PITTSBURGH -- Giants first baseman Rafael Devers couldn’t prevent a heartbreaking walk-off loss to the Pirates on Tuesday after he missed an errant throw from third baseman Osleivis Basabe with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
But the 29-year-old slugger wasted little time getting his club back on the right track on Wednesday.
Devers launched a mammoth first-inning blast to collect his third home run in as many days, and rookies Bryce Eldridge and Turner Hill drove in two runs apiece to help the Giants hang on for a 5-4 bounceback win over the Pirates in 10 innings at PNC Park.
“Yesterday sucked,” manager Tony Vitello said. “To come back is similar to how we came back from Boston. We blew the one big lead and came back and won the next day. We just didn’t have that in our tool belt earlier this year. The fact that we do now makes it fun to come to the park. [Devers’ homer] set the tone and kind of said, ‘We’re here,’ for our dugout, as opposed to, ‘Hey, we’re still thinking about yesterday.’”
Devers endured a slow start to the season, but he’s been on quite the tear lately, batting .421 (16-for-38) with six home runs and 13 RBIs during his current 10-game hitting streak.
He stayed hot by unloading on an 0-1 slider from Pittsburgh right-hander Bubba Chandler, sending it a Statcast-projected 415 feet out to dead center field to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Devers’ 32 home runs are now the most by a Giant since Barry Bonds crushed 45 in 2004, leaving him only six shy of matching the career high (38) he set for the Red Sox in 2021.
“It’s unbelievable,” Eldridge said. “It’s been really fun to watch all year. I was telling someone in the dugout, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hitter more locked in than Rafi has been the last few weeks.' He’s been great all year."
Devers’ production has been especially valuable, considering he’s been carrying a lineup that lost most of its regular position players -- including Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Casey Schmitt, Heliot Ramos and Luis Arraez -- to injuries and trades over the last month.
“I feel the same as always,” Devers said in Spanish. “There are always going to be ups and downs. The season is really long, so you can’t get down by a bad month or two. You have to keep competing. I also have to thank God for keeping me healthy throughout the year.”
The Giants took a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning, but they allowed the Pirates to pull within one on Spencer Horwitz’s run-scoring groundout in the seventh and then tie the game on Oneil Cruz’s RBI single in the eighth.
San Francisco came close to being walked off for the second straight night after Pittsburgh put runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Hill made an impressive diving catch in left field to rob Bryan Reynolds of a hit and send the game to extra innings.
“The catch was a game-saver,” Vitello said.
The Giants staged their final rally against old friend Camilo Doval in the top of the 10th. After Basabe laid down a sacrifice bunt to move automatic runner Christian Koss to third base, the Pirates intentionally walked the red-hot Devers to bring up Eldridge with runners on the corners and one out.
Eldridge quickly capitalized on the opportunity, sending an RBI double to left field to knock in the go-ahead run for the Giants. Hill then brought home a key insurance run with a sacrifice fly to right field.
“He’s always surprised me,” Devers said of the 21-year-old Eldridge. “I’ve always said that he has a good approach. He’s a great kid. It’s good to have him hitting behind me because I know what he can do. He always makes hard contact.”
Eldridge said his clutch hit was even more memorable because it came in front of his 93-year-old grandmother, Erica, who made the four-hour drive from Virginia to Pittsburgh to watch him play in the big leagues for the first time this week.
“It was awesome,” Eldridge said. “Dream come true. She told me that that was the one thing in her life she hasn’t accomplished yet to this point, seeing me play. I’m glad that I got a big moment for her.”
Dylan Smith took the mound in the bottom of the 10th and allowed the automatic runner to score on an RBI single by Nick Gonzales, but he came back to retire Cruz, Esmerlyn Valdez and Rafael Flores Jr. to seal the win for the Giants.