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SF Giants total collapse continues in painful 11-8 loss to Cubs

The SF Giants offense came alive on Tuesday, but the Chicago Cubs capitalized on defensive mistakes to pull off a comeback.

Natasha Welingkar

SF Giants total collapse continues in painful 11-8 loss to Cubs
SF Giants total collapse continues in painful 11-8 loss to Cubs /
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The SF Giants and their struggling offense finally put together a solid performance against the Chicago Cubs, and it ended in a torturous 11-8 loss. The Giants took the lead early and late, but the bullpen (aided by some horrendous defense) blew it both times. Now 70-69, the Giants are inching further behind the Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Reds for the final National League Wild Card. Yes, there's plenty of season left, but the Giants have lost five straight games and are 16-28 since July 19th.

SF Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. (right) is greeted by right fielder Mike Yastrzemski after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. (2023)
SF Giants 1B LaMonte Wade Jr. and OF Mike Yastrzemski celebrate after Wade homered against the Chicago Cubs on September 5, 2023 / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants, who were shut out by Cubs' lefty Justin Steele in Monday afternoon's 5-0 loss, bounced back on Tuesday against veteran starter Kyle Hendricks. First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. sent the very first pitch of the game 412 feet to right-center field for a solo home run to put the Giants an immediate 1-0 lead. The Giants' broadcasters hadn't even finished giving Hendricks his intro.

In the second inning, J.D. Davis singled to center field, but a poorly fielded ball by Cody Bellinger, who is expected to be a target for the Giants in the offseason, allowed Davis to reach second. A Brandon Crawford ground-out got Davis over to third, and Wade Meckler singled just over shortstop Dansby Swanson's head to drive Davis home. The Giants had another one-run inning under their belt. 

But the trend just kept going. In the third, up 2-0, Mike Yastrzemski took a changeup deep to left center, just over the ivy wall at Wrigley, to put the Giants up 3-0. At only 359 feet, it would not have been a home run in any other ballpark.

On the other side of the game, the Giants looked strong defensively for the first two innings. Ryan Walker took the mound to start the Giants' bullpen game and struck out his first two batters before walking the next two. It took a diving catch from Wade Meckler to escape the inning without allowing a run.

Walker came out for the second, getting his first two batters out again, this time via ground-out, before allowing two singles to Yan Gomes and Nick Madrigal. Manager Gabe Kapler went to lefty Scott Alexander for the final out, and he did the job, inducing a pop-out.

But trouble came for Alexander and the Giants in the bottom of the third inning. Notoriously fast runner Nico Hoerner reached first on an infield single and advanced on a two-strike single by Cody Bellinger two batters later. With runners on the corners and one out, Kapler went to Jakob Junis, presumably hoping he could retire the next two hitters and give the Giants some bulk.

However, Dansby Swanson singled to no man's land between Meckler and Joc Pederson to put the Cubs on the board. Then, the Giants gave up an infield single to Seiya Suzuki. It could have been an inning-ending double-play ball straight to the mound, but Junis misread where the shifted infielders were behind him and let the ball go. With the bases loaded, Junis walked Jeimer Candelario on four pitches, bringing in another run.

With the bases still loaded, Junis gave up a double to center, a ball Pederson could not catch. Junis was able to earn his final two outs via ground out and pop-up, but the Cubs had taken a 4-3 lead.

Given how things have gone recently for the Giants offensively, that seemed like that could easily be it. They had finally scored early against an opposing starter, one who nearly no-hit them in June. Would they really be able to strike again?

Hendricks was perfect in the fourth and fifth innings, but Wilmer Flores led off the sixth inning with a double. That brought Pederson to the plate with a runner in scoring position, and he lined an extra-base hit of his own off the right-field wall. Flores scored the tying run.

Hendricks struck out Blake Sabol to record the first out of the inning, but Cubs manager David Ross decided that would be it for the soft-tossing righty. He called upon Hayden Wesneski to finish off the sixth. Wesneski threw a 96 mph sinker to J.D. Davis that drifted toward the outer third, and Davis blasted for a two-run home run. It was his first big fly since August 7th. The Giants had a 6-4 lead.

With the wind blowing out at Wrigley, though, a two-run lead was far from safe. Perhaps with that exact environment in mind, Kapler called upon top setup arm Tyler Rogers in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rogers retired Chicago in the sixth and returned to the mound in the seventh. Rogers issued a one-out walk to Dansby Swanson and then made a 3-1 mistake to Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki has haunted the Giants in their matchups throughout the season, and he crushed a game-tying two-run homer.

After Suzuki erased the lead, Rogers was replaced by Luke Jackson who fell victim to bad luck and bad defense. Jeimer Candelario hit a high fly ball to the left field that should have been an easy out. Instead, Pederson lost it in the wind and it fell for a double. Then, Gomes hit a slow ground ball between Estrada and Crawford for another infield hit.

With runners on the corners, Nick Madrigal hit a chopper to Casey Schmitt at third base. Schmitt rushed a throw home and it bounced off catcher Patrick Bailey's glove, allowing Candelario to score and the other two runners to advance. The Cubs 7-6 lead would quickly get even larger, though, after Jackson allowed a three-run homer to Christopher Morel on a hanging slider.

Jackson did not allow any more runs to score, but the damage had been done. 

Davis led off the top of the eighth inning with a double, his third hit of the day, and scored on a RBI single by Crawford. A fielding error by Dansby Swanson with two outs gave Schmitt a chance to come to the plate representing the tying run, but he flew out to right field.

The Cubs added another run in the bottom of the eighth against Taylor Rogers, but Flores homered off Julian Merryweather to lead off the ninth and cut the lead. Even as the Giants continue to fall in the standings, Flores' career year continues. Still, it was far from enough to get San Francisco back in the game.

The SF Giants will return to Wrigley Field on Wednesday to finish up this three-game series against the Cubs. The Giants have not yet announced their scheduled starting pitcher. Cubs rookie southpaw Jordan Wicks is set to start for Chicago. First pitch is scheduled for 11:20 AM Pacific.

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Natasha Welingkar
NATASHA WELINGKAR

Natasha Welingkar (she/her) is a creative marketer, writer, and lifelong Bay Area sports fan. Born to Indian immigrants, she has been obsessed with baseball since infancy, picking up on the sport through her parents' love of the SF Giants and the soothing sounds of Jon Miller on the radio.Natasha received a Bachelor's degree from Cal with a major in cognitive science and minor in journalism. In college, she covered breaking news, national politics, and lifestyle for The Tab’s Berkeley offshoot. She also led the campus’ official creative agency, an organization responsible for campus-wide design education as well as graphic design, photography, and web design work for student organizations.

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