MILWAUKEE — Gary Pettis must be so confused.

Since he arrived two days ago, the Giants have looked nothing like a team that was floundering so badly it needed to bring in a new third-base coach just two months into the season.

They’ve strung together two complete, generally clean efforts in a row — an accomplishment for a team that hasn’t won more than three consecutive games all year.

And it has come against no slouch.

Casey Schmitt slugged his 13th home run of the season on the first pitch from Brewers starter Coleman Crow and the Giants kept on hitting enough to survive a subpar start from Adrian Houser against his former team, knocking off the NL Central leaders Thursday afternoon for the second straight game, 12-9, to claim a split of the four-game set.

Catcher Eric Haase, another former Brewer, added a cherry on top of the win with a grand slam to straightaway center before an out had been recorded in the seventh.

Drew Gilbert even got redemption for the catch he missed at the wall earlier in the series, leaping for a spectacular home run robbery of Andrew Vaughn for the final out of the eighth.

Perhaps the only knocks were a throw in the dirt from Willy Adames that Rafael Devers wasn’t able to scoop and the pitching staff’s ongoing affinity for issuing bases on balls — three in 4 ⅓ innings from Houser, whose day was over after serving up a two-run shot to Jackson Chourio, plus five more from the bullpen for 28 total over the course of the series.

“Not that the pitchers didn’t do some good things,” manager Tony Vitello said. “But you’re not going to win games when you have eight walks. You’re just not.”

Vitello was forced to turn to his closer, despite leading by five runs, after Wilkin Ramos failed to record an out and walked home a run in the ninth. Representing the tying run, David Hamilton sent a fastball from Caleb Killian to the warning track in center field but it just stayed in the park for a far more stressful final out than there should have been.

San Francisco led 3-0 after bringing nine men to the plate in the top of the first and added on with back-to-back doubles from Adames and Jung Hoo Lee that began another three-run rally in the third. That, it turned out, was merely an appetizer for a six-run seventh inning in which 11 batters came to the plate.

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It made for plenty of activity for Ron Wotus in his final game as the interim third-base coach.

When the Giants take the field Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Pettis will be standing in the box, hoping to get as many opportunities to wave runners home.

What it means

The Giants haven’t enjoyed many games like these, let alone strung them together.

Logan Webb was hopeful his seven shutout innings in Wednesday’s 1-0 win would set the tone for the Giants to begin to flip the script. It didn’t translate to the next man up in the rotation, but maybe it was the start of something positive nonetheless.

“The blueprint is there,” Vitello said.

Who’s hot

Jung Hoo Lee singled three times, doubled and scored three runs, extending his hitting streak to a career-long 12 games. Over the course of the stretch — the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by a Giant since Dominic Smith’s 15-gamer last year — Lee is batting a remarkable 24-for-45, including five multi-hit efforts in seven games since returning from the IL.

Lee’s 19 hits in seven games since returning from the IL are the most any Giants hitter has had in a seven-game span since Bill Terry in 1932.

Bryce Eldridge also extended his on-base streak to 11 games with an RBI single to drive in Luis Arraez in the first, then worked a walk and scored in the third and lined another single to right field on the sixth pitch of his third trip to the plate. 

Schmitt, meanwhile, set a career high for home runs in the 63rd game of the season and is making a strong case to represent the Giants at the All-Star Game next month.

Who’s not

Just about everyone has gotten in on the good times the past two games.

Except for Rafael Devers.

The first baseman is back in the slump that he appeared to have broken out of in May, when he slashed .306/.356/.593 with 14 doubles, tying a franchise record for the most in one month.

Since the calendar flipped to June, Devers had been 0-for-16 with eight strikeouts until he lifted a double off the right-field wall in the top of the ninth.

Still, Devers was already responsible for one of the Giants’ hardest-hit balls of the game — a 107 mph line drive that went straight into the back of third baseman Luis Rengifo’s glove.

Up next

The Giants will play their second and third matinees in a row to begin a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, then face a quick turnaround following a 5:30 p.m. start on “Sunday Night Baseball” before beginning a homestand the next evening.

Robbie Ray will seek to complete at least five innings for the first time since May 8 when he takes the mound in the series opener Friday with first pitch set for 11:20 a.m. PT.

Today’s first pitch was fairly representative of how most of today’s game ended up going. Brewers starter Coleman Crow threw a 90.7 mph sinker up and in to Casey Schmitt, who leads the Giants in home runs. Schmitt tagged it for his thirteenth of the year, and all of a sudden the Brewers were already behind just one pitch into the game.

Crow quickly got two outs, but also allowed singles to Luis Arraez and Jung Hoo Lee. Bryce Eldridge came up with two on and two out and singled into center field for the Giants’ second run of the inning. Matt Chapman then took a strike, fouled off three pitches, and ripped a line drive into left field. Lee scored, Eldridge made it around to third, and Chapman ended up on second with a double.

For a moment, it looked like the Giants were going to add to their lead again after Crow walked the next batter, Eric Haase, on four pitches that were all low and away. Luckily, nine-hitter Drew Gilbert grounded out to end the inning.

Crow would make it through the second inning unscathed, but allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in the third. He was eventually pulled with only one out in the frame and the bases loaded. DL Hall came in to try to get out of the jam and limited the Giants to a sacrifice fly.

Crow’s final line reflects how rough of an outing this was for him: 2 1/3 innings pitched, 9 hits, 6 earned runs, two walks. He had looked good through his first three appearances, but the Giants jumped on him early and often. Even during a 1-2-3 second inning, Rafael Devers hit a 107 mph liner that Luis Rengifo made a ridiculous diving play on to take away a base hit.

I still believe Crow can eventually become an effective part of Milwaukee’s pitching staff, but he’s a rookie who doesn’t throw particularly hard. Eldridge’s RBI single, an Adames double that almost cleared the outfield fence, and a Jung Hoo Lee RBI double were all on 87-88 mph cutters. His fastball, which he also gave up a couple big hits on, was sitting at 91-92 mph. As he learns how to navigate major-league hitters, outings like this are bound to happen. With that being said, one rough start isn’t an immediate red flag, especially if he follows it up with a few more strong performances.

On the offensive end, the Brewers got a run back in the first thanks to a Chourio walk, a Turang single (initially ruled an error on Adames), and a Contreras sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the fifth, Chourio followed a Christian Yelich double with a two-run home run that cut the deficit to three.

Since Crow exited so early, the Brewers were forced to lean heavily on their bullpen. Unfortunately, the story of the game quickly shifted from Crow’s struggles to a series of injuries among Milwaukee’s relievers.

Hall pitched 2 1/3 one-hit innings, but ended up leaving the game with a trainer. After throwing an 0-1 sweeper to Gilbert, Contreras — the catcher — saw something he didn’t like. He immediately called time out and went out to check on his pitcher. Brewers manager Pat Murphy, a couple pitching coaches, and the trainer all came out and, after conferring with Hall, took the ball from him.

Grant Anderson came on in relief, getting out of the fifth and pitching a scoreless sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, he allowed two straight singles, and the second was a comebacker off the bat of Eldridge that got Anderson on his right forearm. He looked to be in serious pain, doubling over immediately and remaining on the ground while talking to the training staff. Eventually, he got up — still clearly shaken up — and walked off the field with a trainer.

After a few warmup pitches, Jake Woodford quickly allowed a single to Chapman, loading the bases for former Brewer Eric Haase. Haase took the first pitch for a ball, then launched a grand slam 406 feet to pad the Giants’ lead even further. Before escaping the inning, Woodford gave up four more singles and two runs to bring the score to Giants 12, Brewers 3.

Milwaukee quickly got a couple runs back in the bottom of the seventh after Yelich led off with a single and Chourio again brought him home with his second two-run homer of the day. Andrew Vaughn almost added two more runs, but Gilbert robbed him of a home run.

Milwaukee would keep chipping away in the eighth courtesy of David Hamilton, who homered into the Brewers’ bullpen for his second of the season.

San Francisco brought in reliever Wilkin Ramos for the ninth to try and close it out. Ramos, pitching in his second career game after making his major league debut in the series opener, started the inning by allowing singles to Chourio and Gary Sánchez. Both Joey Ortiz and Blake Perkins worked the count full before walking, and the walk to Perkins brought home Chourio from third.

With the bases loaded and the tying run in the on-deck circle, Giants manager Tony Vitello didn’t want Ramos facing Vaughn. He turned to Caleb Kilian, who struck Vaughn out on a foul tip before getting Frelick to ground into an RBI force out at second.

Even down to their last out, the Brewers still weren’t done. With the score now 12-8 and runners on the corners, Rengifo floated a soft liner into left field to score Ortiz from third and keep the inning alive.

That brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Hamilton, who had already homered in the previous inning. After taking ball one, he got a sinker he could handle and drove it deep to right-center field. For a moment, it looked like it might have had the legs to get over the center field fence. Instead, the ball died on the warning track, just a few feet short of a game-tying three-run homer.

After today’s loss, the Brewers settled for a split in their four-game series with the Giants and have now dropped two straight games. They’ll head out west tonight for a six-game road trip against the Rockies and Athletics before their next scheduled off day. First pitch for tomorrow’s series opener in Colorado is set for 7:40 p.m.

The New York Yankees still do not have a firm diagnosis regarding franchise player Aaron Judge. But the circle of medical specialists aiming to get him right continues to grow.

The Yankees confirmed to news media after their Thursday, June 4 game that tests on Judge's rib and shoulder will be reviewed by Dallas-based vascular specialist Gregory Pearl, who specializes in "thoracic outlet syndrome management in high-performance athletes," according to his website.

Judge was initially diagnosed with a bone bruise near his right rib cage, which multiple tests have confirmed. Yet he was sent for more testing Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, and after the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians 2-1, the club confirmed to reporters that test results will be viewed by Pearl, the thoracic outlet syndrome specialist.

It's an unsettling development for Judge, as TOS has significantly impacted or ended careers, such as former World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg. It also ended the 2025 season of Cy Young Award hopeful Zack Wheeler, who underwent surgery to remove a rib in September.

The Dodgers are back home ever so briefly, with a single-series homestand this weekend against the Angels at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Back in Anaheim from May 15-17, the Dodgers had their way with the Angels in a three-game sweep, outscoring the Halos 31-3. The Angels come to Los Angeles having lost 29 of their last 43 games, and are 11-21 on the road this season.

Roki Sasaki starts the series opener for the Dodgers.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Angels
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA, KTTV channel 11 (Angels broadcast)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Sometimes you eat the road, and sometimes the road eats you. I’m not totally sure how relevant that is to today’s Orioles-Red Sox game, but what I mean is, this was a total inversion of Wednesday’s lopsided, 8-1 loss. As the O’s unsuccessful starter that night, Chris Bassitt, said after the game, “When your starter goes three innings and gives up three runs, that’s pretty much a recipe for disaster, so this one’s on me.” Today, however, Orioles starter Trevor Rogers looked just fine, thanks, and it was a recipe for a win.

An easy win, at that. Boston starter Brayan Bello has had a curiously bimodal 2026 season: when he starts games, he has a 9.68 ERA, but he’s under 1.00 when he comes in after an opener. Well, the Sox played with fate, and Bello got rocked in the first inning, to the tune of six runs. It wasn’t much of a nailbiter after that.

It started with the leadoff pitch, which leadoff hitter Taylor Ward did something predictable to—he doubled—and a Bello cutter hit Gunnar Henderson on the foot. Adley Rutschman singled to the gap, and Ward made it 1-0. Then, oh no!, Pete Alonso hit into a double play. I confess I thought the rally was over.

I was very wrong. Samuel Basallo took a very grown-up walk. Leody Taveras singled through the infield and Gunnar scored. 2-0, Birds. Still not done: Colton Cowser walked to load the bases for Coby Mayo. Bello threw him a bunch of sweepers—one too many: Cowser skied a ball three-fourths of the way off The Monster, and all the little Orioles came home.

Baltimore had one more trick up their sleeve, still with two outs: Jackson Holliday walked, and leadoff man Taylor Ward came back to the plate, and singled up the middle, his second hit of the inning. 6-0, Orioles, after one.

Then, an improbable lull—or, a streak, I guess, if you’re in the Brayan Bello fan club. I can’t say many of us on this blog are. The 27-year-old recovered after that disastrous first inning to retire ten Orioles in a row. It was a gutsy effort to get some length for his team, give him that. At one point in the fifth, Brian Roberts, from the booth, said, “You might think this was a 0-0 game considering how these guys have been pitching since [the first inning].” Ohhh, Classic Roberts. (I have no idea if Brian Roberts is a jinx.) Right then, Pete Alonso singled to left, after which Sam Basallo torched a ball, 112.4 mph to right field. Surprising to me, this was the hardest-hit ball of Basallo’s young career. The Polar Bear chugged home to make it 7-0. Basallo, on third base after a groundout, came home and scored when Cowser hit a deep sac fly. 8-0, Orioles.

An 8-0 score tells you that things were going pretty well for Trevor Rogers. The Orioles lefty, who’d struggled in his first ten outings this season but may be turning a corner, had himself an easy shutout through five innings, in fact a no-hitter until into the fifth. His control was pinpoint, and his fastball had movement!

The only sour note was it looked, if we’re being honest, that he seemed to lose gas after that. He allowed three straight singles in the sixth inning, plus his first run of the game, and he couldn’t close out that frame against the Red Sox. Instead, manager Craig Albernaz lifted Rogers for Yennier Cano, who got one out and called it a day. Still, overall, progress for Trevor Rogers, who’d had an era of nearly eight on the season: one run in 5 2/3 innings will do. As MASN pointed out, Rogers now has five-inning-shutout starts in back-to-back appearances.

Not much suspense after that. Andrew Kittredge had a five-outing scoreless streak entering this one, but he served up a home run to Willson Contreras. There are worse things one can do. The veteran righty kept it suspense-free after that.

Any team can look great or terrible on any given day. Yesterday was the Orioles’ turn to be cannon fodder; today they were … the cannon? Either way, this team been stacking more of the good days instead of the bad days. Let’s see if it continues north of the border against Toronto.

Who is your Most Birdland Player of the game? Trevor Rogers, with a stabilizing outing of 5 2/3 and one run? Coby Mayo, with a three-run double? Taylor Ward with a casual 3-for-5 day, including a double?