SF Giants’ frustrations continue after being swept by Marlins

SAN FRANCISCO — Wilmer Flores does not typically run hot. So Willy Adames knows that if Flores is mad, something significant had to have happened.

After striking out to end the seventh inning Thursday afternoon, Flores became incensed with someone on the Miami Marlins. Instead of retreating to the Giants’ dugout, he took several purposeful steps toward the school of Marlins. The benches quickly cleared. Flores’ teammates quickly corralled him and directed him back to their bunker.

That was the extent of the extracurriculars. There was no sparring of any kind; equanimity was restored after roughly a minute. Flores was not available postgame to clarify who or what incited his anger. But the episode, one that unfolded in the middle of a 12-5 loss to the Marlins, encapsulated the Giants’ collective frustrations.

The frustration of being swept by Miami and finishing the nine-game homestand with six losses. The frustration of their hitters repeatedly getting plunked. The frustration of an offense that still remains cold even with Rafael Devers in the lineup.

“I don’t think there’s anything to say,” Adames said of being swept. “We played like crap.”

Adames did not know why Flores became so mad. Manager Bob Melvin said he was also unsure, speculating that something was said to Flores. But before the game even started, tension hung in the air.

Following Wednesday’s loss, several players voiced their displeasure about the recent stretch of San Francisco’s batters getting hit. Casey Schmitt, one of three players plunked on Wednesday, had to undergo X-rays after taking a fastball to the left wrist.

Schmitt, who was already filling in for the injured Matt Chapman, missed Thursday’s game as he underwent a CT scan. While there was no fracture, the third baseman did have a bone bruise. He wants to play Friday against the Chicago White Sox but said of his wrist postgame that “it’s pretty messed up in there.”

Following Wednesday’s loss, Logan Webb offered a cryptic message by saying he hoped “there’s a little bit of an edge” for Thursday’s series finale given Schmitt, Jung Hoo Lee and Dominic Smith all got plunked.

An edge, indeed.

Hayden Birdsong began his afternoon by retiring the first two batters he faced on a pair of popups. On his 12th pitch of the day, Birdsong plunked Otto Lopez in the leg with a 97.5 mph four-seam fastball that was nowhere near the zone. It was a beanball that unquestionably fell in line with the Giants’ ethos of protecting their hitters.

“It is what it is,” said manager Bob Melvin. “It was pretty minor.”

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong #60 throws against the Miami Marlins in the third inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

The umpiring crew congregated after the hit-by-pitch and quickly issued a warning to both sides, proactively ensuring Thursday’s game did not devolve into an afternoon of retaliation. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough immediately emerged from the first-base dugout and argued with home plate umpire Alfonso Márquez, who ejected him from the game.

If the Giants were sending a message, the Marlins sent a couple right back.

Following the hit-by-pitch, Agustín Ramírez smashed a 113.0 mph double off the left-field wall, then Kyle Stowers sent a three-run shot into Miami’s bullpen to put San Francisco in a 3-0 deficit. Two innings later, Ramírez sent a hanging 0-2 slider from Birdsong more than halfway up the left-field bleachers, a majestic two-run blast that put the Giants in a 5-0 hole.

“Things happen,” Birdsong said of hitting Lopez with two outs and nobody on. “You hit guys, you move on and I threw another slider middle-middle. That’s usually a home run.”

Down by five runs, San Francisco responded with five runs of their own. Rafael Devers trimmed the Giants’ deficit with a two-run shot in the third, and the Giants tied the game with three runs in the fourth on Adames’ RBI single and Brett Wisely’s two-run double.

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The next half inning, the The Marlins countered and took the lead for good.

Miami Marlins’ Kyle Stowers #28 is congratulated by teammate Eric Wagaman #33 after his three-run home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong #60 in the first inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Birdsong walked the first two batters he faced to start the fifth, prompting Melvin to go to the bullpen. Reliever Spencer Bivens struck out the first two batters he faced but Eric Wagaman’s two-run double and Connor Norby’s RBI single gave the Marlins an 8-5 lead that they’d never lose. Miami landed its haymaker in the eighth by scoring four runs off right-hander Sean Hjelle.

The 23-year-old Birdsong finished his outing having allowed seven runs over four-plus innings, tied for the most he’s allowed in a single outing in his career.

“Kind of like the last outing, his velo is kind of all over the place. When he gets it right, it’s 96, 97. When he doesn’t, it’s 93. Kind of big misses with his fastball, big misses with his breaking ball. When he struggles some, that’s kind of what you see and we’ve seen that the last couple times.”

With the loss, the Giants are now exactly halfway through the regular season. There’s a lot of baseball left to be played, but even with this recent skid, they’re 44-37 and a half-game out of the final NL Wild Card spot.

“It’s tough to have perspective from the beginning of the year to where we are right now,” Melvin said. “We are who we are, and we feel like we’re a lot better than we’ve played these three games. We’re not in a horrible position, yet we feel like we’re a better team than what our record is right now.”

Players including San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames #2 and manager Bob Melvin congregate on the field after teammate Wilmer Flores struck out swinging against Miami Marlins relief pitcher Cade Gibson #58 to end the seventh inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants’ Wilmer Flores, left, is held back by umpire Alfonso Marquez after Flores struck out swinging against Miami Marlins relief pitcher Cade Gibson #58 to end the seventh inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Miami Marlins bench coach Carson Vitale, center, tries to clear the field after San Francisco Giants’ Wilmer Flores struck out for the final out in the seventh inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Miami Marlins’ Kyle Stowers #28 watches the flight of his three-run home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong #60 in the first inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong #60 reacts as Miami Marlins’ Kyle Stowers #28 rounds the bases after his three-run home run in the first inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Miami Marlins’ Kyle Stowers #28 is congratulated by teammate Agustín Ramírez #50 after his three-run home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong #60 in the first inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Miami Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk #26 throws against the San Francisco Giants in the third inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Miami Marlins’ Agustín Ramírez #50 and teammate Jesús Sánchez #7 are congratulated after Ramirez hit a two-run home run off San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong #60 in the third inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers #16 hits a two-run home run off Miami Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk #26 in the third inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers #16 rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Miami Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk #26 in the third inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers #16 is congratulated by third base coach Matt Williams #9 after hitting a two-run home run off Miami Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk #26 in the third inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers #16 is congratulated by teammate Andrew Knizner #21 after hitting a two-run home run off Miami Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk #26 in the third inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin takes out starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong #60 in the fifth inning of their MLB game against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers #16 gets turned around avoiding a tight pitch as he’s walked by Miami Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk #26 in the fourth inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Joey Lucchesi #57 throws against the Miami Marlins in the sixth inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants third baseman Christian Koss #50 makes the throw to first to force out Miami Marlins’ Eric Wagaman #33 in the seventh inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sean Hjelle #64 throws against the Miami Marlins in the eighth inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Miami Marlins’ Kyle Stowers #28 and teammate Eric Wagaman #33 celebrate their MLB win over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Show Caption1 of 18Players including San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames #2 and manager Bob Melvin congregate on the field after teammate Wilmer Flores struck out swinging against Miami Marlins relief pitcher Cade Gibson #58 to end the seventh inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Expand