BOSTON — Saturday night’s game at Fenway Park is one that Blade Tidwell and Dylan Smith might remember for a long, long time. But for the Giants, it was just another late-innings loss in a season defined by them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tidwell was dominant\u00a0and Smith showed some serious guts on national TV, but the Giants ran out of steam in the ninth. Sam Hentges gave up a pair of hits and the Boston Red Sox won 3-2 when Wilyer Abreu hit a sharp grounder to first, and Bryce Eldridge’s throw pulled Andrew Knizner off the plate. The close play was reviewed, but not overturned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smith, coming off a two-inning save in Cleveland, entered with two on and no outs in the eighth and gave up a single to Ceddanne\u00a0Rafaela that loaded the bases. He blew a 96-mph fastball past No. 3 hitter Abreu, and then froze Willson Contreras with another well-placed heater. Adley Rutschman flew out to deep center to end the inning and preserve the 2-0 lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tony Vitello tried to get another out or two from Smith, but he walked the leadoff batter in the ninth. Hentges entered and drilled the first batter he faced, and then gave up an RBI single with one out. Nick Sogard’s double off the wall tied it and set the stage for Abreu, who won it on a play that was decided by centimeters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Much earlier in the night, the Giants jumped on Patrick Sandoval right away, with Willy Adames hitting a first-inning blast that nearly cleared all of the seats on the Green Monster. The homer was Adames’ 21st of the year but just his third at Fenway Park, where he has not generally fared well. <\/p>\n
The second solo homer was a much bigger surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Andrew Knizner opted out of his Triple-A deal with the Red Sox earlier this month and promptly signed with the Giants. In the third, he launched an elevated fastball onto the Monster, getting his first homer in the big leagues since last June — when he also was with the Giants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Giants went on to load the bases with one out in the inning but didn’t score. They wasted a leadoff single from Bryce Eldridge in the sixth, but Tidwell didn’t need any help in his 5 2\/3 innings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tidwell was dominant, although he once again didn’t get a chance to finish the job at the end of his outing. With a runner on first in the sixth, he got a slow grounder and then a strikeout, but Vitello pulled him after 93 pitches. Carson Seymour entered and got a soft liner to third to end the inning, and then carried the lead into the eighth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Boston Blade<\/p>\n
Tidwell has made four starts this month and this was easily his best, especially given that it was in front of a sellout crowd at Fenway against a red-hot team. He tied a career-high by going 5 2\/3 innings and struck out a career-high seven, including all three batters in the bottom of the first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tidwell gave up just three hits, all singles, and all somewhat iffy. The first could have been an error on Adames, the second hit a baserunner who had gotten hit by a pitch and was subsequently ruled out, and the third was of the seeing-eye variety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old has broken from the pack of 2027 rotation hopefuls and continues to prove that he might be ready for a full season as a starter. He has a 3.58 ERA on the season, and while his last start was brutal — six earned, five walks — he has allowed just three total runs in the other three.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rafi, Round II<\/p>\n
There were a lot more boos for Rafael Devers on Night Two, which was no surprise. It was another rowdy weekend crowd at Fenway<\/a>, and Devers was coming off a homer<\/a> in his return on Friday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n The second game was not nearly as eventful. Devers was 0-for-3 with a walk, although that one was interesting in a very 2026 way. Red Sox catcher Adley Rutschman challenged the call and might have lost by the slimmest margin possible:<\/p>\n Work in Progress<\/p>\n The Giants often seem stuck between still trying to win every game and trying to prioritize the development of certain players. That led to an interesting lineup Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Victor Bericoto became the 14th different player to start in the leadoff spot in an attempt to have a right-handed hitter do damage against a lefty starter, but he was hitless in four at-bats before getting replaced on defense. The Giants had been using Jonah Cox in the leadoff spot against lefties, but Cox was out of the lineup, with Drew Gilbert in center field.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cox had struck out in nine straight plate appearances over four games, but Vitello said this was about giving Gilbert a shot to see if he could build off solid plate appearances against lefties in Cleveland. He ended up popping up and striking out against Sandoval.<\/p>\n