Giants melt down in ninth, blow six-run lead and fall to Reds, 10-9

Justice delos Santos, Bay Area News Group on Aug 26, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — It was a day that started with anger. It was a day that ended with agony.

Giants manager Tony Vitello didn’t get through the top of the first before being told to scram, thrown out by home plate umpire Ryan Blakney for arguing a check-swing call. Already ejected, Vitello exploded. The f-bombs flew left and right. On the verge of his team's first three-game sweep of the year, Vitello’s expedited return to the clubhouse was an awful omen.

Yet from the confines of his office, Vitello saw his team come three outs away from breaking out the brooms. He saw Logan Webb’s six innings of two-run ball. He saw Rafael Devers’ third home run in the last three games, the 111th Splash Hit in Oracle Park history. He saw Shay Whitcomb’s two-run homer and Drew Gilbert’s pinch-hit, three-run double.

Above all, he saw the collapse. He saw a complete and total meltdown, his bullpen blowing a six-run lead and allowing seven runs in the ninth. In a season full of lows, the Giants’ 10-9 loss on Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park might be the nadir.

The Giants entered the ninth inning with a very comfortable 9-3 lead, needing just three outs to complete the sweep. Spencer Bivens, who pitched a scoreless eighth, was sent out for the ninth. He didn’t record a single out.

Héctor Rodríguez, who already homered in the third, hit a tank into McCovey Cove, trimming San Francisco’s lead to 9-4. Elly De La Cruz followed with a single, and Bivens walked the next two batters to load the bases. Bench coach Jayce Tingler, acting as the manager following Vitello’s ejection, called on Dylan Smith. Still, the fire raged.

Eugenio Suárez, the first hitter Smith faced, hit a grand slam. 9-8. Dane Myers reached first on a bunt single, then reached second on a throwing error by third baseman Buddy Kennedy. Matt McLain beat out his own bunt single, then stole second. Jose Trevino provided the equalizer with a sacrifice fly, then Tyler Stephenson completed the meltdown with an RBI single. The 9-3 lead was gone; only a 10-9 deficit remained.

The Giants got the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth when Turner Hill snuck a single into right field with one out, but he wouldn’t advance past first base. Emilio Pagán shut the door, and boos filled Oracle Park as the Reds celebrated their victory.