3 Giants Matchups That Matter in Lineup Against Royals, Seth Lugo

The San Francisco Giants have set their lineup for the finale of their three-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The San Francisco Giants have had a bad time in Kansas City. While the barbecue might be great, the baseball — at least for the Giants — has not. Two straight one-run losses have continued to cement that the 2026 season just isn’t going very well.

Last night’s 3-2 defeat was particularly demoralizing. While Giants starter Tyler Mahle delivered a serviceable outing of five innings with three runs allowed, Royals youngster Luinder Avila one-upped him with a career night. He threw 6.1 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking one. It was a dominant performance that underscored just how putrid San Francisco’s offense can be at times.

The series is lost. Now it’s the Giants’ job to salvage at least one game before returning home to face the Los Angeles Angels this weekend.

Here is Wednesday’s lineup and three matchups that matter to the Giants.

San Francisco Giants Lineup for July 22, 2026

San Francisco Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos (17) celebrates with shortstop Willy Adames (2). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

1. 2B Luis Arraez (L)
2. DH Bryce Eldridge (L)
3. LF Heliot Ramos
4. 1B Rafael Devers (L)
5. 3B Casey Schmitt
6. RF Jung Hoo Lee (L)
7. SS Willy Adames
8. CF Drew Gilbert (L)
9. C Drew Cavanaugh (L)

San Francisco Giants at Kansas City Royals

Where: Kauffman Stadium — Kansas City, Missouri
Time: 11:10 a.m. PDT
TV: Giants — NBC Sports Bay Area; Royals — Royals.TV
Radio: Giants — KNBR 680, 1510 AM, KSFN; Royals — 96.5 The Fan, Royals Radio Network

Starting Pitchers

San Francisco starter Landen Roupp. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Giants: RHP Landen Roupp (7-8, 3.98 ERA) vs. Royals: RHP Seth Lugo (3-6, 4.39 ERA)

Giants Matchups That Matter

Luis Arraez: The spotlight will be on Arraez every day until the trade deadline. Eyes from across the league will be on him, as he’s by far the premier asset the Giants currently possess. The better he plays, the better chance San Francisco has of acquiring more impact pieces for the future. But he’s also important for this game. If Arraez can start the contest on the right foot at the top of the order, then the team will be in a much better position to win.

Willy Adames: Few hitters in the Giants lineup have hit better against Lugo than Adames has. In seven at-bats, he has one home run and a 1.089 OPS. It’s a small sample size, sure, but it at least illustrates that he’s capable of tattooing a baseball against the veteran right-hander.

Jung Hoo Lee: Much like Arraez, Lee is a player other teams are looking to acquire at the deadline. Unlike Arraez, Lee doesn’t possess the slam-dunk production that would be necessary for the Giants to get a monster trade package. As such, any strong performance from now until Aug. 3 would do wonders for both parties.