The San Francisco Giants' 2026 season ended with a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in extra innings on Sunday.
The San Francisco Giants’ miserable 2026 season finally came to an end on Sunday with a 5-1 extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
The Giants finished with a 65-97 record, which was their worst season since 2017. It also marked the fifth consecutive year they have missed the playoffs.
An ugly 10th inning
Despite being thin in depth and with nothing to lose besides Game 162, San Francisco fought throughout most of the game.
The Giants scored first in the bottom of the second inning thanks to an RBI single by Scott Bandura, and even when the Dodgers tied the game in the top of the fourth, San Francisco continued to battle.
Over the course of 10 innings, 10 pitchers took the mound. for the Giants, most of which came after manager Tony Vitello was ejected for arguing a check-swing call in the top of the third inning. Through the ninth inning, things were going well.
But in the 10th, the Dodgers broke away easily when rookie right-hander Duncan Davitt took the mound. Davitt, 27, opened the top of the inning by securing two outs, but he subsequently allowed an RBI double and a three-run home run.
For the Giants’ offense, which had gone just 5-for-33 at the plate while striking out 16 times, overcoming such a deficit was too much to ask. Fans of the Giants had to watch as their in-state rivals secured their 100th win of the season while San Francisco concluded a losing season on a losing note.
Need to turn it around
For the Giants, expectations were bigger this season.
The talent was there, a promising first-time manager was in place, and it was a chance for President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey to show he could build a winner as an executive after spending years contributing to World Series rings in San Francisco as a player.
Things did not work out that way, though, as Vitello struggled in his first season, and Posey was compelled to sell talent by the Trade Deadline. From the beginning of the season onward, the Giants could not find their footing, and they concluded the year with a five-game losing streak.
Now, it is time for Posey and the organization to head into the upcoming fall and winter months to reflect and execute a better plan. The Giants used to be one of the dominant forces in baseball, but they have struggled for years, and something needs to give.
Maybe Vitello is the guy, or perhaps he isn’t. But the buck does not stop with him, and Posey needs to address the various needs of this team before his seat heats up.
