Rangers defeat SF Giants 2-1 in Bruce Bochy's return to Oracle Park

Bruce Bochy returned to Oracle Park in the visiting dugout and came out on top as the SF Giants lost to the Texas Rangers.

In Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy's anticipated return to Oracle Park on Friday night, Bochy's Rangers defeated the SF Giants 2-1. While Bochy reflected on his 13-year tenure as the Giants' manager prior to the game, his current team came away victorious. The Giants, on the other hand, continue searching for something to spark a seemingly lifeless offense.

SF Giants RHP Ross Stripling pitches against the Texas Rangers on August 11, 2023 / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Bochy's replacement in San Francisco, Gabe Kapler went with left-handed reliever Scott Alexander as an opener against the Rangers talented lineup. After allowing four runs in his last open, Alexander worked around a walk in a shutout inning of work. With a zero on the board, Kapler turned to Ross Stripling.

Stripling has lived up to preseason expectations since his return from the injured list at the end of June and delivered another quality outing on Friday night. Stripling shut out the Rangers for four innings before a pair of costly mistakes in the top of the sixth inning. Stripling hung a slider to two consecutive hitters, and powerful Nate Lowe and Mitch Garver each blasted solo home runs to give Texas a 2-0 lead.

Splash & Mash! #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/pcOvZg8pif

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) August 12, 2023

Stripling finished the inning without surrendering another run, finishing the game with five innings of two-run ball. He has now completed at least five innings in four of his past five appearances and has not allowed more than three runs in an appearance since May. Stripling turned in a solid mid-rotation outing, but with the Giants' offense in its current addled state, it just was not enough.

Rangers starting pitcher Jon Gray, who is quite familiar with Oracle Park from his early-career tenure with the Rockies, continued a longstanding trend of opposing pitchers breezing through the Giants lineup. 

While Gray has five pitches, the veteran threw his mid-90s four-seam fastball and slider more than 90% of the time on Friday evening. The Giants were actually making hard contact against Gray's heater but were often just under the pitch, resulting in several deep flyouts. Making matters worse, Gray's breaking ball was devastating. The Giants whiffed on nearly half of their swings against Gray's slider.

Gray ultimately breezed through seven shutout innings in just 87 pitches before Bochy turned to his bullpen. Gray struck out seven and allowed just two baserunners on two-out singles.

Giants relievers Ryan Walker, Taylor Rogers, and Luke Jackson kept the Rangers from expanding the lead, combining for three shutout innings. However, too much damage had already been done.

Aroldis Chapman walked Patrick Bailey with one out in the bottom of the eighth, which was the closest thing the Giants had to a rally at that point in the game. With a hard-throwing lefty on the mound, Kapler opted to send recently called-up infielder Mark Mathias to the plate as a pinch-hitter for Brandon Crawford.

Chapman lost control of the strike zone with his fastball, throwing a pair of wild pitches that allowed Bailey to advance to third base and Mathias to get ahead in the count 3-1. But Mathias swung through ball four before striking out on a hanging slider down the middle. Then, Chapman struck out rookie Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospect) to escape the jam unscathed.

With a 2-0 lead, Rangers closer Will Smith took the mound against his former team. Heliot Ramos (Giants Top 30 Prospect) pinch-hit to lead off the inning, his first plate appearance since he was recalled earlier this week, and lined a ball to center field. While the ball probably should have been caught center fielder Leodys Taveras misread it off the bat and allowed it to get past him. Then, Taveras spiked a throw back to the infield, allowing Ramos to reach third base.

Ramos scored on a groundout by Thairo Estrada, but Smith retired the next two batters he faced to record his 22nd save of the season.

Following the loss, the SF Giants fell to 62-54 on the season and are now just two games ahead of the Cubs and Reds for the second National League Wild Card. They also fell to seven games back of the Dodgers in the NL West. The Giants will look to get back on track tomorrow night when the Rangers return. Veteran starters Alex Cobb and Andrew Heaney are currently listed as the probable starting pitchers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM Pacific.