Giants' bid for fourth straight win done in by Padres' fast start

Any anticipation that the San Francisco Giants might win four games in a row for the first time this year seemingly dissipated by the third inning Friday night until a two-out threat made things much more interesting in the ninth.

And yet, no dice. The Padres' early outburst held up, leaving the Giants with still a vague chance to lose 100 games while highlighting the team's astonishing inability to sustain success. Adding an extra touch of melancholy, Robbie Ray , an All-Star with San Francisco last year, was the Padres' starting pitcher, and while he gave up Rafael Devers ' 36th homer, a grand slam in the fifth, the Giants never got closer in a 7-5 loss at Oracle Park.

San Francisco went down fighting though, putting two on with two outs in the ninth against All-Star closer Mason Miller , a gorgeous bunt base hit by Jonah Cox bringing up Devers. "I mean the guts to put down that bunt is one thing, but the execution is another," manager Tony Vitello marveled.

Miller pitched Devers carefully - Vitello noted that it would have been easy for Devers to hack at three pitches to try to be the hero, but he selflessly took what he was given. He walked to load the bases, a scenario Bryce Eldridge enjoys, but Miller got Eldridge looking at a 103 mph pitch at the bottom of the zone to end the game.

"I thought the ninth was great, to get back into the fight," Vitello said. "In a baseball game that's 7-1, you're kind of on the outside looking in, and you want to be in the thick of things, and that's where we got."

a-struck out for Whitcomb in the 8th. b-struck out for Knizner in the 9th. c-walked for Koss in the 9th.

E: Marte (1). LOB: San Diego 9, San Francisco 7. 2B: Merrill (24), Fermin 2 (13), Campusano (12), Bogaerts (15), Knizner (3), Eldridge (22). 3B: D.Harris (2), Tatis (3). HR: Devers (36), off Ray. RBIs: D.Harris 2 (8), Fermin 2 (19), Campusano (28), Bogaerts 2 (54), Eldridge (53), Devers 4 (96). SB: Cox (10), Merrill (26), Taylor (8).

Runners left in scoring position: San Diego 6 (Campusano, Bogaerts, Cronenworth 3, Tatis); San Francisco 4 (Gilbert, Whitcomb, Eldridge 2). RISP: San Diego 6 for 18; San Francisco 2 for 9.

ABS Challenge: Marte (Ball-Confirmed); Harris (Strike-Confirmed); Fermin (Strike-Confirmed); Basabe (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Gilbert (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Miller (Ball-Confirmed); Eldridge (Strike-Confirmed).

Umpires: Home, Stu Scheuwater; First, Jordan Baker; Second, Junior Valentine; Third, Rob Drake.

There's value, too, in making the Padres use their top three relievers in a game that looked like a romp initially. Giants starter Anthony Molina, very good in his first three starts since being acquired from Atlanta for Tyler Mahle on Aug. 3, didn't have it. He was throwing plenty of strikes, the emphasis for a pitching staff that has struggled, but they were getting drilled. Molina allowed nine hits, including five doubles and a triple, and seven runs in his three innings.

"I think what happened is I was missing the outside strike zone," Molina said, with Erwin Higueros interpreting. He speculated he was flying open a little too much with his changeup, giving up three hits on that pitch.

With few certainties about the Giants' rotation next year, Molina and Yunior Marte , who took over in the fourth, are trying to stake claims now. So too is lefty César Perdomo , who is scheduled to start Saturday against the Padres.

Molina, 24, vaulted to the top of the consideration list with his 3-0 record and 1.88 ERA in his first three starts, something of surprise given he was used in relief during his previous callups with the Rockies and Braves. In the minors, he mostly started.

Marte, 23, has made just one start but he has turned in strong work, with a 2.45 ERA. Take notice: He gave up a leadoff triple to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the eighth, then retired Jake Cronenworth , Manny Machado (strikeout) and Luis Campusano . Opponents are batting .189 against Marte.

Heading into 2027, the Giants have only two settled spots in the rotation, with Logan Webb and Landen Roupp . Hayden Birdsong could be back from Tommy John surgery close to the start of the season but he's not an automatic for the rotation or even a big-league spot immediately.

With looming labor strife, it's unclear if San Francisco will pursue any major free agents, but should the team do so, a solid veteran starter would be advisable - maybe a Robbie Ray type, assuming the Tarik Skubal-level free agents are out of reach. Either way, there will be one or two rotation spots still to fill and Molina, Marte and Perdomo essentially are getting early looks.

Devers got a day off Wednesday, ending his games played streak at 309, and the team was off Thursday, so the slugger was well rested. He golfed a low knuckle-curve from Ray, not a bad pitch at all, out to right.

"That's the very definition of a basic concept that's hard to do: Just stay to the ball," Vitello said, "That is a picture perfect example we could use in spring training."

Devers' 96 RBIs are the most by a Giants player since Hunter Pence 's 99 in 2013.

San Francisco would love to trip up San Diego, a division rival currently in the NL's final wild-card spot after the Giants swept the Cardinals this week.

"Looking ahead of the schedule and the time of year, by nature, there's going to be certain teams that are clawing for that," Vitello said of facing wild-card hopefuls while adding his own team is "kind of caught up in what they got going on and trying to build relationships and find their personality a little bit."

Every other team has won four consecutive games at some point. It's not much of an accomplishment, but San Francisco just can't get there, even with a young group that has played with determination