Keaton Winn used in seventh against Rangers

The Giants were hoping for a two-inning save from Smith in a 3-2 game, but they didn’t get it, mostly because of poor infield play. Joshua Báez led off the ninth with a routine grounder to short, but Christian Koss slipped and made a weak throw, resulting in a single. Thomas Saggese then hit a grounder up the middle that a diving Osleivis Basabe got a glove on but couldn’t corral. The Cardinals went on to tie the game on a walk and a sac fly, but Smith probably won’t be hurt by the result, especially after the Giants went on to win in extras.

Winn continues to make slow progress in his recovery from right elbow neuritis. and it became clear that he wasn’t going to make it back before the end of the 2026 season, so the Giants wanted to make better use of his spot on the 40-man roster. Brett Harris was claimed off of waivers from the Red Sox in a corresponding move on Thursday.

The Giants gave him two runs to work with tonight. Smith surrendered an RBI single to Nick Gonzales to start his inning, but he then retired three in a row, striking out two. Smith blew his previous save chance last Wednesday, but he still seems like the favorite for saves in San Francisco.

He was already on the injured list for a right elbow strain earlier this year so we’re concerned that this could be something chronic that needs to be dealt with. Winn hasn’t made a real play for the closer’s role so this move has no fantasy impact. He carried a 3.65 ERA in 12 1/3 innings since returning from the injured list, but had walked eight and struck out just seven along the way.

Smith allowed just one hit and didn’t walk anyone. The save was his third of the season, and he has two of the Giants’ three this month. San Francisco’s bullpen has been a sore spot all season as nine different relievers have earned at least one save. Caleb Kilian leads the unit with eight, but Smith looks like the best bet for ninth-inning chances right now. That said, opportunities could be scarce if this remains a committee like it’s been all year.

The blown save was the product of a walk, a wild pitch and then a single through the right side of the infield. Rafael Devers probably could have gotten to it, but he instead retreated back to first, thinking that Osleivis Basabe had the easier play. Basabe, though, deflected it into the outfield while trying to make a diving attempt. In truth, neither infielder had much shot of turning it into an out, but both should have been capable of keeping the ball in the infield and preventing the runner from scoring from second. Smith is probably still the clear favorite for saves in San Francisco, but it’d be for the best if he doesn’t blow another chance right away.

Smith made it look easy against his former squad in this one, getting Gleyber Torres on a ground ball to first and Dillon Dingler on a bouncer to short to start the inning. He then issued a two-out walk to Riley Greene before retiring Eduardo Valencia on a fly ball to right to end it. Smith looks like he’s in prime position to run away with the closer’s gig and should be rostered in all mixed leagues at this point.

The Red Sox sure are burning a lot of talent here. Miller is quite good and under control for three years after this one, but giving up a long-term regular for a left-handed reliever is quite a loss of value. Mayer is currently on the shelf with an arm injury and might not be much of a factor this year, but he should be the Giants’ second baseman next year and he remains very much an option at short if the club could find a taker for Willy Adames. Miller’s fantasy value disappears with the deal, since he won’t be a candidate for saves in Boston. With the Giants shedding both he and Caleb Kilian, Dylan Smith is probably their favorite for saves at the moment.

Single, walk, bunt single, single. That was enough to doom Kilian tonight. In total, the three hits had a combined xBA of .970. Mickey Moniak grounded through the right side of the infield to start the frame. After a walk, Jake McCarthy went to sacrifice the runners, but he wound up with a hit because Casey Schmitt was playing rather far back at third for some reason; McCarthy had already showed bunt twice in the at-bat. After that, Kyle Karros hit a ball up the middle at just 69 mph, but that was still hard enough to elude a drawn-in infield and plate two runs. Combined with his four-run outing in a loss to the A’s on June 25, this makes two really ugly lines for Kilian in the last few weeks. Still, in neither blown save was he hit very hard at all. He’ll likely remain the Giants’ closer for now, but the team does have a potential alternative with Keaton Winn back from the IL. Winn retired two of the three batters he faced tonight.

Winn missed nearly a month’s worth of action due to a right elbow strain. Before landing on the injured list on June 11, the 28-year-old righty had posted a 3.23 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and a 26/9 K/BB ratio over 30 2/3 innings in his 29 appearances. His return should provide a nice boost to the back end of the Giants’ bullpen.