San Franciscans were spoilt for choice on Saturday. From various comedy and theatre options, including Mother’s Day weekend comedy at the Function, to various live music and performance events, including a concert tour performance by English singer-songwriter Raye, they had so much to choose from. Instead, they came to Oracle Park only to see their home team, the San Francisco Giants, suffer a 13-3 blowout in an already disappointing season. They weren’t happy and let the team know. Even the Giants’ manager could not blame them.

“What would you do?” asked first-year manager Tony Vitello, per KNBR. “They paid for their ticket. At the very least, even if it was free, they chose this over everything. There are 85 million shows you can watch on Netflix, or in this city, I haven’t gone out much, but anytime I have, there’s a lot going on.”

The Giants hired Vitello as their 40 manager in October 2025. The University of Tennessee HC directly jumped from college to MLB without prior experience in the major or minor leagues. But his first season as an MLB manager is not going as planned, as the Giants struggle at the bottom of the NL West, ranked 28 in the MLB, with a 15-24 losing record.

A crowd of 40,417 packed Oracle Park on Saturday, only to witness the bullpen collapse spectacularly. Giants starter Landen Roupp held the Pittsburgh Pirates to one earned run on three hits in 4.0 innings. But once the bullpen took over in the fifth, runs quickly piled up for the Pirates. Pittsburgh hitters registered a season-high 20 hits in the game, as every starter recorded one.

The booing started and continued as reliever JT Brubaker delivered a disastrous seventh inning for the Giants. Brubaker surrendered four runs on four hits before Vitello pulled him midway for Gregory Santos, who gave up two more runs. By the end of the inning, the Pirates were leading 10-1, as loud boos echoed throughout the ballpark.

The Giants are now tied with the New York Mets for the worst record in the National League, and the new manager chose the moment to throw some more shade on his own team. In the post-match interview, Vitello spoke about the lack of effort from his players. Now, whether it was the right thing to say for the rookie manager is for Buster Posey to decide.

According to KNBR, Vitello added, “So, whether you paid for your ticket or you just chose to do this over other options, or maybe your walls are painted orange and black, and this is the team your whole family, for generations, has supported, and you’ve got a lot invested. So, you want something in return or, at the very least, a good effort — maybe execution here and there … but I think it got to the point where it wasn’t an acceptable effort.”

The Giants’ lineup has recorded the lowest runs (123) in the league in 39 games. The Pirates held a 12-run lead until the bottom of the ninth before Helios Ramos scored. San Francisco failed to record a walk in 130 plate appearances from Monday to Saturday until Ramos walked in the ninth.

The Giants’ hitters failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities, as they left seven hitters in scoring position. The lack of effort Vitello spoke of was quite glaring. Their only moment of spark was Bryce Eldridge’s solo shot.

Giants’ young prospect hit first MLB homer

San Francisco’s Saturday night was disappointing, except for one moment. Its lineup came to life temporarily as their 21-year-old prospect Bryce Eldridge recorded his first major league home run.

On a four-seam fastball that clocked 96 mph from Braxton Ashcraft, Eldridge launched his solo shot 364 feet to right. The young prospect celebrated with a high-five to Adames and Matt Chapman, as it was still a one-run game then, with the Pirates leading 2-1.

“It’s very cool. I had a moment after the home run,” Eldridge told The Athletic. “I was on the rail in the dugout and trying to process what happened, and I realized I didn’t really remember much of it. Like, I really remember only coming around third, and Willy and Chappie, and after I touched home. I definitely blacked out a little bit.”

Eldridge’s first homer came in his 39 plate appearance for the Giants. His swing was one worth appreciating. Even though Ashcraft’s fastball was well off the plate and went inside, Eldridge could swing it to the right. It was a remarkable effort, as his 6-foot-7 frame with long arms does not make it easy to field off such balls. His manager, Vitello, also thinks the same.

“For any hitter, that would have been a great swing, but for a guy that’s bigger and longer limbs and all that good stuff, it was pretty impressive for him to do that. Not just to make the contact he did, but to keep the ball fair,” Vitello told The Athletic.

Eldridge has gone 2-for-13 and is hitting .154 this season. The Giants would face the Pirates again on Sunday for the series finale, hoping to clinch the series.