Trevor McDonald Threw 7 Shutout Innings and the Giants Finally Won a Game

The San Francisco Giants came home from a brutal 0-6 road trip and did something they haven't done in a while: they won. Trevor McDonald, called up from the minors on Monday, was the spark plug San Francisco needed, pitching seven innings of one-run ball to beat the San Diego Padres 3-2. The right-hander gave up two hits, zero walks, and struck out eight. That's the kind of outing that can flip a season around when your team is as desperate as the Giants are right now.

The Call-Ups Are Supposed to Fix This Mess

San Francisco didn't stop at McDonald. The Giants brought up two other prospects to their lineup. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge, the team's first-round pick from 2023, started at designated hitter and went 0-for-2 with a walk in his big-league debut. Catcher Jesus Rodriguez also got his first taste of the majors, finishing 0-for-3. The Giants are betting these young guys can help unlock an offense that has been completely anemic.

Eldridge is 21 years old, 6-foot-7, 250 pounds. He's been raking at Triple-A Sacramento this season, batting .333 with a .963 OPS across 30 games. He's got six doubles, five home runs, 22 RBIs, and 25 runs while walking 20 times. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 20 prospect in all of baseball and the No. 1 prospect in San Francisco's system. The knock on him is strikeouts,he's struck out 41 times in 114 at-bats this season. But the Giants apparently decided they can't afford to wait any longer for him to fix that at Triple-A.

Rodriguez, 24, has been a monster at Sacramento too, hitting .330 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games. He's got a .311 career average in the minors since 2019 with 34 homers and 240 RBIs in 431 games.

San Francisco's Offense Is a Disaster

Here's how bad it's gotten: The Giants scored only nine runs on their entire road trip. Five of those came in an extra-inning loss. They were shut out twice. San Francisco is the worst team in the majors right now in runs (106), home runs (19), RBIs (101), walks (69), and on-base percentage (.287) under first-year manager Tony Vitello. That's not just bad. That's historically bad.

McDonald's win was huge for another reason too. The 25-year-old had brief stints with San Francisco the past two years, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in four games. He was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in five appearances at Sacramento this year, so this bounce-back performance on Monday showed what he can do when he's on.

The Giants also made some roster moves to clear space for the call-ups, optioning Will Brennan to Sacramento, designating Jerar Encarnacion for assignment, and placing left-hander Erik Miller on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.