Athletics Drop Heartbreaker to Giants

Two Giants celebrating a win over the Athletics

Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images

May 18, 2025

Giants 3, Athletics 2

SAN FRANCISCO (May 18) — The Athletics saw a 2–1 lead vanish in the eighth, as a two-run inning gave the San Francisco Giants a come-from-behind 3–2 win over their former cross-bay rivals.

The late-inning hiccup squandered a dominant performance from Athletics starter Jeffrey Springs. Springs gave up a home run on his first pitch of the day then retired the next 20 batters he faced to give the Athletics a chance to win. The last hitter he faced, Matt Chapman, poked a single up the middle to snap the outs streak.

Springs said he felt “pretty good” about his outing. “Overall, I was trying to keep us in the game and go as deep as possible,” he said. “I feel like if I can pitch into the seventh and give us a chance to win, I’m pretty happy with it.”

“I thought he did a great job,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Springs. “Since three starts ago, he’s stepped up and performed up to his capabilities. Today was another display of what you can do with the fastball when you mix speeds and keep hitters off-balance.”

Athletics – Giants Game Summary

The Athletics loaded the bases in the first against Giants starter and long-time nemesis Justin Verlander. Jacob Wilson smacked a one-out double to give the Athletics their first baserunner. It looked like it might reach the left-field seats, but it died on the warning track. Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos almost caught it sno-cone style, but it popped out of his glove when he hit the wall. A pair of two-out walks gave Nick Kurtz a nice RBI opportunity, but his fly to shallow left hung in the air long enough for Ramos to run it down. Ramos turned around and hit the first pitch from Springs into the Giants’ bullpen in center field to give the Giants a 1–0 lead.

The Athletics broke through against Verlander in the fourth, all with two outs, to take a 2–1 lead. A Luis Urias double, followed by walks to Max Schuemann and Jhonny Pereda, loaded the bases for Lawrence Butler. Butler singled sharply to right-center, scoring both Urias and Schuemann as Pereda advanced to third.

Late Night (Afternoon?) LaMonte Does It Again

Reliable setup man Tyler Ferguson took the hill in the bottom of the eighth to face the bottom of the Giants’ lineup. Pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr led off the frame with a triple to Triples Alley in right-center. He scored the tying run when pinch-hitter Patrick Bailey singled up the middle. A sacrifice bunt moved Bailey to second, and Bailey scored on a single to left by Ramos, giving the Giants their 3–2 lead.

Ryan Walker mowed through the Athletics in the top of the ninth, tossing a seven-pitch 1-2-3 inning for his eighth save of the season.

What Went Right for the Athletics

Starting Pitching

Jeffrey Springs lasted 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out five and walking none. His ERA for the month of May is 1.46, which is first in the American League and second in the majors behind Andrew Abbott of the Cincinnati Reds (0.45 ERA).

Got the Timely Hit

Over the last five games, the Athletics have been struggling to drive runners in once they reach scoring position. When Butler got the hit, according to Kotsay, it lifted a bit of a weight off the shoulders of the team. “Everyone’s aware that we hadn’t scored in 12 or 13 innings,” he said. “For him to get that big hit, there was a charge in the dugout and a big momentum shift. You could feel the energy.”

What Went Wrong for the Athletics

Could Not Get to the Giants Relievers

Kotsay continued, “Then their ‘pen came in and shut it right back down.”

He was referring to the dominant Giants relief corps. Spencer Bivens, Erik Miller, Randy Rodriguez, and Ryan Walker combined to allow no runs on one hit, no walks, and four strikeouts across five innings.

Runners Left in Scoring Position

The Butler hit gave the Athletics a 2–1 lead, but they still left a lot on the table. They stranded five runners in scoring position out of seven total. The Giants, conversely, only left one runner in scoring position out of three total. They hit 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position. For the second day in a row, that was the difference in the game.

Batted Ball Luck

Wilson ripped a deep drive to left in the first that sounded like a homer off the bat, but it died on the warning track. Later that inning, Kurtz hit a shallow liner to left that looked like it would fall for a two-run single, but it hung in the air long enough (looking like it was floating for a few seconds) for Ramos to run in and catch it. Wilson also hit a sinking liner to right in the third that looked like a hit, but Luis Matos robbed him with a diving catch.

The Bottom of the Eighth

The Wade triple to lead off the bottom of the eighth set the table for the two runs that followed. Ferguson said of the high-and-away fastball Wade hit, “I feel pretty happy with the pitch I executed. Obviously, he was on time for it and made a good swing.”

Quotes

“A reliever’s job is tough. You gotta come ready to go every day. It’s not gonna go our way every day. You just try to find the positives, learn from the negatives, and move on.” — Tyler Ferguson on how to move past innings like the eighth inning from Sunday’s game

Looking Ahead

Rodriguez (3–0) earned the win, with Ferguson (0–2) taking the loss, both in relief.

The Athletics (22–25) will head back to West Sacramento for a seven-game homestand. Their first four games will be against the intradivision-rival Los Angeles Angels (20–25), who completed a three-game Freeway Series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday. Monday will see a battle of righties for the first game, Jose Soriano (2–4, 3.46 ERA) for the Angels and J.T. Ginn (1–1, 4.61 ERA) — fresh off the injured list — for the Athletics. First pitch will be at 7:05 pm Pacific.

The Giants (28–19) will remain home and welcome the Kansas City Royals (26–22) to town for a three-game series. Monday night will see a battle of lefties, Kris Bubic (4–2, 1.66 ERA) for the Royals and Robbie Ray (6–0, 3.04 ERA) for the Giants. First pitch will be at 6:45 pm Pacific.