SAN FRANCISCO -- A night after getting eliminated from the postseason race, the Giants announced a paid attendance of 32,151, a good crowd for any Wednesday night, and a great one given the product the team has offered over the last month. At about 9:30 p.m., about half of those who had stuck around got up and started heading for the exits.
The Giants made two errors in the top of the 10th, providing a boost to a Padres lineup that had not won in extra innings all year. They happily took advantage, handing the Giants a 5-2 loss that guarantees they cannot finish above .500 this season.
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The Giants once were 13 games over, but they'll need to sweep the Dodgers this weekend just to finish at .500 for a second consecutive season. With Wednesday's loss, they dropped to fourth in the NL West, a game behind the Padres.
The Giants went up early on Thairo Estrada's homer in the second, and then rallied back in the bottom of the fifth after the Padres tied it up. In the seventh, the Padres once again tied the game when Garrett Cooper took Sean Manaea deep.
The Padres entered the night with an 0-12 record in extra innings, historic ineptitude that will keep them out of the postseason despite having one of the best rosters in the game. But in the top of the 10th, the Giants provided plenty of help.
After the free runner scored, Marco Luciano's throwing error put a runner on second with two outs. An intentional walk of Juan Soto set the stage for Manny Machado, who soon had two in scoring position after Patrick Bailey sailed a back-pick attempt into center field.
San Francisco Giants
Machado nearly homered two pitches later and then fouled a fastball straight back. The Giants kept pitching to him even though they had an open base, and he blooped a two-run single into center.
Speed (1994)
Tyler Fitzgerald gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the fifth with a broken-bat single to right. He then showed off the trait that could keep him in the big leagues for years to come.
Fitzgerald got a huge jump on a 1-0 pitch and easily picked up his first stolen base in the big leagues. In the seventh, he again stole second after drawing a walk.
The night was a continuation of what Fitzgerald did in the minors this season, when he went 32-for-35 across two levels. As a professional, Fitzgerald now has 72 stolen bases in 81 attempts.
When Fitzgerald heard the Giants harping on the need for speed this spring, he vowed to make it a bigger part of his game in 2023. He is as fast as any player in the organization, and he could provide a much-needed jolt for a team that ranks last in the Majors in stolen bases this season.
Big Sean
Sean Manaea's move back to the rotation has potentially set him up nicely. The veteran left-hander holds a player option for the 2024 season, and while it seemed for most of the year that he would opt in, Manaea could now be looking at a better payday by again testing the open market.
Manaea finished his first year in San Francisco by throwing seven shutout innings at Dodger Stadium and then allowing two runs over six innings to a good Padres lineup. He struck out eight and walked none on Wednesday. Manaea returned to starting on September 12 and allowed six runs in 24 innings the rest of the way.
Tie-ro
Estrada got the Giants on the board first with a loud homer to left, his 14th of the season. With the blast, Estrada tied last year's total, which was his previous high in the big leagues.
Estrada already has set career-highs in hits, doubles and stolen bases this season. He entered the day with a team-high 3.8 fWAR, and he'll pretty easily lead Giants' position players. The next closest is Bailey at 2.8 fWAR. Logan Webb leads the team overall at 4.9 fWAR.