San Francisco @ San Diego Game Overview

"Outside people don't know anything," Ramos told the San Francisco Chronicle. "That's the type of person he is. That doesn't mean that he's not a great manager. When we were winning, everybody was on our side. ... Now it's like all the fans are against us and all that. I don't get it. We're here and we know what's going on, we know what we're feeling, we know what we're working for, but fans are going to be fans, we can't do anything about it."

Ramos showed how much he wants Melvin to stick around Monday night, hitting a lead-off homer that sparked a 4-3 win over the host San Diego Padres in the opener of a four-game series. Ramos and the Giants will try to make it two wins in a row over San Diego on Tuesday night.

San Francisco was 41-29 on June 13 and then made a big move, trading with Boston to acquire Rafael Devers. Since being 12 games over .500, the Giants' 20-35 mark, which includes a stretch of 15 losses in 17 home games, has put them on the outside looking in when it comes to October baseball.

Third baseman Matt Chapman, sidelined until late August with right hand inflammation, said he understands fan angst with the team's recent form.

"I feel bad for our fans because they come out here and they support us every single night," he said. "We haven't been playing good baseball for them."

San Francisco played good baseball on Monday outside of a double error by third baseman Casey Schmitt that helped San Diego score three runs in the seventh inning.

The Giants will try for a third straight win overall behind rookie right-hander Kai-Wei Teng (1-2, 9.90 ERA). He allowed seven runs in the second inning in an 11-1 pounding by the Padres on Wednesday. Shaky defense and bad luck conspired against him, but four walks in just 1 2/3 innings lit the fuse for the San Diego surge.

Teng yielded three runs on four hits in his major league debut against San Diego in March 2024. He received a no-decision in that contest.

While Teng will try to pitch longer than he did last week, San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta (12-4, 2.87 ERA) will seek to keep rolling on the best year of his career. Pivetta cruised through 6 2/3 innings against San Francisco on Wednesday, allowing his only run after owning an 11-0 lead.

Pivetta gave up just four hits and struck out five in beating the Giants for the second time in three starts this year. He is 3-1 with a 4.88 ERA in eight career appearances (five starts) vs. San Francisco.

And the Padres need him to play the stopper role after dropping their fourth game in a row Monday night.

Manager Mike Shildt wasn't around for most of the latest loss, getting booted after replay umpires turned Xander Bogaerts' leadoff homer in the second inning into an out on the basis of fan interference. Shildt still was peeved by the ruling after the game.

"There was no clear evidence that the fan impeded his ability to make the play," Shildt said. "But somehow, it was clear after 2 minutes and 40 seconds? It's really disappointing, and it ends up costing us an opportunity to win the game."

San Diego played Monday night without center fielder Jackson Merrill (ankle), who was injured over the weekend during the team's sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers. And the Padres lost Jake Cronenworth (elbow) when he was drilled by a Robbie Ray fastball in the fifth inning Monday.

It's not certain whether Merrill or Cronenworth will be available to play on Tuesday night.

--Field Level Media