Matt Chapman Still Believes the Giants Can Turn Things Around

"Don't Stop Believing" is probably blasting throughout the San Francisco Giants' locker room night-in and night-out.

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman (26) fields a ground ball. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Losing is never fun. It sucks the soul not only out of a fan base, but also out of the players in a locker room. Sports — and life — are just more fun when winning.

Despite the ever-present doom and gloom that has been surrounding the San Francisco Giants in 2026, it appears that not all hope is lost. Sure, the team just succumbed embarrassingly to the Washington Nationals on Monday night, blowing a 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth, but the macro of it all suggests that the Giants might be turning a corner. Don't believe it? Well, take Matt Chapman's word for it.

Following San Francisco's 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs this past Sunday, Chapman — who drove in the game-winning run in the top of the 10th — told Anthony Rizzo that not all hope is lost in the Bay Area.

"I think everybody is still believing," Chapman said postgame (via NBC Sports). "We started off slow, and it's easy to get down. I mean, hitting is hard, and you can make things big deals, and you can all get in a rut, but if you believe and we keep working and grinding, we have enough veteran guys, so we know it's a long season, and it shows. We had a slow first month, but we're coming, and there's a lot of baseball left."

Matt Chapman Isn't Ready to Throw in the Towel

Clutch Chappy comes through again 😤 pic.twitter.com/QwQHoJSzcw

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 9, 2026

Chapman's optimism is noteworthy. As one of the veteran leaders in the clubhouse, he brings the type of experience necessary to get through tough times like the Giants have experienced so far in 2026. He's also a more-than-capable hitter, and his productive last month has been a major reason why San Francisco's offense has turned things around.

Add in Jung Hoo Lee and Luis Arraez's resurgence, and it's no wonder that folks in San Francisco have a bit of a glint in their eye when talking about their squad's lineup nowadays.

A Difficult Climb Still Awaits

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Still, there is reason to doubt that the Giants can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and compete for a playoff spot in manager Tony Vitello's first season. The hole they dug for themselves was massive, and for most teams, that's insurmountable. At 13 games under.500, it's going to take a massive surge to be competitive by the All-Star break.

There's definitely a path to relevancy, though. Continue winning as the Giants did against the Milwaukee Brewers and Cubs this past week while snuffing out the bad vibes that defeats like Monday night's against the Nationals. San Francisco could be in the mix for a wild-card spot by the time September rolls around. But if the offense regresses even slightly and the pitching — particularly the bullpen — continues to struggle, then October baseball is just a pipe dream.

For the well-being of everybody's mental state, however, dwell on Chapman's words. "I think everybody is still believing" is such a powerful statement. Because if the team believes, then the fan base should, too.