SAN FRANCISCO – The worst teams in the National League concluded their final series against one another with an exhibition of truly horrendous baseball on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park.
The Giants issued 10 walks, allowed nine hits, let a Rockies runner score on a wild pitch, committed an error and even hit a batter in front of the 32,063 fans who watched the home team lose 13-7 to visiting Colorado.
After the final out, manager Tony Vitello held a lengthy team meeting before facing the media.
“It was sloppy,” Vitello said, later adding, “It had more of the feel of a lower level, a junior college game, as opposed to a big league game with how some of the things transpired.”
The reason for addressing the Giants after another loss in a lost season was obvious to the manager.
“People paid money to sit through that, and (infield coach) Ron Washington has to sit through that, so you might as well sit through a meeting,” Vitello said.
Starting pitcher Blake Tidwell shared the general theme of Vitello’s message after the game.
“Have conviction in everything you do,” Tidwell said. “I think he did a good job. everybody was locked in, and the guys were nodding their heads and stuff. So I think that everybody was on board with what he was saying.”
Brett Sullivan’s three-run home run over the right field wall through the circling seagulls padded the lead to six in the top of the seventh and drew boos from those who had watched the Giants lose the season series (6-7) to the Rockies for the first time since 2020.
The bumbling Giants concluded a nine-game homestand, the team’s longest of the season, with a 3-6 record. They were coming off a 7-1 victory over the Rockies on Saturday.
The Giants (51-73) are in 14th place in the National League and are 15 games out of a playoff spot with 38 games to play. The Rockies (50-74) remain the NL’s last-place team but are now one game back of San Francisco.
Bryce Eldridge started his day by turning a one-man double play at first base after handling a sharp grounder and tagging out the runner retreating to first while stepping on the bag.
He then gave the Giants a 1-0 lead by singling to center, watching Rafael Devers motor home all the way from second.
That lead would not last long, though. The Rockies scored four in the top of the second, three of those coming on Adael Amador’s first home run of the season.
Drew Gilbert cut the deficit in half with a single in the bottom of the inning. Then Devers, after pulling a home run just foul past the right field pole and into the water, left no doubt on his next swing.
The designated hitter launched his 25th home run of the season, and the team’s 110th splash hit 380 feet into McCovey Cove to give the Giants a 5-4 lead. Turner Hill’s first base hit of his MLB career drove in Osleivis Basabe to tack on another run in the third inning.
Following two uneventful innings, Tidwell unraveled in the top of the fifth. Vitello said Tidwell was dealing with back tightness, but Tidwell did not use it as an excuse for his performance.
“I thought I threw the ball pretty (expletive),” Tidwell said. “A lot of walks, those kill you. They did a good job with their plan, and I didn’t execute mine.”
Tidwell’s final line went 4.1 innings pitched, five walks, five earned runs allowed, and only one strikeout.
Vitello removed him after he put runners on the corners, but reliever Sam Hentges could not get the Giants out of the jam, allowing Turlock native Cole Carrigg and Mickey Moniak to tie the game with back-to-back RBI.
Buddy Kennedy, batting .094, drew a walk off Nick Frasso with the bases loaded to put the Giants back on top. That lead lasted only a few minutes. A wild pitch by JT Brubaker allowed Zac Veen to slide home before catcher Drew Cavanaugh had time to apply the tag.
The Rockies (50-74) tacked on two more runs in the sixth to pad their lead to 10-7, and then pushed it to 13-7 in the seventh. The Giants used seven pitchers against the Rockies on Sunday.
The Giants (51-73) have a day off before beginning a three-game series in Cleveland on Tuesday. Carson Whisenhunt (3-3, 6.11 ERA) is expected to start against Foster Griffin (13-4, 3.25 ERA).
Injury notes
Marcello Mayer, the onetime top prospect the Giants received from the Red Sox for Erik Miller at the trade deadline, could make his Giants debut soon. However, Vitello said, “I think Cleveland (series) would be a little early, maybe the back end of that series” when asked about when Mayer could return from a forearm injury.
Infielder Willy Adames hopes to avoid a stint on the injured list as he battles a back injury, and Vitello told reporters that Adames might be able to pinch-hit before he makes a start. He did not provide a timeline.
San Francisco Giants’ Basabe Osleivis (39) is checked out after being hit by a pitch against the Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. He remained in the game. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Sam Hentges (31) throws against the Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blade Tidwell (46) stands on the mound before being pulled from the game by San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello during their game against the Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Basabe Osleivis (39) throws to first base for an out on a ball hit by Colorado Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar (14) in the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Colorado Rockies’ Zac Veen (13) celebrates after scoring a run off of a wild pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Basabe Osleivis (39) celebrates his double against the Colorado Rockies in the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Buddy Kennedy (41) bats against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Gabriel Hughes (43) throws against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)