But I’m definitely excited to be back out there and competing at the highest level.”

Manager Bob Melvin watched Ray throw in the bullpen beyond the right field fence and said, “He’s rearing to go.”

Ray said he began to switch from rehab to competition mode only earlier this month, three or four rehab starts ago.

Last Sunday, while the Giants wrapped up the first half, Ray tossed five scoreless innings for Single-A San Jose, and on Friday, he pitched into the sixth inning for Triple-A Sacramento without allowing a run. He combined to allow two hits while striking out 16 with three walks over 10⅓ innings between his final two rehab starts.

“I think my last two rehab outings have been really big for me,” Ray said. “Those first few times you get back on the mound, it’s almost like you’re going through the motions, and you don’t really realize what you’re doing.

‘I would say for me I felt like I was just going through the motions, checking the boxes, until maybe three starts ago. I was like, ‘Something’s got to change here. I’ve got to turn it on. Whatever it is, I’ve got to manufacture that competitive drive.’ I was able to do it, which was great.”

For a pitcher who gives it all on every pitch to such a degree that it is audible for anyone in attendance, the past year and a half of being unable to fulfill that competitive drive was foreign. It wasn’t easy to cope with being unable to contribute last season for the Mariners and through the first half of this year after being traded to the Giants in exchange for Mitch Haniger over the winter.

The biggest takeaway from the process, Ray said, was his ability to persevere.

“It’s really easy to get down when essentially you’re out for 14 months. It’s really easy to feel disconnected, like you’re not one of the guys,” Ray said. “We’re all competitors. We all want to be out there for every single pitch of every single game, so when you’re out of it for 15 months, 16 months, whatever it is, you just feel useless. It’s just taking a step back and saying no, this is the process, I have to go through this until I’m available.”

Ray credited his wife, Taylor, most of all, with helping him throughout the process. With their four kids running around the house and a husband with his arm in a brace and doctor’s orders to rest, “essentially she had five kids.”

“Because I couldn’t do anything,” Ray said. “The kids want to play? I can’t play with them. So she had to do everything. She’s been a rockstar.”

When he is activated before Wednesday’s game, Ray will be opposed by another highly regarded pitcher coming off the injured list — Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow — and Thursday’s series finale will pit Logan Webb against Clayton Kershaw in the 36-year-old southpaw’s first start of the season.

Ray threw 78 pitches in his final rehab start, which he called a “good benchmark” of what to expect in his first time back on a major-league mound, but by the end of the season, “hopefully I’ll be able to get into the seventh, into the eighth (inning).”

Not far behind him is Alex Cobb, who threw five scoreless innings Saturday in Sacramento and will make one more rehab start this weekend. Asked if that makes him more likely to return when the team hits the road for Cincinnati after their next homestand, Melvin said, “Not necessarily. It could be at home.”

Less likely to see a mound again this season is Keaton Winn, who experienced more discomfort in his throwing elbow and will be shut down from throwing “for a while,” Melvin said. He met with Dr. Ken Akizuki, the team’s head surgeon, but will likely require further consultation with an elbow specialist, according to Melvin.

“We’ll see where we go from here. It’s been going on for quite a bit,” Melvin said. “I don’t know what the resolution is going to be or what that conversation is once we have those.”

That said, with Webb, Ray, Cobb, Blake Snell, and Kyle Harrison, the Giants have something resembling a five-man rotation for seemingly the first time all season.

The question, with the team four games below .500 and toward the bottom of a big pack of teams vying for the final wild card spot, will it be too late?

“It’s never too late,” Ray said with a grin. “I think this group is going to be the group that has to carry the team. I think that’s going to be a big part of it. Five guys in the rotation, the veteran leadership, the guys coming in everyday and doing the work. I think that’s what’s going to make the difference.”

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— A day after Hayden Birdsong struck out 12 over six innings in a win over the Rockies, the 22-year-old right-hander was optioned back to the minor leagues to clear room on the active roster for RHP Michael Baumann, who was acquired from the Mariners for cash on Sunday.

Birdsong shouldn’t be in the minors for long, though. He was saying farewell to teammates while repeating, “See you Saturday.” The Giants host the Rockies in a scheduled doubleheader, for which both teams can call up an extra player without waiting the usually 15 days required after optioning a pitcher.

Baumann was activated before Monday’s first pitch to provide length out of the bullpen if necessary, Melvin said. He had a 4.41 ERA in 35 appearances between the Orioles and Mariners this season and owns a 4.57 ERA over 112 career games.

“A four-game series here, these guys tend to extend some pitch counts. You tend to go through some relievers in a series like this,” Melvin said. “So it’s nice to have an extra arm.”