SF Giants' rough defensive inning paves way for loss to Diamondbacks

SAN FRANCISCO - If the Giants are going to have any shot at being competitive this season, they’re going to need to find a way to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Due in part to back-to-back defensive miscues from shortstop Willy Adames and neophyte left fielder Casey Schmitt, San Francisco dropped a fourth straight game to their NL West rivals with a 6-2 loss on Memorial Day at Oracle Park. With the season officially one-third over, the Giants (22-32) are 10 games under .500 and tied with the New York Mets for the second-worst record in the National League.

“Pretty tough set of circumstances when they happen back-to-back and you’re dealing with a good lineup,” said Giants manager Tony Vitello. “Just because you make a couple of mistakes doesn’t guarantee the other team is going to do anything. They were able to take advantage of them.”

The Giants energized the Memorial Day crowd in the bottom of the fourth inning when Rafael Devers hit a two-run double, for a 2-1 lead. With right-hander Landen Roupp looking sharp, the Giants positioned themselves to beat the Diamondbacks for the first time this season.

Then, in a span of two plays, the straits turned on the Giants as they paved the way for the Diamondbacks to take a lead.

Adames gifted Arizona a free rally to start the inning by airmailing a routine throw to first base that landed in the Diamondbacks’ dugout. Adames’ error allowed Arizona’s Tommy Troy, a former Stanford star who attended Los Gatos High School, to reach second for the top of the order.

The Diamondbacks received another gift from the Giants’ defense, this one courtesy of Schmitt. Following Adames’ error, Ketel Marte lifted a fly ball to left. Schmitt, making his fifth career start in left field, gave chase but found himself in a gray area.

Schmitt charged hard to try to catch the ball, but pulled up at the last second to try to corral the ball on the hop and keep Troy at third. That decision put him in an awkward position. After it fell right in front of Schmitt, the ball rolled past him, forcing him to reverse course. Troy scored easily, and Marte had a double.

“I think he actually got a great jump on it and he never slowed down,” Vitello said. “You kind of don’t like when guys don’t have conviction to them about going after the ball. I think the wind kind of blew it to him and I think he got tighter on it than he thought he was going to be, almost as if he was mentally prepared to lay out. … Almost kind of a defensive version of getting handcuffed.”

The mistakes by Adames and Schmitt paved the way for the Diamondbacks to score three runs, turning the Giants’ 2-1 lead into a 4-2 deficit. Those miscues also contributed to an early exit for Roupp. He struck out seven batters over five innings but allowed four runs (two earned).

“I think that kind of shifted the momentum to them and the rest of the game - that whole inning,” Roupp said. “So, I got to figure out a way to not let that happen.”

Arizona added two more runs in the top of the sixth on a two-run single by Marte, who hit a walk-off homer against the Giants last week, and is batting .588 (10 for 17) in four games against San Francisco.

Worth noting

Devers was plunked just about the right elbow in the bottom of the ninth inning on a 96.5 mph sinker by Diamondbacks reliever Brandyn Garcia. Despite being in clear pain, Devers remained in the game and ran for himself.

Following the game, Devers briefly said his elbow felt good.

“Above the elbow, which is definitely better than being on the elbow,” Vitello said. “But probably a 97 - somewhere in there - mile an hour pitch and it did square him up. Probably tough to say how it will feel tomorrow, but going over there and hearing the conversation of what he said to me, for the time being, he would be good as it relates to tomorrow.”

Up next

Right-hander Tyler Mahle, who has a 6.10 ERA over 10 starts as a Giant, will get another crack at the Diamondbacks after allowing six earned runs over five innings against them last week. Right-hander Treovr McDonald will start on Wednesday for the series finale.

Vitello said there’s a good chance ace Logan Webb makes his return from the 15-day injured list during the Giants’ upcoming series against the Rockies in Colorado, but nothing has been decided.

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 5:06 PM.