While the 2026 season has seen its share of bullpen implosions from the San Francisco Giants , the ninth inning of the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds took things to a new level.
The Giants seemingly had their first sweep of the season in the bag as they led the Reds 9-3 going into the ninth inning. That lead was quickly erased. Cincinnati cut the deficit to 9-8 before the first out was recorded. When San Francisco finally got that elusive first out, it came on a game-tying sacrifice fly. An RBI single from Tyler Stephenson gave the Reds a 10-9 lead, and that held as the final score.
Certainly, the Giants and their fans have gotten used to seeing poor bullpen play. But judging by the reactions, what happened in the loss to the Reds took things to a new level.
The inning started with Spencer Bivens on the mound for the Giants. He surrendered a towering leadoff home run to Héctor Rodríguez. Cincinnati quickly loaded the bases with a single and two more walks. At that point, Bivens was pulled for Dylan Smith.
Smith was greeted by Eugenio Suárez , who launched a grand slam . The next two runners both reached, bringing Jose Trevino up with runners on the corners. Trevino tied the game with a sacrifice fly. Stephenson, the next hitter, delivered the go-ahead single. At that point, Smith was finally removed.
During the pitching change, announcers Jon Miller and Dave Flemming put the implosion into perspective.
"In a year where this kind of stuff has happened a lot to the Giants, it has gone to a height never seen in a long, long time," Miller said.
"Yeah. This one is kind of inexplicable," Flemming added.
They were not the only ones to react.
Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area noted the historic nature of the loss.
"The Giants lost 10-9, failing to pick up their first sweep. This is the first time in franchise history that they lost when leading by six runs in the ninth inning. What a season," he said .
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, meanwhile, echoed Miller's sentiments, adding , "this seems extreme even for the 2026 Giants."
"The Reds enter ninth down 9-3 to Giants in 9th. The Reds now up 10-9 with one out in the 9th. Can't say I've ever seen this before," Marc J. Spears of ESPN said .
Joe Shasky of Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game had a simple — and understandable — question.
"HOW DID THE GIANTS LOSE THAT GAME?!!!?!??," he asked .
"It's been said on here a million times so I'm kicking a dead horse, but the Giants undermining the importance of a strong bullpen is one of the more puzzling missteps the organization has made in recent seasons," Steven Rissotto, also of 95.7, added .
The bullpen has been an undeniable issue for the Giants all year. But while it's highly unlikely the loss to the Reds will be the last blown save of the year, it's even less likely we'll see anything that bad out of the San Francisco bullpen again for a long time.
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