Sports

SF Giants' offense quiet for second straight night in loss to Cubs

SAN FRANCISCO - Eric Haase picked the slider out of the dirt, leaped out of his crouch and fired an absolute strike to second base.

To absolutely no one.

Willy Adames didn’t cover second, and neither did Luis Arraez. Chicago’s Ian Happ stole second without sliding. Michael Busch, standing on third, took advantage and quickly dashed to the plate, stealing home standing up.

This defensive breakdown was the defining sequence of the Giants’ second straight listless loss to the Chicago Cubs, a 6-1 defeat on Saturday night at Oracle Park that clinched a second straight losing homestand.

“Basically, adrenaline kicked in,” said manager Tony Vitello. “We weren’t throwing the ball on that particular play. He was frustrated and upset about it afterwards.”

The Giants (28-43) have not had a winning homestand since late April, when they took two of three against both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins. They are 13-20 at Oracle Park this season, and 6-11 at home since May.

Rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald surrendered a home run to Pete Crow-Armstrong, walked three batters and hit another as he allowed four runs over 3 2/3 innings, tied for his shortest outing of the season. Before Saturday night, McDonald had failed to pitch at least five innings in only one other outing this season.

“T-Mac was just a little bit out of sync,” Vitello said. “He’s been so good at being one of our best strike throwers. He’s got stuff that’s moving all over the place and kind of yanked a few.”

“Just wasn’t very good overall,” McDonald said. “As a starter, you’ve got to be able to go at least past the fourth, which I didn’t do tonight. Puts the bullpen in a bad situation, puts the whole game in a bad situation. So, gotta be better on my part.”

Rookie Bryce Eldridge extended his on-base streak to 19 games in the bottom of the first, surpassing the Detroit Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle for the longest streak by a rookie this season. The last Giants rookie to have an on-base streak of 20 games was Matt Duffy, who did so in 2015.

Second baseman Arraez extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI triple in the bottom of the third inning. Arraez, whose .325 batting average ranks sixth in the majors, is three games shy of matching his career-best hitting streak of 16 games.

Center fielder Drew Gilbert reached base in all four plate appearances, drawing three walks and being plunked by a breaking ball.

The Giants had their share of opportunities offensively but went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Worth noting

  • Left-handed reliever Matt Gage (right knee inflammation) made a rehab appearance with Single-A San Jose on Friday night, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. He is not eligible to return until June 18.
  • Right-hander Tyler Mahle is set to make a rehab start tomorrow.
  • Left fielder Heliot Ramos (right quad) is progressing well and could start a rehab assignment as early as next week.

Up next

The Giants will try to avoid being swept for the sixth time this season as Logan Webb (3-4, 3.88 ERA) takes the mound against Colin Rea (5-4, 5.19 ERA). Webb has been rolling in his last two starts, allowing one earned run over 15 innings with 11 strikeouts to one walk.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 10:40 PM.

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