Latest news with #LuisMatos
Associated Press
2 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Versatile Jerar Encarnación returns to Giants after March surgery on his broken left hand
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bob Melvin has been waiting for the chance to write Jerar Encarnación's name into San Francisco's lineup. The versatile Encarnación came off the 60-day injured list Monday and was available for the opener of a four-game series with the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park, though not yet in the starting lineup. Melvin hopes that he could start Tuesday — whether that's at first base or in right field. Encarnación underwent surgery in March on his broken left hand after he was injured trying to make a diving catch during spring training. He batted .302 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in Cactus League play after hitting .248 with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 113 at-bats last year. 'We know he can give us some power and he's got power to all fields,' Melvin said. 'We saw it at the end of last year, we saw it in spring training. When we were about to leave spring training there were going to be a lot of at-bats for him.' The Giants could use a big boost at the plate, and Encarnación hopes to deliver. 'I'm just going to do what I'm able to do to contribute to the team,' said Encarnación, a Dominican Republic native who made his major league debut with Miami in 2022 and joined the Giants as a free agent last May. The Giants optioned outfielder Luis Matos to Triple-A Sacramento so he can further develop and play regularly. San Francisco returned home having dropped five of nine games on its road trip to Washington, Detroit and Miami. The Giants entered Monday having scored only 30 runs over their last 14 games — the club's fewest in such a stretch since being limited to 28 runs from June 20-July 5, 2013. 'That's the good thing about him is he can play multiple positions, he can pinch hit,' Melvin said. 'It's nice to have him back. Spring training we were talking about how impactful he was going to be. He was having a great spring and next thing you know he's out for a while. He feels good at the plate, he hit some home runs the last couple days, he's ready to go.' Encarnación has been eager to rejoin the Giants, but embraced his faith and that it took the time it did for him to fully recover and come back. He missed the first 59 games, then made seven rehab appearances with Triple-A Sacramento last week, playing three games at first base, starting two as designated hitter and two more in right field. 'I'm so happy and content that I'm here,' he said, before adding with a smile a few minutes later that he's 'great, muy bueno.' ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Giants' pitching is winning games despite the team's offensive woes
MIAMI (AP) — Runs have been hard to come by lately for the San Francisco Giants. The good news is their pitching staff has made it just as difficult for opponents to score. San Francisco ended May with a major league-best 2.64 ERA, while going 14 straight games without scoring more than four runs. Advertisement That theme continued in their series against the Miami Marlins, where they took two of three in South Florida. The Giants (33-26) reached the four-run threshold just once, in Sunday's 4-2 win, while limiting the Marlins to just three runs over the three-game series. 'Any time you win a series on the road you have to feel good about it," San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said, 'especially the way we've been scoring runs. We'll take it. It'd be nice offensively to break out some and put a little distance in some of these games.' In Sunday's win, Wilmer Flores drove in a run with a groundout in the third. Luis Matos hit a three-run shot in the fourth. And that's all the scoring San Francisco managed despite eight hits. Matos' homer, his fourth of the season, made it 4-0 and gave the Giants enough of a cushion to fend off Miami's late threat. Advertisement 'The way we've been scoring runs it felt like a 20-run homer at the time,' Melvin said. 'We had to grind at the end. It'd be nice to not have to play that game every day, but (it was) a huge swing for a guy that works really hard every day ... number gets called on a day like this where we're not scoring any runs and has the biggest swing of the game.' Their pitching in the series was excellent as it was the entire month of May, despite missing three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who remains out with a strained right pectoral muscle. They shut out Miami in the opener thanks to five sharp innings from Kyle Harrison, who made just his made his second start since moving to the rotation because of Verlander's injury. The Giants limited the Marlins to three hits for a second straight game on Saturday despite losing 1-0. Hayden Birdsong, another reliever-turned-starter, limited the Marlins to two hits through five innings on Sunday before giving up three in the sixth. San Francisco's bullpen preserved the close win, with five relievers only giving up a run the rest of the way. Advertisement Their 2.64 ERA was the Giants best in a single month since posting a 1.91 ERA in September and October of 2010. Despite their pitching, the Giants have scored just 30 runs over their last 14 games. The last time San Francisco scored four runs or fewer in 14 straight games in the same season was in 1976, when the Giants went 15 games without scoring that many. 'The runs will come. We're hitting the ball . We've just got to find that one swing obviously late in the game to pull away, Birdsong said. "But we're playing good baseball and if we keep it tight early we'll play pretty well.' ___ AP MLB: Alanis Thames, The Associated Press
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Giants' pitching is winning games despite the team's offensive woes
MIAMI (AP) — Runs have been hard to come by lately for the San Francisco Giants. The good news is their pitching staff has made it just as difficult for opponents to score. San Francisco ended May with a major league-best 2.64 ERA, while going 14 straight games without scoring more than four runs. That theme continued in their series against the Miami Marlins, where they took two of three in South Florida. The Giants (33-26) reached the four-run threshold just once, in Sunday's 4-2 win, while limiting the Marlins to just three runs over the three-game series. 'Any time you win a series on the road you have to feel good about it,' San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said, 'especially the way we've been scoring runs. We'll take it. It'd be nice offensively to break out some and put a little distance in some of these games.' In Sunday's win, Wilmer Flores drove in a run with a groundout in the third. Luis Matos hit a three-run shot in the fourth. And that's all the scoring San Francisco managed despite eight hits. Matos' homer, his fourth of the season, made it 4-0 and gave the Giants enough of a cushion to fend off Miami's late threat. 'The way we've been scoring runs it felt like a 20-run homer at the time,' Melvin said. 'We had to grind at the end. It'd be nice to not have to play that game every day, but (it was) a huge swing for a guy that works really hard every day ... number gets called on a day like this where we're not scoring any runs and has the biggest swing of the game.' Their pitching in the series was excellent as it was the entire month of May, despite missing three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who remains out with a strained right pectoral muscle. They shut out Miami in the opener thanks to five sharp innings from Kyle Harrison, who made just his made his second start since moving to the rotation because of Verlander's injury. The Giants limited the Marlins to three hits for a second straight game on Saturday despite losing 1-0. Hayden Birdsong, another reliever-turned-starter, limited the Marlins to two hits through five innings on Sunday before giving up three in the sixth. San Francisco's bullpen preserved the close win, with five relievers only giving up a run the rest of the way. Their 2.64 ERA was the Giants best in a single month since posting a 1.91 ERA in September and October of 2010. Despite their pitching, the Giants have scored just 30 runs over their last 14 games. The last time San Francisco scored four runs or fewer in 14 straight games in the same season was in 1976, when the Giants went 15 games without scoring that many. 'The runs will come. We're hitting the ball . We've just got to find that one swing obviously late in the game to pull away, Birdsong said. 'But we're playing good baseball and if we keep it tight early we'll play pretty well.' ___ AP MLB:
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Matos' 3-run homer powers San Francisco Giants to 4-2 win over Miami Marlins
Luis Matos hit a three-run home run and the San Francisco Giants beat the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Sunday. After Wilmer Flores knocked in a run with a groundout in the second inning, Matos connected on a 2-0 changeup from Ryan Weathers (1-1) in the third that traveled 390 feet to left-center and gave the Giants a 4-0 lead. San Francisco did not score after that, marking the 14th straight games the Giants have failed to score more than four runs. San Francisco Giants' Heliot Ramos scores on a ground out hit by Wilmer Flores during the third inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in Miami. Lynne Sladky / AP Hayden Birdsong (3-1) struck out five and allowed five hits and one run in his second start in San Francisco's rotation. He had limited Miami to two hits through five innings — both doubles by Xavier Edwards — before giving up three straight hits to start the sixth, which allowed Miami to make it 4-1 on Otto Lopez's RBI single. Camilo Doval got his second four-out save of the series, and his seventh save of the season. Edwards set a Marlins franchise record with five hits in his second game back from a left mid back strain. He made it 4-2 in the seventh when he drove in Eric Wagaman with an infield single. Heliot Ramos had two singles and a steal and scored San Francisco's first run in the third. Weathers struck out a season-high seven batters, walked four and allowed five hits over six innings. Key moment Doval worked out of the bases-loaded jam in the eighth after inheriting two runners with two outs. He walked pinch-hitter Dane Meyers before striking out Javier Sanoja. Key stat San Francisco's pitching limited Miami to three runs in the series. Up next Giants RHP Logan Webb (5-5, 2.82) starts the opener of a four-game home series against San Diego. Marlins RHP Max Meyer (3-4, 4.53) is on the mound for the first of three games against Colorado.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Luis Matos helps Giants beat Marlins, end road trip on high note
June 1 - Luis Matos launched a three-run home run, Hayden Birdsong carried a lead into the sixth inning and the San Francisco Giants held on for a second win in their three-game road series in Miami, 4-2 over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon. Ryan Walker, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval each pitched out of a late-inning jam, stranding eight baserunners in the process while protecting a lead that resulted in the Giants' fourth win on their just completed nine-game trip. Birdsong (3-1) limited the Marlins to just one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Miami's Xavier Edwards, who returned from the injured list Saturday after a 16-day absence due to a strained back, went 5-for-5. He doubled in the first before singling in the third, sixth, seventh and ninth. After the Giants had taken a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Wilmer Flores' infield out, Matos increased the advantage to four runs in the fourth with his two-out shot off Miami starter Ryan Weathers (1-1). Casey Schmitt, who had walked, and Patrick Bailey, who singled, were on base for Matos' fourth homer of the season. Those were the last of the runs allowed by Weathers in his six innings. He served up five hits and three walks and struck out seven. Miami chipped away with single runs in the sixth on an Otto Lopez single and the seventh on Edwards' fourth hit of the day, but saw opportunities to do further damage denied by the San Francisco bullpen. After Walker got the final two outs of the sixth with two aboard to retain a 4-1 lead, Rogers struck out Jesus Sanchez and got Lopez to ground out with the bases loaded in a 4-2 game to end the seventh. The Marlins loaded the bases again in the eighth, this time with two outs, before Doval got Javier Sanoja to ground to short to keep the hosts two runs behind. With the help of a double-play grounder, Doval worked around Edwards' career-best fifth hit and a walk to Lopez in a scoreless ninth for his seventh save. Matos and Heliot Ramos had two hits apiece for the Giants, who won despite being held to four runs or fewer for the 14th consecutive game. --Field Level Media
