Pregame transactions help spark Giants to skid-ending win

The San Francisco Giants summoned help from the minors in their return home on Monday following a 0-6 road trip, and one of the call-ups delivered a skid-ending victory.

Trevor McDonald, making his first major league appearance of the season, pitched seven innings of one-run ball as San Francisco beat the San Diego Padres 3-2. The right-hander permitted two hits and no walks while striking out eight.

Two other call-ups were in the starting lineup, too. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-2 with a walk, while catcher Jesus Rodriguez finished 0-for-3 in his big-league debut.

To clear spots on the roster, the Giants optioned outfielder Will Brennan to Sacramento, designated outfielder Jerar Encarnacion for assignment and placed left-hander Erik Miller on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Friday, due to a lower back strain.

The Giants scored only nine runs on their trek to face the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays. Five of those runs came in an extra-inning loss, and the Giants were shut out twice.

San Francisco is the worst team in the majors in runs (106), home runs (19), RBIs (101), bases on balls (69) and on-base percentage (.287) under first-year manager Tony Vitello.

The Giants will hope Eldridge and Rodriguez can help to unlock the offense.

The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Eldridge is just 21 and was the Giants’ first-round draft pick in 2023.

In 30 games this season at Triple-A Sacramento, the first baseman is batting .333 with a .963 OPS. He has six doubles, five home runs, 22 RBIs and 25 runs. He also has walked 20 times.

The biggest knock on Eldridge is his penchant for striking out — 41 times in 114 at-bats this season — but the Giants apparently feel they are out of time to work on that at the Triple-A level.

The Giants called him up briefly last season, and he batted .107 with four RBIs and 13 strikeouts in 10 games.

MLB Pipeline ranks Eldridge as the No. 20 prospect in baseball and No. 1 in the San Francisco system. It has Rodriguez ranked No. 18 among Giants prospects.

In 24 games at Sacramento, Rodriguez is hitting .330 with two homers and 14 RBIs. The 24-year-old has played in 431 games in the minors since 2019 and has a career average of .311 with 34 homers and 240 RBIs.

McDonald, 25, had brief stints with the Giants the past two years, going a combined 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in four games (two starts). This year for Sacramento, he was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in five appearances (four starts).

Brennan, 28, went 0-for-9 in five games for San Francisco. He played for the Cleveland Guardians each of the previous four seasons.

Encarnacion, 28, was hitless in his past 11 at-bats, leaving him with a .176 average and no RBIs in 17 games this season. He played for the Giants in 2024 and 2025 after starting his major league career with the Miami Marlins in 2022.

Miller, 28, has no decisions, two saves and a 3.18 ERA in 12 appearances this season, his third year with the Giants.

–Field Level Media