Twins’ confirmed home run against Taylor Rogers gives the SF Giants a 4-2 defeat

Carlos Santana (30) of the Minnesota Twins runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

SAN FRANCISCO – A video replay confirmed one of the Twins’ two possible home runs against Taylor Rogers in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park, enough to hand the Giants a 4-2 loss and even their series at 0-1.

The score was tied 2-2 when Carlos Santana hit a home run around the left field foul post that was ruled fair after extensive video review. One batter later, they did the same thing when Max Kepler sent a ball into McCovey Cove that was ruled a foul and later upheld. That decision proved inconsequential, however, as the Giants scored just two runs on eight hits against Simeon Woods Richardson and the Twins bullpen.

“The ball usually comes back with the wind to both lines here, so it was kind of weird,” manager Bob Melvin said of the sequence. “I guess it hit the foul post, the one on the left field line, that was obviously a big run at that point.”

Patrick Bailey hit a fly ball with two outs in the eighth inning that went farther than any of the possible home runs, but it stalled on third base as the possible tying run after Matt Chapman flew out to end the inning. Bailey’s 417-foot triple would have been a home run in all 29 other ballparks, according to Statcast.

The Twins extended their lead with a run in the ninth inning against Sean Hjelle, who allowed the first three batters to reach base.

It was the Giants’ 50th loss of the season, meaning they will enter the All-Star break with a record no more than three games under .500. They must win Sunday’s finale to avoid ending the first half with their third straight loss.

Rogers entered a tie game after Giants starter Hayden Birdsong allowed two runs (one earned) in five innings, allowing just two hits but being marred by three walks. Both of the Twins’ runs against Birdsong came in the fourth inning after he hit the leadoff batter and Mike Yastrzemski misplayed Matt Wallner’s double to right field.

In four starts, the 22-year-old right-hander has a 3.72 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 10 walks in 19 ⅓ innings, but with the impending return of Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb after the break, the Giants’ rotation will soon be tight.

Birdsong, the Giants’ most promising prospect, made just two starts in Triple-A before being called up for emergency assignments. Melvin said he could gain more experience in Sacramento, but “it just depends on when we get the guys back.”

“Every time he goes out there, he seems more comfortable,” Melvin continued. “He’s been pitching well. We were needed. He’s only had a couple of starts in Triple-A and he’s come here and played pretty well. We have high expectations for him. We’ll see how it goes when we start getting some guys back.”

Yastrzemski quickly made up for his fourth-inning mistake in the second half, edging out an infield single that brought home Michael Conforto from third base after a ground-rule double by Wilmer Flores gave them runners on second and third base. Yastrzemski and Bailey singled again in their first at-bat and were the only Giants to reach base multiple times.

Heliot Ramos extended his hitting streak to nine games by bringing home a single in the fifth inning from Jorge Soler to tie the score at 2-2 after Soler opened the inning with his 13th double since early June, only being beaten by Jonathan India of the Reds during that span.

Rogers’ worst performance in two months – and the first home run he allowed since April 27 – happened to come against the team he spent most of his career with and that paid him pregame tribute last season when the Giants visited Target Field.

The 33-year-old left-hander had lowered his ERA to 1.98 in his 40th appearance of the year and limited opponents to one run in 21 games since May 13. But after taking Wallner out of the game with four pitches for the first out in the sixth inning, Rogers fell behind 3-1 against Santana and then threw a sweeper that caught too much of the plate.

The ball landed in foul territory in the stands, but in the replay room at MLB headquarters in New York, the trajectory was judged fair.

“What does he have now, a 2.00 ERA?” Melvin said. “He allowed one run. Sometimes that happens.”