SAN FRANCISCO – Justin Verlander returned Wednesday night from a month hiatus still seeking his first win for the Giants. But the four runs he allowed proved too much to overcome, even for a San Francisco lineup including Rafael Devers.
A 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians stretched the Giants’ losing streak to four games – three since trading with the Boston Red Sox for slugger Rafael Devers.
Cleveland has secured its first series win in San Francisco in 20 years and will go for the sweep in Thursday’s 1:05 p.m. start.
The Giants trailed 4-0 when Verlander respectfully flipped the ball to skipper Bob Melvin after an 83-pitch outing, with two on and two out in the fifth inning. An inning earlier, Verlander surrendered a three-run home run on an 0-2 fastball to Daniel Schneemann.
“We were trying to get him to 80 today. That’s about where he was,” Melvin said. “It was really the three-run homer that got him. … He pitched around some traffic at times. I expect him to be a little crisper next time out.”
Verlander (0-4) allowed seven hits, four runs (three earned) and one walk while striking out six. A quartet of Giants relievers kept Cleveland from scoring any further.
Verlander, a 20th-year veteran, bemoaned his consistency and some mechanics but noted: “The stuff seemed OK. I felt OK. I didn’t feel too fatigued at the end.”
Heliot Ramos’ 12th home run of the season cut the Giants’ deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth, but two runs were all they could muster for the second straight night against the Guardians, who will cap a 10-day road trip with a three-game visit to the Athletics in West Sacramento.
Rafael Devers went 0-for-3 in his encore after Tuesday night’s 2-for-5 Giants debut.
“Look, he had really good at bats last night. He just missed a breaking ball today. His swings were good,” Melvin said. “Nothing to be concerned about because he took an 0-for-3 tonight. His swings were aggressive and on time.”
“Unfortunately the first couple games didn’t go our way. But I mean that’s baseball,” Verlander said of Devers’ presence. “You win seven in a row and 8-of-9, then you feel like you’re on top of the world. Now you’re thinking you (stink). It’s a fickle game.”
Verlander, a 42-year-old right-hander, is winless 11 through starts, a dubious feat matched in Giants’ history by four others: Ross Stripling (2023), Ryan Walker (2023, John Brebbia (2022) and Slick Castleman (1936).
“This season’s been a mental challenge, just trying to find my groove. I was feeling close then unfortunately had an injury,” said Verlander, who strained a right pectoral muscle and opted for simulated games rather than a minor-league rehabilitation start prior to Wednesday’s return.
He settled into an encouraging groove until Schneemann’s three-run homer into the left-center bleachers, pushing Cleveland’s lead to 4-0 in the fourth. “It was one of the worst fastballs I threw all day,” Verlander said. “It was kind of flat. It wasn’t a great pitch.”
Added catcher Patrick Bailey: “His stuff overall was pretty good. He made some mistakes and they put good swings on it.”
Verlander had retired five Guardians in a row before Carlos Santana’s grounder careened off the infield/outfield lip for a Tyler Fitzgerald error. After Lane Thomas singled, Schneemann parked his eighth home run of the season (on Verlander’s 50th pitch).
Verlander was one pitch shy of completing a five-inning outing, but a full-count slider instead resulted in a Santana walk and Verlander’s exit. Spencer Bivens entered and struck out Lane Thomas to strand runners at second and third.
Cleveland starter Logan Allen was one pitch from keeping the Giants scoreless through five innings, then Ramos changed the game’s tone. Following Bailey’s second straight single in his own return from the Injured List, Ramos pulled the Giants within 4-2 on his two-run homer 420 feet into the left-field bleachers.
The Giants, however, went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, a night after going 1-for-13. “In a low-scoring game, when those opportunities come up, it’s something we were better about earlier in the season and haven’t been as good recently,” Melvin said.
The Giants stranded at least one runner in each of the final four innings.
In the sixth, Wilmer Flores reached when he got plunked by reliever Matt Festa’s 91-mph fastball. Flores slammed his helmet into the ground and took his base, but groundouts ensued from Casey Schmitt and Jung Hoo Lee.
In the seventh, Mike Yastrzemski reached on a walk, advanced on a balk to second, and was left there following strikeouts of Andrew Bailey and Ramos.
In the eighth, Willy Adames led off with a single that graciously landed fair down the right-field line. None of the next three pop ups – by Devers, Flores and Schmitt — dropped in the Giants’ favor.
In the ninth, Yastrzemski reached on a two-out single, but Bailey struck out to end the affair.
Within four minutes of Verlander’s first pitch – a called strike to Kwan – he found himself trailing 1-0. Jose Ramirez’s one-out single scored Manzardo, who lined a curveball to right field for a double as Yastrzemski battled the twilight sun. Bailey settled things down by throwing out Ramirez trying to steal second, then Verlander got Santana to fly out to center.
Devers, after drawing standing ovations each plate appearance in Tuesday night’s 2-for-5 debut, again got applauding fans out of their seats for Wednesday’s encore. Most sat, however, by the time he struck out on Allen’s 92-mph fastball to end the first inning. Devers walked his next time up, then he popped out to shortstop in the sixth and flew out to center in the eighth.
“It’s fun to see him in the lineup. He brings a lot of energy. The fans are into it, and that’s a lot of fun,” Verlander said. “In a storybook world, we win these games and he hits a walk-off homer. But you have to look big picture and he’s going to help us, a lot.”