Willy Adames failed to tag up on a fly ball, allowing a crucial double play that ended any chance of a comeback during Thursday’s 4-0 loss to the Dodgers. More than their offense and pitching, the blame goes mainly to their veteran slugger for his brain-fade moment in the seventh. With Shohei Ohtani on the mound, the least the Giants could do was avoid a base-running error. However, Adames picked the worst time for a lapse in judgment.
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Adames offered no excuses after the game and took the blame on himself. “That mistake is probably the most ashamed that I would feel playing the game,” the veteran shortstop said after the 4-0 defeat. “I know that can’t happen. It was my fault. That’s on me.”
The drama unfolded in the seventh inning against Ohtani. Adames and Matt Chapman scored consecutive singles, loading the first and second bases. The Giants were one out by then. Drew Gillbert entered the plate and hit a 373-foot drive to left-center field. The hit was hard, and it looked like it make through the gap and had a chance for a double.
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Giants’ Willy Adames owns base-running blunder in loss to Dodgers: ‘Ashamed’ https://t.co/NSFFGCKivF pic.twitter.com/bePUkIieET
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 14, 2026
However, the Dodgers’ Andy Pages managed to run it down and take the catch. Gillbert was out, but Adames was already halfway to third base. He never went back to tag up. Mookie Betts got the ball back into the infield quickly, and the Dodgers turned an easy double play to end the inning.
What could have been a run ended up ending the inning for the Giants. “I honestly thought it was going to be a double,” Adames added.
“The inning’s over, so he goes back out there. At that point, we’re trying to come back. There’s no sense in dwelling on it,” manager Tony Vitello said. “Whatever the mistake was there, we’ll clear it up.” It will be a difficult task for the Giants to clear it up, considering the team’s poor baserunning stats this year. The Giants have run into 14 outs on the bases, tied for the fifth-most in the league.
For Adames, his mistakes hurt more because his bat has been quiet. He is currently hitting .222 and has managed just three homers. It’s still an improvement, considering he was hitting .197 by April, but the team needs more from the veteran. The Giants are currently ranked 4th in the division with an 18-25 record. So, Adames’ struggle is reflected in the team stats, and such mental gaffes on the field are not helping.
It isn’t just Adames, thought. The entire Giants offense is a concern.
The Giants’ offensive struggle is scarier
The Giants are ranked last in the league in terms of total runs scored (145). On Thursday, only Rafael Devers, Luis Arraez, Adames, and Chapman could manage hits. The remaining lineup couldn’t do anything. This sums up the intensity of the Giants’ offensive struggle.
Moreover, while Devers and Adames got multiple hits on Wednesday, their strikeout rates were concerning. Rafael Devers recorded two hits, including a double in the ninth inning, but struck out twice, while Willy Adames struck out twice as well. And with these veterans faltering, the team’s power hitting is badly impacted.
The slugging metrics have cratered, leaving the club 29th in MLB with just 30 home runs. They are also tied for the worst on-base percentage (.290) in baseball, driven by a historically low 5.4% walk rate. Hence, nothing is going right for them at the plate. The only silver lining was the Giants’ bullpen.
On Wednesday, reliever Joel Peguero allowed one walk and seven strikes from his 12 pitches. In addition, Tristan Beck followed it up with two scoreless innings. He threw 26 strikes from his 36 pitches. However, that’s not enough to be a contender. The faster the Giants’ offense comes back to life, the faster things will start falling into place.
Written by
Edited by
Arunaditya Aima