$182M Star Sends Blunt Message to Giants Clubhouse Amid Justin Verlander Uncertainty

The San Francisco Giants went into the All-Star break with postseason hopes. But the second half didn’t start with a bang, or even a satisfying thud. The team tumbled in Toronto against a very good Blue Jays team. The first was an ugly 4-0 shutout on Friday, July 18. And that was followed by another gut-wrenching 6-3 loss the next day. This 0-2 beginning instantly splashed cold water on the mood, leaving the Giants at 52-47 and a full six-point-five games behind the Dodgers.

That boiling over frustration was best encapsulated by a tweet from San Francisco Chronicle beat writer Shayna Rubin. She quoted the team’s $182 million shortstop, Willy Adames, following the Saturday loss. “At the moment, it felt great, like maybe it could start something going… But unfortunately, we couldn’t back Webby (Logan Webb) up. It’s been a little tough, obviously, to start the break 0-2,” the post read.

Rubin was sure to include her own blunt analysis as well. “Toronto is tough and the Giants are still no good against lefties.” It felt like an undiplomatic assessment that got to the root of the team’s troubles.

“At the moment it felt great, like maybe it could start something going… But unfortunately we couldn’t back Webby up. It’s been a little tough, obviously, to start the break 0-2.”

Toronto is tough and the Giants are still no good against lefties:https://t.co/Xvxo9qCOKW

— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) July 19, 2025

Adames’s frustration was understandable because he had tried to put the team on his shoulders on Saturday. His first homer came in the fifth against Eric Lauer, giving SF a 1-0 lead, and literally marking the first of everything in the game. The next run came from Heliot Ramos’s sacrifice fly and amazing hustle in the top of the 6th, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead. But then, things started to crumble.

Till the bottom of the 6th, ace Logan Webb held the fort down. But then, his magic vanished. He was charged with a season-worst 11 hits, allowing 4 runs. Next thing we know, even Adames’s seventh-inning homer couldn’t save the team.

The Giants’ “felt great” moment disappeared in a disastrous sixth inning. Toronto had five hits in the inning, highlighted by a go-ahead two-run double, turning a 2-1 Giants lead into a 4-2 deficit.

This failure to back their ace up was not an isolated occurrence.

The day before, the Giants provided zero help to veteran Justin Verlander. The 42-year-old was pummeled for four runs in less than three innings, and his record fell to a head-scratching 0-8.

Well, the lineup’s struggles are significantly worse when opposing southpaws, to whom they have a lowly .212 batting average and a .620 OPS. That obvious vulnerability to left-handed pitching was more than just a slump. It is a full-blown crisis, and the Blue Jays’ lefty Eric Lauer on Saturday, expertly took advantage of it.

The Giants’ Achilles’ heel: Dissecting the southpaw struggle

The Orange and Black were actually pretty good against southpaws in 2024. They posted a respectable .252 and a decent .740 OPS. That production came from a core of “lefty-mashers.” Heliot Ramos was a beast, posting a 1.189 OPS. Jorge Soler (.887 OPS) and Michael Conforto (.886 OPS) also delivered. Those are the players that made facing lefties a manageable task, covering for struggling regulars like Thairo Estrada (.515 OPS).

Now, fast forward to this season, and the narrative is totally reversed. The team’s batting average against lefties is 40 points lower. And their on-base percentage has dropped 43 points. The reliable hitters from the past year have regressed, a tactical challenge converted into a predictable failure. Finding hitters who can punish left-handers is no longer a luxury — it’s a requirement, pure and simple.

The front office is well aware of it and took the first step by bringing Rafael Devers from the Red Sox. Raffy may be the Giants’ best weapon vs. lefties this season. The star third baseman is batting .284 with a fantastic .855 OPS in same-sided matchups. His production is a drastic improvement over his career numbers against lefties, which were already solid. Devers has been 36 percent better than the league-average hitter in those spots.

While Rafael Devers is one of the few remedies available at the moment, he can’t do it alone. The front office, now guided by Buster Posey, needs reinforcements before the trade deadline. One name being floated in trade rumors is Arizona’s Eugenio Suárez. The power is there from the righty third baseman, who has produced 10 homers and a .590 slugging percentage against left-handers this season. But that power is not without risk. Suárez is hitting just .193 in those matchups.

Still, if a trade doesn’t happen, there is no savior in the farm system. The organization’s best prospects, Bryce Eldridge and Bo Davidson, are left-handed hitters. And promising right-handed bats such as Dakota Jordan and Rayner Arias are years from the majors. There’s no internal fix for 2025 even on the horizon.

Now, the front office has a clear decision to make: Make a bold trade or risk seeing the fatal flaw of the team sink their postseason chances.

 

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