SF Giants fall apart in fifth inning, lose outfielder to injury, in loss to A's

WEST SACRAMENTO – What had been a solid outing for Giants right-hander Tyler Mahle against the Athletics on Friday night turned sour in a hurry in the fifth inning.

After allowing singles to Lawrence Butler and Jeff McNeil, Mahle served up an 87-mph cutter to Nick Kurtz, who took it 417 feet to left center field, as part of a five-run fifth inning that put the Giants behind to stay in a 5-2 loss to the A's before a sellout crowd of 12,348 at Sutter Health Park.

The Giants got solo home runs from Luis Arraez and Harrison Bader, but also left 10 runners on base and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, in what became their third straight loss.

Down 5-2 in the seventh, the Giants (18-27) had runners on second and third with one out before A's reliever Jose Suarez struck out Matt Chapman and got Rafael Devers to ground out.

Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos left the game after the fifth inning with what was described as tightness in his right quadriceps. Casey Schmitt, making his first appearance in the outfield at any level, replaced Ramos in left field.

Ramos was hurt during the bottom of the fifth, grimacing while sliding to try to catch a bloop single to left field by McNeil.

Ramos said after the game that he hoped the injury wasn’t serious. Giants manager Tony Vitello said Ramos would likely be checked out late Friday or early Saturday. The series between former Bay Area rivals continues Saturday and Sunday.

“I’d like to think it’s not anything too severe,” Vitello said. “It’d be safe to say he wouldn’t play (Saturday).”

Mahle, who was making his ninth start of the season, was coming off a no-decision at Oracle Park last Sunday when he allowed four runs on five hits, including two homers, in what became a 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 12 innings.

Friday, Mahle had six strikeouts in the first four innings, three on four-seam fastballs and two others on splitters. But he also allowed an RBI double to second baseman McNeil on a cutter that allowed A’s third baseman Zack Gelof to score.

Including Friday's game at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, Mahle has now allowed nine homers in 46 2/3 innings this season.

“Big at bat there, and he beat me,” Mahle said of Kurtz. “Other than that, balls weren’t hit very hard, just that one. … A lot of weak contact, ground balls, flares. Got to be better in big situations.”

After allowing the fifth-inning homer to Kurtz, Mahle was kept in the game and allowed three more hits, including an RBI single to A's centerfielder Henry Bolte, a Palo Alto High School alum who made his MLB debut earlier this week.

“Aside from the Kurtz swing … (Mahle) made good pitches,” Vitello said. “Some things found some holes and set up (Kurtz), and he’s done that to a lot of people, whether it’s bullpen or starter.”

The Giants went the first three innings without a hit before Arraez connected on his first home run of the season in the top of the fourth, taking a 90 mph fastball from Aaron Civale down the right field line before it landed just inside the foul pole.

The Giants then put runners on first and second with two outs before Bryce Eldridge lined out to second base.

Arraez came within a triple of hitting for the cycle, as he homered in the fourth, singled in the fifth and doubled in the seventh. He went 4-for-5, including a single in the top of the ninth.

Was he thinking triple in his last at-bat as he faced A’s lefty Hogan Harris?

“I forgot (about the cycle),” said Arraez, who is now hitting .317 this season with 15 RBI in 42 games. “I just tried to put the ball in play. (Harris) is a really good pitcher, and he’s got really good stuff. I just tried to put the ball in play.”

Daniel Susac returned to the Giants’ lineup after missing the last 22 games with an elbow issue and went 0-for-4, although he threw out Bolte, who was trying to steal second, in the bottom of the fourth.

It was outstanding,” Vitello said of Susac’s game. “It flowed with the whole game. I feel for Tyler. Maybe we could go back and say maybe you could do this or that, but it was one inning that was rough. (Mahle) was throwing strikes for the most part.

“I thought Susac played really well. I thought we played really well, and you got Kurtz as a threat in there, and (the A’s) guys are in first place. It’s a good team, but as a coaching staff back there, you have to feel like if we play like we did today, you’d like the law of percentages that we win the game.”

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 9:27 PM.