WEST SACRAMENTO – The Giants’ offense looked better after two sullen days in Southern California. Only problem was that their former Bay Area rivals managed the hits that mattered.
On a night when Luis Arraez homered for the first time this season while Harrison Bader also connected for the second time since coming off the injured list earlier this week, San Francisco couldn’t manage much else.
The end result was a 5-2 loss that extended the Giants’ skid to three straight and six of 10. Not the type of stuff that will inspire postseason hopes, either.
San Francisco began the game strong enough, with the offense mounting mini threats in each of the first two innings while starting pitcher Tyler Mahle effectively worked around some early traffic.
Then came the fifth inning, when it all blew up. The A’s batted around, had six hits and scored four runs, three coming on Nick Kurtz’s home run to left center.
As a whole, San Francisco’s offense had a decent night. Arraez added two singles and a double for his third multi-hit night in the last five games and is now batting .317. He finished a triple shy of the cycle. Bader and Willy Adames also rapped out a pair of hits each.
However, the news got worse for the Giants as the night went on. Slugging outfielder Heliot Ramos was removed from the game with right quad tightness.
Here are the takeaways from Friday:
Arraez’s drought ends
In many ways, Arraez is the key to the Giants’ offense as the No. 2 hitter in Tony Vitello’s lineup. His batting average is top 10 in the National League — no surprise for a bat that has been among San Francisco’s most consistent.
On Friday night, about 85 miles north of Oracle Park, Arraez provided a little pop with his first home run of the season. The ball wasn’t hit particularly hard — it had an exit velocity of 98.2 mph and went 350 feet — but it felt like it meant more than just the one run. Giants fans at Sutter Health Park unleashed a nice ovation as the ball landed in the home bullpen.
It was only Arraez’s fifth extra base hit in May and his first home run since Sept. 23, 2025. He also singled in the fifth, then doubled in the seventh before reaching on an infield single in the ninth.
The key for the Giants now is to get the bats behind him — Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers and Adames — to find their own grooves.
Defensive doings
A day after flexing his offensive prowess with an inside-the-park home run, Jung Hoo Lee once again showed he can be an asset on defense as well. The 27-year-old South Korean made one of the game’s best plays when he ignited a 9-4-2 putout in the second inning.
Darell Hernaiz, who had reached on a two-out single, tried to score from first base on Jeff McNeil’s double down the right field line but was thrown out by a spectacular gem from the Giants’ defense. Lee chased the ball down then turned and made a strong throw to second baseman Arraez, whose relay to catcher Daniel Susac was in time to get Hernaiz for the final out.
Mahle struggles again
For the second consecutive start, Mahle had a night not worth remembering.
The right-hander began the game with a five-pitch strikeout of Kurtz, the A’s leadoff batter, but it was mostly downhill after that.
Credit the A’s for showing a lot of patience at the plate. Mahle’s pitch count was at 58 through three innings, and his night ended after 90 pitches, only 54 of which were strikes.
That led to a stat line that was almost as bad as Mahle’s last outing. Against the A’s, he allowed five runs and 10 hits. Over his last two starts, Mahle has given up nine earned runs in 10 2/3 innings, worth a 7.59 ERA.
On the positive side, Mahle did reach a milestone when he collected his 800th career strikeout.