san francisco giants The 2026 season has been challenging So far, and Wednesday’s game against the San Diego Padres, suggested the frustrations are already hitting home. To start the season, the Giants suffered a home sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees and were outscored 13–1 in those three games. Wednesday presented an opportunity to erase those recent memories, as they won the first two games of the set against their National League West rivals. That did not happen, as the Padres won 7–1 thanks to a strong start by Nick Pivetta.
As for those aforementioned disappointments, they clearly belonged to veteran third baseman Matt Chapman. With two out and two on in the bottom of the fifth, Xander Bogaerts cut a single to Chapman, who had to make a hasty and somewhat unbalanced throw to Casey Schmidt at first base. It didn’t go according to plan:
It’s a high throw and an error from Chapman, but it appears it might be caught by Schmidt. Chapman apparently agreed, because during the ensuing mound visit, he appeared to tell Schmidt to “catch the f—ing ball.”
No doubt, Chapman was also thinking of a similar play in the first innings when Schmidt was charged with an error:
Those plays contained both of the Padres’ runs, at least until they went away in the later innings. After the game, Chapman addressed the incident on a mound visit to reporters. through nbc sports bay area: :
“We’re all brothers here. It’s the heat of the moment. I’ve already talked to Casey. Everything’s good.”
As for Schmidt, he also reflected after the game San Francisco Chronicle: :
“We’re trying to win games. I mean, obviously I’m not crazy about it or anything. It’s baseball. I mean, these are things I should have done and didn’t do.”
In Schmidt’s defense, he is far more familiar with other infield positions, and Wednesday marked just his 18th career start at first base. However, the utility infielder was relegated to regular duty at first base due to Rafael Devers’ balky hamstring, which has limited him to DH so far. Additionally, the organization determined that young first baseman Bryce Aldridge, the Giants’ top prospect, needed further seasoning in Triple-A to begin the year. If it’s any consolation for Chapman, Schmidt shouldn’t last much longer at first base.
Of course, all this is not a big deal or even that unusual. It’s simply caught by the lens and the lip reader, which is why we’re talking about it.
