SAN FRANCISCO — With Jung Hoo Lee and Michael Conforto sidelined on the injured list, the San Francisco Giants have turned to young talents Luis Matos and Heliot Ramos to fill the void in their outfield. On Monday night, both players seized their opportunity, driving in all four of the Giants’ runs. However, their efforts fell short in a 6-4, 10-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park.
Matos and Ramos showcased their potential, contributing significantly to the Giants’ offense. Ramos delivered a crucial two-out RBI single in the sixth inning to put the Giants ahead 4-3, ending Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s night. Yet, the bullpen couldn’t maintain the lead, as Kiké Hernández’s pinch-hit solo homer off rookie Erik Miller tied the game in the seventh. Will Smith’s two-run double off Taylor Rogers in the 10th ultimately sealed the Giants’ fate.
The loss prevented the Giants (19-24) from securing their first three-game winning streak of the season. They remain the only team in the majors yet to achieve such a feat, underscoring their struggles to find consistency through the first 43 games.
“We just haven’t played well enough in a lot of facets of the game,” manager Bob Melvin remarked. “You still look at some of the numbers, they’re not that good, offensively and on the pitching side. Defensively, we’ve made some mistakes, too. You have to do a couple of things really well to put together a win streak. I believe we will. Obviously, there’s a lot of youth right now and some different players than we envisioned being here. But it’s part of the game, and we’re going to have to deal with it.”
The Giants, already hampered by injuries to key players like Patrick Bailey, Jorge Soler, Nick Ahmed, Austin Slater, and Tom Murphy, found a silver lining in Matos and Ramos. Both players, recently called up from Triple-A Sacramento, provided much-needed offensive spark.
The Dodgers struck first with a leadoff homer from Mookie Betts against Giants starter Jordan Hicks. However, the Giants responded swiftly, with Matos blasting a three-run homer off Yamamoto in the second inning. Matos, who hadn’t had a hit in the majors this season before Monday, launched a first-pitch curveball 385 feet to left field.
“I wasn’t looking for the curveball there, but I was ready to swing early,” Matos explained in Spanish. “I saw it hanging and managed to hit it out.”
Matos, 22, had impressed during Spring Training but struggled after being assigned to Triple-A, batting .218 with a .663 OPS and three home runs in 31 games. Now back in the majors, he is expected to take on a significant role in center field with Lee out due to a dislocated shoulder.
“The swing has been there,” Matos said. “I was trying to make some adjustments. I was also making good contact down in Triple-A, but I wasn’t having a lot of luck. But you always have to make adjustments and keep working hard to get better every day.”
The Dodgers clawed back with RBI hits from Shohei Ohtani and Gavin Lux, but the Giants briefly reclaimed the lead thanks to Ramos’ sixth-inning single, which slipped past a diving Betts. Ramos, batting .333 (7-for-21) with three RBIs since his recall, has shown promise in his limited time.
“We’re relying heavily on the young guys right now,” said Hicks, who allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings in his first career start against the Dodgers. “They’re bringing some new life, new energy.”
However, rookie mistakes proved costly. In the bottom of the ninth, after Wilmer Flores walked, the Giants sent Tyler Fitzgerald to pinch-run, only for him to be picked off first base by Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen. Ramos managed an infield single and stole second, but Treinen struck out Jakson Reetz and induced a flyout from Matos, sending the game into extra innings.
“We are making some mistakes still,” Melvin acknowledged. “That’s going to come with youth sometimes.”
Despite the loss, the Giants remain hopeful that their young players will continue to grow and contribute. With the season still young and key players recovering from injuries, they aim to find the right balance and build on the flashes of potential displayed by Matos and Ramos. As they navigate these challenges, the Giants will rely on their resilience and the promising talent of their rising stars.
