Maybe the San Francisco Giants were stressed about tariff legislation before their trip to Toronto this weekend. Maybe they ate too much poutine. Maybe the metric system confused Heliot Ramos when he was judging fly ball distances in the outfield. Maybe Robbie Ray got maple syrup on his glove and it screwed up his knuckle curve.
Regardless of the reason, the Giants are returning to the U.S. of A. with an 0-3 record in the second half of the season after the Toronto Blue Jays completed a three-game
sweep with an 8-6 victory Sunday at the Rogers Centre. The Giants collected 12 hits and scored six runs, but it wasn’t enough to stop a red-hot Blue Jays team that’s gone 32-13 since May 27.
Robbie Ray (9-4) took the loss after giving up five hits, five walks, and five runs in just under five innings, which included home runs to George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. He wasn’t helped by Spencer Bivens, who relieved Ray with one out in the 5th and proceeded to give up an RBI single and a two-run home run to the red-hot Addison Barger, which gave the Jays a 7-2 lead.
That was too much to overcome, even on a day where the Giants went a respectable 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Clearly they did this to spite Giants writer Jeff Young.
Since June 1, The Giants are hitting .199/.279/.334 (68 wRC+) with runners in scoring position. The batting average, on-base percentage, and wRC+ are the worst in baseball during that stretch. The slugging percentage is the third-worst mark.
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) July 20, 2025
But after the Giants chased starter Jose Berrios (6-4) with Matt Chapman’s 13th home run of the season and tacked on two more runs in the 6th, Jung Hoo Lee got caught trying to stretch his RBI single to a double to end the inning on a play where he was initially ruled safe.
Jung Hoo Lee이정후 RBI Single pic.twitter.com/lpWAYO8GiI
— Bobby (@welcomeMLB) July 20, 2025
After that, the relief trio of Justin Bruihl, Tommy Nance, and Yariel Rodriguez held the Giants to a single hit over the last three innings and the Giants lost their fifth straight game to fall to to 52-48, 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and two games behind the San Diego Padres for the final wild-card spot.
In the first inning, the Giants manufactured a run thanks to some rare good luck. Left fielder Davis Schneider seems to have forgotten the Blue Jays were opening the stadium’s roof Sunday, since he didn’t wear sunglasses and completely lost Jung Hoo Lee’s pop-up for an easy double.
Davis Schneider doesn't seem to be a fan of the Jays opening the Rogers Centre roof today pic.twitter.com/35m2eCeqBI
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 20, 2025
On the subject of terrible left field defense, Heliot Ramos came up next and got jammed, but managed to bloop the ball past shortstop Bio Bichette for an RBI single. He would give back those runs shortly.
Enjoying some jam this morning pic.twitter.com/JrTO052Skk
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 20, 2025
In the bottom of the inning, Guerrero hit a “big boy home run” to tie the game. It was measured at 420 feet, which means with the roof closed, it would have gone roughly 600 feet.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. DESTROYS this baseball to tie the game pic.twitter.com/IW1xxHhpWX
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2025
In the third, Ray gave up a double to Ernie Clement and with two outs, issued a very cautious four-pitch walk to Guerrero. Bichette then lined a ball to left that Ramos misjudged, running in on the ball before it went over his glove for a two-run double. Presumably the sun affected Ramos, because this was a truly awful play.
Heliot Ramos is such a liability in the outfield pic.twitter.com/a03FQKNvHq
— Coach Yac (@Coach_Yac) July 20, 2025
It’s the second ball in as many days that should have been an out, but turned into an RBI double instead. On Saturday, Ramos dove for a Tyler Heineman liner that went off his glove to give the Blue Jays a lead they wouldn’t give up.
What’s happened to Ramos as a fielder this season is baffling. He was overmatched as a center fielder last season, but he was above-average as a corner outfielder, putting up six Defensive Runs Saved above average in just 469 innings in left and right. This season, he’s made four errors and is at -4 DRS. You can check the other defensive metrics, but Ramos is also bad in those — -7 in Outs Above Average, -8 in Fielding Run Value. Has he been hanging out with Joc Pederson?
In the top of the 5th, Andrew Knizner, who went 2-for-2 with a walk and threw out a base stealer, singled in Matt Chapman to make it a one-run game.
#Giants 2 @ #BlueJays 3 [T5–1o]:
— MLB Run Videos (@MLBRBIs) July 20, 2025
Andrew Knizner singles: ground ball to CF
Hit: 108.1mph, 58ft, 1°, .517xBA
Pitch: 93.0mph Sinker (RHP J.Berríos)#SFGiants #LightsUpLetsGo #MLB pic.twitter.com/KWsPBa6mgI
But then the bottom of the 5th happened. Springer led off with a home run and Bo Bichette’s double chased Ray with one out.
Four adds MORE! #SpringerDinger pic.twitter.com/rBLTqF8G4k
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 20, 2025
Springer is having a huge bounce back year at age 35, hitting his 17th “Springer Dinger” of the season and is now slugging above .500.
Bivens relieved Ray and threw a wild pitch, gave up an RBI single to Alejandro Kirk, then hung on 0-2 curveball over the middle of the plate that Barger crushed 407 feet into the second deck in right field.
BARGER. INTO. ORBIT. pic.twitter.com/0j3gHN9yRH
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 20, 2025
The 31-year-old Bivens has now given up eight runs in his last three appearances, which span 3.2 innings. He’s given up eight hits and struck out only two, though one of his runs was a ghost runner from their extra-inning loss to the Dodgers one week ago. Bivens has an ERA of 4.18 and has let seven inherited runners score on the season.
Toronto tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th after Springer doubled and Tyler Rogers made an early appearance to face Guerrero with two out. Vladdy Jr. beat him on a slider that stayed up just a little too high in the zone and it was 8-6.
Keep adding on pic.twitter.com/KhUN8HfAhp
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 20, 2025
The Giants came close to a rally in the 7th when Ramos led off with a double, but Rafael Devers and Willy Adames struck out, part of a nine-up, nine-down end to the game by the boys in black and orange.
Positives from this game? The team got 12 hits, with five different players delivering two-hit games. Matt Chapman hit his first home run since June 7 — clearly Adames hitting two homers Saturday to pass him and tie Ramos for the team lead lit a fire under Chappie, who is now one back with 13 on the season. Logan Webb and Ray didn’t pitch nearly as poorly as the results this weekend indicated. Ramos can’t possibly be any worse as a fielder than he has been the last few weeks. Six of the team’s next 12 games are against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates, three are against the stumbling Atlanta Braves, and they get to play the New York Mets at home, where the Metropolitans are significantly worse away from Citi Field (34-16 at home, 22-28 on the road).
But it was a rough start to the second half. And no amount of Tim Horton’s coffee and all-dressed chips can take the bad taste out of the Giants’ mouths.
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