SAN FRANCISCO -- Given how much traffic they had on the bases throughout Tuesday night's game, it's probably not ideal that the Giants had to use Tyler Rogers for a 63rd time and also had closer Ryan Walker hit that league-leading mark.
But after four-plus months of hanging right around .500, they'll stack wins any way they can, and they're in position for a necessary sweep after a 4-1 win over the historically bad Chicago White Sox. The Giants went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and didn't fully take advantage of seven walks issued by Chicago's pitchers, but Robbie Ray was sharp, leading the way in a third consecutive win.
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The Giants have been three games above .500 just once during the 2024 MLB season, but they'll try to get back there Wednesday behind ace Logan Webb. Tuesday's win allowed them to keep pace with the Atlanta Braves, who maintained a 3 1/2 game lead for the third and final wild-card spot by beating the Philadelphia Phillies.
K's For Ray
Ray was coming off one of the worst outings of his career, but the White Sox provided much smoother waters. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits and tying his season-high with nine strikeouts.
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While the ERA is up near five and his command has been spotty at times, Ray's stuff is where it needs to be. He has 39 strikeouts through 27 2/3 innings and currently is sporting the highest K/9 rate of his career at 12.9. He won't come anywhere close to qualifying for MLB leaderboards this season, but that's higher than the current leader -- Chris Sale at 11.6 -- among qualifiers.
Whatever Works?
The Giants scored in three of the first five innings, but this wasn't a performance that they'll necessarily want to watch back in their next hitters' meeting. There was a lot of White Sox ineptitude mixed in.
The lineup put two on with one out in the second before Thairo Estrada hit into what looked to be an inning-ending double play. The turn wasn't quick enough, though, and a run scored. An error put the leadoff runner on in the third and the Giants scored their second run on a bases-loaded walk with no outs. A pop-up and double play ended their hopes of a big inning.
The run in the fifth was more aesthetically pleasing, as Heliot Ramos singled up the middle to bring Curt Casali home. A pair of walks in the seventh set up another potential big inning, but Matt Chapman hit into a double play. Mike Yastrzemski followed with a double down the line to ensure that the Giants got at least one run across.
Clutch Curt
With Patrick Bailey on the IL with a right oblique strain, Casali will be the starting catcher for at least the next week or so. So far, so good. A night after getting two singles and driving in the first run, Casali reached base three times and scored twice.
The multi-run game was his first since returning to the Giants, although he likely won't get a chance to keep the good vibes going on Wednesday. The Giants recalled Jakson Reetz from Triple-A and he figures to get the start against Garrett Crochet in the series finale, which is the dreaded (for a catcher) day game after a night game.
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