'He shouldn’t run': McCray's 94.3 mph laser sets up Devers' walk-off heroics

SAN FRANCISCO – Returning home after a rough 1-5 road trip through Seattle and Kansas City, the Giants sought a fresh start against the Angels.

And though ace Logan Webb wasn’t his sharpest and a four-run lead had dissolved by the eighth, San Francisco had the last laugh in the end, with Rafael Devers’ walk-off single delivering a 7-6 victory in the 10th inning on Friday night at Oracle Park.

A crucial element of the win was a sterling play from center fielder Grant McCray in the top of the 10th, as he caught a fly ball and fired a strike to third base, retiring Oswald Peraza on a bang-bang play to quell an attempted Angels rally and put the Giants in the driver’s seat heading into the bottom of the frame.

Luis Arraez’s bloop single pushed the automatic runner to third and a one-out walk to Bryce Eldridge loaded the bases before Devers sent the sold-out crowd home happy with a walk-off drive to left field.

McCray’s only played in 65 Major League games over the past three seasons, and Friday was just his sixth with the Giants in 2026. He’s been back and forth from Triple-A Sacramento multiple times. But he’s made those big league games count – so much so, in fact, that he has the Giants’ fastest outfield throw this season (99 mph), and their fastest assist (Friday night’s 94.3 mph heave).

In 2024, McCray was in the 99th percentile for outfielders in terms of arm strength, with an average max effort of 97.1 mph. And just last season, his 101.7 mph assist against the Dodgers was the third fastest tracked across the Majors.

When he nailed Peraza at third to secure that key double play, he let out a howl as he ran in from center field. There’s no shortage of confidence from the 25-year-old.

In fact, he even sounded as if he expected more of himself postgame.

“94.3 [mph], not very hard, back foot. I’ll try harder next time,” he said.

McCray was asked about his powerful arm out there in the outfield, specifically whether he’d consider himself a “secret” on defense.

“I mean, it shouldn’t be a secret,” he said. “They have the video and everything to go over it. I was just talking to [Heliot] Ramos about it. If they didn’t let him know, and they just let him run into an out, what are you gonna do? But they should probably have let him know that he shouldn’t run.”

Manager Tony Vitello spoke highly of McCray’s performance on the night, regarding both the throw from center field and pinch-running for Drew Gilbert in the seventh and promptly stealing second base, setting up a Daniel Susac sac fly that proved important later in the game.

“Those guys live a tough life when you're going up and down,” Vitello said regarding McCray’s resilience. “ … You can't come up with one example where someone hasn't been 100% professional. That’s a frustrating lifestyle. And McCray's had to live it out, but he's done nothing but working his [butt] off, studying pitchers, and [bringing] nothing but a positive mindset on days when he's not in the lineup.”

It came as no surprise that Casey Schmitt also played a central role in the victory, his three-run homer in the third staking the Giants to a 5-1 lead.

Schmitt lashed it down the left-field line at 105.9 mph just over the fence, his 21st homer – an ongoing career high – after an intentional walk to Devers, a notable decision by the Angels preceding Schmitt’s at-bat.

“I think right when they walked Rafi, I was like, ‘That’s disrespectful to Casey,’ and then he hit it,” said Webb. “Definitely think he admired it a little bit, but it was huge. Big reason we won today. He's been doing it all season, and he loves those big moments.”

The presence of both Schmitt and McCray provided a jolt the scuffling Giants needed.

“Everybody showed a lot of fight, and everybody wanted to win because they wanted to win at home,” McCray said. “I mean, it hasn't been great lately, but we're all working on trying to turn this ship around.”