Giants dealt first-of-its-kind loss in team history

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants were three outs away from completing their first three-game sweep of the season. Instead, they ended up suffering the worst ninth-inning collapse in franchise history.

The Giants blew a six-run lead after allowing the Reds to rally for seven runs in the top of the ninth inning, resulting in a stunning 10-9 loss in Wednesday’s series finale at Oracle Park.

It was an unprecedented meltdown for the Giants (54-79), who came into the game 2,208-0 in team history when leading by six or more runs entering the ninth.

“Don’t really have a word for it,” manager Tony Vitello said. “It’s more than unfortunate.”

Vitello wasn’t around to witness the agonizing end from the dugout, as he was ejected by home-plate umpire Ryan Blakney for arguing a check-swing call in the top of the first inning.

Vitello walked off the field in a fit of anger, though the vibes started to shift after he watched Logan Webb toss six innings of two-run ball and Rafael Devers clobber his third home run in as many days, a tiebreaking splash hit in the bottom of the fifth.

The Giants stretched their lead to 9-3 behind Shay Whitcomb’s first homer as a Giant -- a two-run shot to left field in the sixth -- and Drew Gilbert’s pinch-hit, bases-clearing double in the eighth, but they ultimately veered into disaster in the ninth.

After working a scoreless eighth, right-hander Spencer Bivens came back out for a second inning of work, but he faced four batters without recording an out in the ninth. He surrendered a leadoff homer to Héctor Rodríguez and then gave up a single and a pair of walks to load the bases with no outs.

Bench coach Jayce Tingler, who took over managing duties following Vitello’s ejection, brought in righty Dylan Smith to face Eugenio Suárez, but the move backfired after Suárez drove a 1-0 fastball out to left-center field for a grand slam, cutting the Giants’ lead to 9-8.

“I didn’t get ahead like I typically do,” Smith said. “Obviously, the home run pitch right there, he got it, man. He took advantage of that pitch. I wish I could have that one back.”

Things only continued to unravel from there. Dane Myers laid down a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error from third baseman Buddy Kennedy, and Matt McClain also successfully legged out a bunt single, setting the table for Jose Trevino’s game-tying sacrifice fly to right field. Tyler Stephenson then came off the bench and lined a go-ahead single to left field, giving the Reds their first lead since the second inning.

“It’s tough,” Smith said. “You want to go out there and perform every time you get the opportunity. Today just wasn’t my day.”

The Giants put the tying run aboard after Turner Hill reached on a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, but Reds closer Emilio Pagán struck out Drew Cavanaugh and Christian Koss swinging to end the game, sealing San Francisco’s most painful loss of the year.

The Giants’ nine losses when leading entering the ninth inning are the second-most in the Majors this year, trailing only the Angels (10).

“It’s always tough, but I think at the end of the day, you’ve just got to show up tomorrow,” Webb said. “It kind of sucks because we were trying to get the first sweep of the year and things haven’t gone our way. Maybe guys were trying too hard. I’m not going to put a finger on it necessarily, but I think you’ve got to show up tomorrow and try to win. I think that would be my message.”

Landen Roupp was originally slated to start on Wednesday, but the Giants decided to push him back to Thursday and move up Webb. The last-minute swap was meant to give Roupp an extra day of rest and take some pressure off San Francisco’s bullpen, which was forced to cover 13 2/3 innings in the first two games of this series due to the injuries to starters Carson Whisenhunt (left elbow sprain) and Adrian Houser (right forearm sprain).

Webb gave up five runs over a season-low 2 2/3 innings in his last start against the Red Sox, so he said he was determined to redeem himself and provide some much-needed length for the Giants on Wednesday. He didn’t disappoint, holding the Reds to an RBI single by Trevino in the second inning and a solo shot to Rodríguez in the third.