Landen Roupp takes the mound to finally break a sweep-less stretch and salvage a disappointing San Francisco Giants season.
In a statistic that doesn't even sound real, the San Francisco Giants are just one win away from recording their first series sweep of the year.
One would have to go back to their final series of 2025 against the Colorado Rockies as the last time they swept a team, and that really puts things into perspective as to just how poorly their 54-78 season has gone.
The Giants haven't just taken the first two games against the Cincinnati Reds; they've dominated a potential playoff team, outscoring them 8-1.
Sure, the Reds may be nine games back of the final National League Wild Card spot, but crazier things have happened, and it's certainly better than the 16.5 games that the Giants are back.
It's no surprise that this season is a lost cause for the Giants, so now, they're going to cherish every moral victory they can.
That started last night when they secured back-to-back victories for the first time in nearly a month, so the next logical step is to ensure they have at least one sweep in a forgettable 2026 season.
Giants' first sweep attempt since late July
San Francisco took the first two games against the Los Angeles Angels on July 24-25, but they lost the series finale, 4-3.
Prior to that, one would have to go all the way back to late June when they took the first two games against the Athletics, only to drop the series finale, 9-6.
The Giants may have won back-to-back games against the Atlanta Braves on June 16-17, but the series finale was postponed due to weather, so that ended all hopes of them sweeping a very credible team in the NL East.
This is a team that had chances to sweep the San Diego Padres from March 30-April 1, the Washington Nationals from April 17-19, and the Los Angeles Dodgers from April 21-23, but they failed to win the series finale all three times.
Officially, the Giants are 0-5 this season in attempts to record a three-game sweep in three consecutive games.
Nick Lodolo vs. Landen Roupp
Cincinnati is going to have Nick Lodolo take the mound on Wednesday, Aug. 26, in a game that is crucial for the Giants' morale.
Lodolo is 3-3 this season with a 5.04 ERA.
His opponent is none other than Landen Roupp, someone with just a 7-13 record. That said, Roupp's 4.34 ERA could be much worse, and he's struck out 130 batters this season, which is more than double Lodolo's total (59).
