MLB Standings
With divisional crowns nearly locked up, the Wild Card races are razor-thin. In the American League, New York (82–53) and Cleveland (75–61) occupy the two Wild Card spots, but Kansas City and Boston aren’t far behind at 73–63—just two games back heading into September. In the National League, Milwaukee (74–63) and Chicago (73–62) hold the Wild Card berths, narrowly ahead of Los Angeles (72–64). San Francisco sits at 70–66, two games shy of a postseason berth and battling Arizona (66–68) for contention. Colorado, Cincinnati, and Washington lead their divisions, but the chase for those final playoff spots is on.
San Francisco Results
August opened with the finale of a two-game set against Seattle, after the Giants had won the opener, and they prevailed 12–9. They then struggled away, finishing 5–10 on the road, including an 0–3 sweep in Milwaukee and back-to-back shutout losses in Washington. Back in San Francisco, they posted an 8–4 home mark across series versus Chicago, Miami, Cleveland and New York. A season-best 11–0 shutout of the Mets closed the month. Overall, San Francisco went 13–14 in August, dominating at Oracle Park but needing to shore up its road form.
San Francisco Stats
The Giants bats have gone cold at the wrong time, as they have dropped to the bottom half of the National League in most statistics. Meanwhile the pitching has improved, now top six in several statistics, while the defence leads the NL in Zone Rating.
In August, the Giants’ lineup saw elite production from a handful of hitters. Frank Calleja (260 wRC+) was a revelation in limited action before his injury, while Beau Wartel (166) and Gianvito Heaton (152) delivered consistently high output at second base and left field. Jim Clarke (137) paced the catching corps with above-average contributions. Role players Dane Cook (99) and Jaquan Willie (98) hovered around league average. Core regulars struggled: Nelson Loera (78), Jamie LaFerney (77) and Steve Boyd (69) underperformed, and speedsters Joel Hudson (64) and Dan Kisiel (65) offered little offensively. The bottom of the order was especially anemic, as David Rojo (38) and Tyrese Yeboah (31) ranked among the weakest hitters. This contrast between top-tier bats and the league’s lowest marks underscores the lineup’s volatility.
The Giants’ rotation flashed brilliance and volatility in August. Jorge Ramirez led the staff with a sparkling 0.99 ERA (414 ERA+) and a 54 FIP– across 36.1 IP, earning 1.5 WAR, and earned a Pitcher of the Month Award as a result. Juan Montoya was nearly as dominant, posting a 1.82 ERA (225 ERA+), 48 FIP– and 1.3 WAR over 29.2 IP. Ha-joon Kim gave up just two earned runs in 25 IP (2.88 ERA, 142 ERA+), though his 135 FIP– suggests some luck on balls in play. Kymani Devezin (7.62 ERA, 100 FIP–) and Amari Pappillion (5.60 ERA, 120 FIP–) struggled to hold leads.
In relief, Greg Brinson (1.29 ERA, 61 FIP–) and Greg Ward (0.00 ERA, 54 FIP–) stood out, while closer Ricky Eggett converted six of seven save chances. Conversely, Jon McConnell (11.70 ERA, 179 FIP–) and Mike Stark (9.39 ERA, 125 FIP–) were inconsistent, highlighting a bullpen in need of steadier back-end arms.
Transactions & Injuries
The Giants shuffled their roster in August amid injuries and depth grabs. On August 1 they purchased outfielder Tyrese Yeboah’s contract from Triple-A Sacramento, then claimed left-handed reliever Luis Chucha off waivers on the 2nd and activated him immediately.
Early in the month, Frank Calleja suffered knee soreness (Aug 1) and re-injured himself (Aug 4), ultimately landing on the 10-day IL retroactive to August 4 with tendinitis. That same day reliever Caleb Griffing sprained his elbow, was placed on the 15-day IL, and after rehab was sent to Sacramento on the 24th. The club added CF Dan Kisiel to the 40-man on August 7, signed international amateur SP Juan Aguilar (Netherlands Antilles) on the 8th and CF Humberto Aldama (Dominican Republic) on the 24th, DFA’d Lynn Poapst and purchased SP Greg Ward’s contract on the 18th, and closed the month with CF David Rojo sidelined by a pulled ab muscle (day-to-day).
Wednesday, August 1st , 2057
Purchased the contract of RF Tyrese Yeboah from Triple A Sacramento.
RF Frank Calleja was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: knee soreness. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 1 day.
Thursday, August 2nd , 2057
CL Luis Chucha was claimed off waivers from Chicago.
Optioned RP Dan Caines to Triple A Sacramento.
Placed CL Luis Chucha on the active roster.
Saturday, August 4th , 2057
RF Frank Calleja was injured while running the bases. The diagnosis is not yet known.
RP Caleb Griffing was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: sprained elbow. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 2 weeks.
Placed RP Caleb Griffing on the 15-day injured list.
Purchased the contract of RP Dan Caines from Triple A Sacramento.
Tuesday, August 7th , 2057
RF Frank Calleja diagnosed with knee tendinitis, will miss 5 weeks.
Tuesday, August 7th , 2057
Placed RF Frank Calleja on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to 08/04/2057.
Placed CF Dan Kisiel on the secondary (40-man) roster.
Wednesday, August 8th , 2057
Signed international amateur SP Juan Aguilar out of Netherlands Antilles to a minor league contract.
Saturday, August 18th , 2057
RP Lynn Poapst was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
Purchased the contract of SP Greg Ward from Triple A Sacramento.
Friday, August 24th , 2057
Signed international amateur CF Humberto Aldama out of Dominican Republic to a minor league contract.
Sent RP Caleb Griffing to Triple A Sacramento for injury rehab.
Friday, August 31st , 2057
CF David Rojo was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: pulled abdominal muscle. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 5 days.
Minor League News
Mike O'Malley of the Richmond Flying Squirrels stood out at the plate during August. The 23-year-old left fielder manhandled Eastern League pitchers by batting .369 and was named the Batter of the Month.
O'Malley collected 31 hits with 7 home runs, 27 RBIs and scored 19 times.
This season, O'Malley is batting .309 with 111 hits and 21 home runs. He has scored 76 times and has 74 RBI.
Today Eugene's Joe Schramm was named Northwest League Batter of the Month for August. He slammed opposing pitching hard all month long, bashing out 33 hits in 101 at-bats.
With a .327 batting average, 9 home runs, 16 RBIs and 20 runs scored, he was a solid choice.
Thus far this season, Schramm has hit .322 with 11 home runs, 27 RBIs and scored 32 times.
When San Jose bullpen ace Juan Agulir came into the game, good things happened. For his impressive month of August he was named the California League Pitcher of the Month.
The Giants reliever had no saves for the month with a 4-0 record and 1.04 ERA. He made no relief appearances, hurled 26 innings, yielded 23 hits, fanned 23 and walked 10.
So far this season, Agulir has 4 saves in 18 relief appearances with a 6-3 record and 1.97 ERA.