San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants Have Shown Biggest Year-Over-Year Improvement in Baseball
The San Francisco Giants have been the most pleasant surprise in baseball in the first few weeks of the 2025 MLB season.
Not much was expected out of the team, which was once again projected to be right around the .500 mark. Painfully mediocre was a good way to describe the team since Buster Posey announced his retirement following the 2021 season.
Now that he is back with the franchise in an official capacity as the president of baseball operations, however, things have already taken off.
The Giants are 15-8, doing everything in their power to keep pace with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. They are both 16-7 and San Francisco is holding off the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are 13-9.
Easily the best division in baseball, those NL West teams are going to test each other throughout the year. Their great starts are putting a ton of pressure on other NL contenders, such as the Atlanta Braves, who started slow and are now in a huge hole.
For the Giants, the improvement they have made in just one calendar year is truly remarkable.
At this point last season, they were already in the bottom third of the MLB power rankings shared by The Athletic (subscription required). They had a few solid stretches during the season but were never real threats for a playoff spot, ending the year at 80-82.
This year, they are cementing themselves as one of the better teams in baseball. The MLB writers who handled rankings, going with a year in review theme, have them as most improved team in the league.
Last year at this point, San Francisco was No. 21 in the rankings. This time around, they are No. 5; only the Dodgers, Padres, New York Mets and New York Yankees are ahead of them.
“The Giants are one of the biggest movers in this exercise, and their ability to look competent in the face of expected doom is yet another reason why,” wrote Grant Brisbee.
Coming into the year, the biggest question mark about the team was their ability to score runs. Thus far they have succeeded in that area, averaging 5.05 per game, which is the sixth-most in MLB entering play on Tuesday.
Barely league average in most offensive statistics, the offense is being carried right now by breakout star Jung Hoo Lee, who owns a .329/.383/.600 slash line with an MLB-leading 10 doubles.
Third baseman Matt Chapman leads the MLB with 22 walks drawn, while designated hitter Wilmer Flores has seven home runs and 24 RBI.
Veteran outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has an OPS+ of 170, which is second behind Lee’s 182 through 22 games. Tyler Fitzgerald and Chapman are the only other players with an above-average OPS+, while outfielder Heliot Ramos is right on the average at 100.
The most encouraging thing about the offensive performance is that this isn’t close to their peak, with star shortstop Willy Adames yet to get going and first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. producing a .103/.232/.241 slash line.
When they find their groove, this offense can be taken to another level, which will help them keep pace with the other NL contenders in support of what has been a great pitching staff.
San Francisco, CA
50 Beagles Rescued From Wisconsin Lab Arrive in Bay Area, SF Activist Faces Felony Charges
Animal rescue groups persuaded a Wisconsin breeding lab to sell 1,500 beagles after activists worked for a decade to free them, and 50 of the dogs arrived in the Bay Area Sunday. Meanwhile, an SF activist faces 12 years in prison for rescuing some of them prior to the deal.
Last month, several animal rights activists attempted to free 1,500 beagles at Wisconsin-based Ridglan Farms, the second-largest breeder of beagles for laboratories in the US, as KGO reported last week. Four activists, including Dean Guzman Wyrzykowski of San Francisco, were arrested during the rescue operation and charged with felonies, with up to 12 years in prison, according to a post by Wyrzykowski on social media.
“There are thousands of dogs just like her in laboratories across the country,” says Wyrzykowski, while holding the dog he’s accused of stealing.
Last week, animal rights group Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which is based in Florida, and DC-based Center for a Humane Economy made a confidential agreement with the lab to purchase the animals to be adopted out by rescue groups. Per KGO, well-known Berkeley activist Zoe Rosenberg, who brought one beagle named Chester home with her, was among the volunteers helping the dogs in Wisconsin after they were rescued.
As KGO reports, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group brought 50 beagles to the Bay Area via school bus Sunday, and they’ll be adopting them out to homes in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and nearby cities once they’ve received veterinary care.
The dogs had likely never touched grass until after leaving the lab, and they’ve been slowly acclimating to their new lives. Some were reportedly malnourished and most had bad teeth and were in need of dental work.
“It was very emotional,” says Wendy Lansdon, a volunteer with Northern California Beagle Rescue, speaking to KGO about when the bus full of dogs first arrived in the Bay Area. “Some of them were really quiet when we got in there, some of them were happy, and the other ones were terrified.”
Prior to the dogs’ arrival, the Northern California Beagle Rescue Group announced on social media it was seeking foster home volunteers in Fremont, San Jose, and Sacramento — near where the beagles will be receiving veterinary care. The group is also requesting donations to help fund the dogs’ vet care.
According to the site Save the Dogs, activists had been pushing for the closure of Ridglan Farms for almost 10 years, as investigators, whistleblowers, veterinarians, and others worked to spread the word about the inhumane conditions of the lab, which stayed in operation for decades, despite being hit with hundreds of state-level cruelty violations.
“The dogs born there were treated as inventory: bred, confined, sold to research, disposed of,” says Save the Dogs.
Save the Dogs notes that activists are now targeting Marshall BioResources, the largest breeder of dogs for laboratories in the country, which has operations in New York and the United Kingdom.
Image: Northern California Beagle Rescue/Facebook
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Live Stream: How to Watch MLB
Division-leading Dodgers aim to snap home losing trend as they open series against the Giants in a matchup of NL West foes
After dropping their second straight home series over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers head into Monday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants sitting atop the National League West Division standings, aiming to avenge a series loss to the Giants from two weeks ago. San Francisco has lost nine of its last 12 games overall and have dropped seven in a row on the road as they begin a 10-game road trip that will keep them away from home until Memorial Day Weekend. The Giants will start Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA) in his fourth start in the Majors while the Dodgers will counter with second-year Japanese import Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA) who has given up a home run in five consecutive outings.
How to Watch San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers:
Date: May 11, 2026
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel: MLB Network
Location: Dodgers Stadium
Live Stream the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
Dodger center fielder Andy Pages, who has helped Los Angeles claim World Series titles in each of his first two years in the Majors, leads the team this season hitting .333, ranking the 25-year-old Cuban third among all hitters in MLB. Pages is hitting .371 so far in May with five extra base hits and 10 RBIs and has successfully reached base in 13 of his last 14 games.
With nine hits in seven games so far this month, Giants second baseman Luis Arraez is hitting a team-leading .310 at the plate in 2026 and is on pace for his eighth career 100-hit campaign. Arraez is one of only two active players with a career batting average above .300, hitting .316 for his career and leads Houston’s Jose Altuve by 15 points.
What time is Giants vs Dodgers?
Coverage of the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers starts Monday, May 11, at 10:00 p.m ET. Tune in to see if the Dodgers can beat the Giants for the fifth time in the last six games at Dodger Stadium or if San Francisco can beat LA for the fourth time in the last five head-to-head matchups.
What channel is the Giants vs Dodgers game on?
Looking to watch the game? Subscribers can tune to MLB Network to catch the action. Make sure you subscribe to Fubo now to watch this matchup at home or on the go with the Fubo TV app.
Watch the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers game on Fubo: Start watching now!
Regional restrictions may apply.
San Francisco, CA
Mother’s Day Gamethread: Giants vs. Pirates
Happy Mother’s Day to all the McCoven who hopefully have better things to do than watch this dreadful baseball team. But if this is your chosen way of spending the day, then welcome, and may the Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the series for you.
Right-hander Tyler Mahle takes the mound for the Giants, as the veteran makes his eighth start of the year. He’s 1-4 on the season, with a 5.00 ERA, a 4.91 FIP, and 34 strikeouts to 18 walks in 36 innings. He was very strong his last time out, pitching 5.1 shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the Pirates, it’s right-hander Bubba Chandler, a 23-year old in his second season. In seven starts this year, Chandler is 1-4 with a 4.76 ERA, a 5.60 FIP, and 31 strikeouts to 26 walks in 34 innings. Chandler gave up two runs in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his last game. He has issued the most walks in the Major Leagues, so he’s probably foaming at the mouth to face the Giants, who apparently believe that drawing walks is a sin on par with murder.
Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Giants! Go moms!
Who: San Francisco Giants (15-24) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (22-18)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
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