MILWAUKEE — Ostensibly, the Giants are still in a playoff race.
But their actions Wednesday suggested otherwise.
On the field, they couldn’t recover from five runs leveled against Kyle Harrison and fell back to .500 in a 5-3 loss to the Brewers.
Hours earlier, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the team had placed a trio of veterans — relievers Taylor Rogers and Tyler Matzek and second baseman Thairo Estrada — on irrevocable waivers, making them available to any team willing to pay the remainder of their salaries.
“It’s frustrating,” Harrison said of the Giants’ season-long struggle to cement themselves among the National League’s true contenders.
While it’s not uncommon for players to end up on waivers this time of year, it’s also not a ringing endorsement from a team’s front office when they put their Opening Day second baseman and a fixture of their bullpen up for grabs at the going rate of salary relief.
Even after their win in the opening game of the series, the Giants (67-67) entered Wednesday with 2.7% odds of making the postseason, according to FanGraphs, and the loss dropped them 6½ games back of Braves (73-60) for the final wild card, behind two other teams: the Mets (69-63) and Cubs (68-66).
“Everybody in this clubhouse, what they’re looking for is victories,” Estrada said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros. “That’s what we’re striving for. Everyone in this clubhouse is giving 100% everyday, max effort, and trying to contribute in every way.”
Estrada has been one of the majors’ worst hitters this season — a wRC+ of 64, or 34% below league average — but his defensive acumen at second base and $4.7 million salary could make him an attractive bench piece for a contender looking to shore up their middle infield.
Rogers has a 2.45 ERA in 54 games this year and 83 career saves but has seemingly fallen out of favor in San Francisco, relegated to mostly low-stakes situations, with a year and $12 million left on the contract he signed before last season.
With the emergence of Tyler Fitzgerald and the Giants’ anticipated pursuit of Padres pending free-agent shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, Estrada had been a candidate to be non-tendered this winter, and others in the same bucket — such as outfielder Michael Conforto — could face similar fates if the Giants’ fall further out of contention.
“I don’t think you ever get used to it,” said Estrada, who was DFA’d by the Yankees before the Giants picked him up in 2021. “That’s something that I just can’t control. It’s part of the game, but the one thing I can control is just go out there again and play as hard as I can and try to get my team some wins.”
It didn’t take long for Estrada to prove he could still contribute, poking the Giants’ first of only two hits off Freddy Peralta into left field to lead off the third and forcing a poor throw from third baseman Joey Ortiz in the seventh that allowed Matt Chapman to score their first run of the night.
Estrada was one of two players in the Giants’ lineup with multiple hits, while Conforto doubled home a run and scored another to cut the deficit to 5-3 in the eighth.
“When you have a five-run inning, that can delate you a little bit,” Melvin said. “But we came back against some really good bullpen arms and scored three runs and made it a game where we had a chance again.”
Despite pitching on extra rest, Harrison wasn’t able to complete five innings for the third time in five August starts.
Reaching a career-high in innings the last time he took the mound, the Giants skipped the 23-year-old left-hander the last time through the rotation. He took the mound Wednesday with nine days of rest since his last start and looked fresh for the first four innings, allowing only two runners to reach base, but hit a wall in the fifth.
William Contreras delivered the final blow of the five-run inning with a 435-foot, two-run blast on Harrison’s 92nd and final pitch of the night. The lights flashed and the Brewers’ catcher celebrated his shot right in front of Melvin, rounding third base as the manager made his way to the mound.
“I felt great today,” Harrison said. “Stuff was great. I think I was just a little out of rhythm (in the fifth).”
In five August starts, Harrison has a 6.12 ERA compared to the 3.69 mark he had through his first 18 starts of the season.
Harrison breezed through the first four frames so easily that Melvin said he thought he has six in him but finished with five runs allowed on four hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. Still, Melvin believed Harrison benefitted from the extra rest.
“It certainly felt like it at the beginning,” he said. “There was a lot of life (on his pitches). … He pitched really well up to (the fifth inning). He was getting strikeouts, getting swings and misses, backdoor breaking ball, throwing his breaking ball for strikes. It just happened quickly on him.”
