The San Francisco Giants may have provided a look ahead with a move that took place in Triple-A on Thursday. For Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League, Wade Meckler is starting at second base for Thursday's game. Meckler saw just a brief cup of coffee in 2023, but he's a solid minor league hitter and, at age 25, still has some upside. The Giants could use anyone who can hit even a little bit.

The San Francisco Giants were dealt a brutal reminder Thursday that no win is guaranteed in the majors. With first place in the NL West standings within reach, the Giants watched their seven-game winning streak vanish in stunning fashion after a crushing walk-off loss to the historically bad Colorado Rockies. Leading 7-5 in the ninth, the Giants unraveled after reliever Randy Rodriguez allowed three runs, aided by a costly error from third baseman Casey Schmitt. With two outs, Colorado's Orlando Arcia singled to left, scoring the winning runs and handing San Francisco an 8-7 loss in the Mile High City.

Against the odds, the San Francisco Giants continue to play at a high level and keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the National League West. After another thrilling victory on Wednesday night, the team is now 40-28, a half-game behind the Dodgers for first place and 1.5 games ahead of the Padres, who are in third place. At this point in the season, it is clear that the Giants are going to be playoff contenders in the NL. More news: Will Giants Offense Receive Big Enough Boost After Recent Shakeup?

Admittedly, the Giants are not as good as the Dodgers. The Dodgers' sick and wounded list reads like an all-star ballot, and that explains the fact that they are not undefeated at this juncture of the season as “experts” might have expected. There are a lot of comparisons being bandied about right now that this team is reminiscent of Farhan Zaidi's first team that won 107 games in 2021.

With injuries depleting the pitching staff, the Diamondbacks have made an external addition to add depth. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that right-hander Anthony DeSclafani has opted out of his minor league deal with the New York Yankees and will sign with Arizona. There's been no indication whether it's a major league or minor league deal yet.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching coach gave an update on pitcher Roki Sasaki.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been forced to watch their former slugging outfielder, Marcell Ozuna, dominate with the Atlanta Braves for the last few seasons. With the Braves likely looking to sell this year, Ozuna could end up on the trade block in the coming weeks. FanSided's Zachary Rotman recently linked Ozuna to the San Francisco Giants in a potential blockbuster trade. The Giants are actively competing with the Cardinals for a National League Wild Card spot.

The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest success stories in MLB this year, but still have some major improvements they could make to the roster. Pitching has been great, the Giants have the second-best staff ERA in the league at 3.10.

The Rockies will look to avoid back-to-back sweeps

When the San Francisco Giants traded for former American League Cy Young pitcher Robbie Ray before the 2024 season, they were taking a risk on his age and injury history. Ray, 33, is having an outstanding season with an ERA of 2.44 and WHIP of 1.07 with an 8-1 record and 87 strikeouts.

The San Francisco Giants have maneuvered their way into contention in nail-biting fashion. The roster shakeup by president of baseball operations Buster Posey has brought a sense of urgency as the Giants shape up to be buyers at the trade deadline. At one point, they endured eight straight one-run games to tie the longest MLB streak since San Francisco set it last in 2014. San Francisco needs more offense and desperately needs a first baseman.

The bullpen has been one of the few relative strengths for the Colorado Rockies this season, but for the second straight night, a promising evening of baseball in LoDo ended with a meltdown. One day after blowing a four-run lead in the ninth inning, the Rockies gave away a three-run advantage Wednesday in the eighth as the San Francisco Giants rallied for an 10-7 win in front of 23,532 at Coors Field. “It's been brutal for us out there,” Rockies relief pitcher Tyler Kinley said. Colorado is now 12-55, and has found its way into another losing streak — five straight after sweeping the Marlins in Miami last week.

The Giants joined the history books after their Wednesday win over the Rockies, where they were trailing by multiple runs again.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 10-7 on Wednesday to win the series. Now they go for the sweep on Thursday, carrying a seven-game winning streak and a half-game behind the Dodgers in the NL West. All season, San Francisco has been struggling early in games but roaring back to steal games. The Giants were losing to the Rockies by multiple runs and won, making some history along the way.

SAN FRANCISCO — Daniel Johnson didn't have any other choice. To get back to the majors, Johnson had to step out of his comfort zone. “It was definitely a different world, I'll tell you that,” Johnson said. “A lot to get used to. Kind of a little bit of culture shock. But at the end of the day, I was out there to play baseball.” That world was Mexico, where Johnson spent two months with Caliente de Durango before signing a minor-league deal with the Giants in May. For Johnson, who turns 30 next month, Durango represented another chapter in his journey as a baseball nomad, a brief stint that landed him back home in the Bay Area with a team he grew up watching. Daniel Johnson made an instant impact

The San Francisco Giants signed left-handed relief pitcher Scott Alexander to a minor-league contract.

A day after third baseman Matt Chapman landed on the injured list due to right-hand inflammation, the Giants placed catcher Patrick Bailey on the 10-day IL with a neck strain. Bailey, 26, was in Tuesday's starting lineup in Colorado against the Rockies before being scratched due to the neck issue. Backup catcher Andrew Knizner, who joined the Giants last Wednesday, started in Bailey's place.

The Giants erased a three-run deficit by scoring four runs in the top of the eighth inning, mounting their second comeback in as many nights to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 10-7, on Wednesday night at Coors Field. “You can never count us out,” said third baseman Casey Schmitt on the Giants' postgame show. Entering the top of the eighth inning, San Francisco trailed 6-3 and was on its way to a flat loss against Colorado.

The San Francisco Giants saw their string of one-run victories end on Wednesday, but their winning streak is intact. San Francisco rallied for the second straight night to beat the Colorado Rockies 10-7 for its seventh consecutive win, and they Giants will go for a sweep of the three-game series on Thursday in Denver. Right-hander Hayden Birdsong (3-1, 2.55 ERA) takes the mound against Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela (1-10, 6.68). On Wednesday night, the Giants were an inning away from making history.

San Francisco Giants (40-28, second in the NL West) vs. Colorado Rockies (12-55, fifth in the NL West) Denver; Thursday, 3:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Hayden Birdsong (3-1, 2.55 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 45 strikeouts); Rockies: Antonio Senzatela (1-10, 6.68 ERA, 1.97 WHIP, 33 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Giants -223, Rockies +183; over/under is 11 runs BOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants will try to build upon a seven-game win streak with a victory against the Colorado Rockies. Colorado has a 12-55 record overall and a 6-27 record in home games. The Rockies have a 3-12 record in games when they hit at least two home runs. San Francisco has an 18-17 record in road games and a 40-28