SAN FRANCISCO -- Mike Yastrzemski was one of the Giants’ most productive hitters to start the year, but he struggled to sustain his hot start once the calendar flipped to May.
After logging an .889 OPS with five home runs over 27 games in March and April, Yastrzemski slumped to a .574 OPS with no homers over 26 games last month. The first week of June wasn’t looking much better, as he entered Sunday only 1-for-25 (.040) over his past eight games.
The extended offensive rut prompted the Giants to leave Yastrzemski out of the starting lineup on Wednesday and Thursday, which manager Bob Melvin hoped would help refresh the 34-year-old outfielder.
Yastrzemski certainly looked a bit more revitalized at the plate on Sunday, when he went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and a game-tying double to help the Giants defeat the Braves, 4-3, and complete a three-game sweep at Oracle Park.
“That’s huge for him,” manager Bob Melvin said. “He was the guy at the beginning of the season who was probably one of our hottest guys and the most productive.
“These things are always going to move around. You’re always going to go through some periods, and then it’s somebody else’s turn to pick it up in the lineup. But that goes a long way when you get a big hit like that. It ends up being kind of the big hit of the game. It can do a lot for your confidence going forward.”
The Giants have now played seven consecutive one-run games -- their longest such streak since an eight-game stretch from April 11-18, 2014 -- and have reeled off five straight wins to improve to 38-28 on the season.
Yastrzemski put San Francisco on the board with a sacrifice fly off Atlanta starter Spencer Strider in the second and then came through with a much-needed big hit in the fourth. With runners on second and third and two outs, Yastrzemski went down and yanked a low slider just inside the right-field line for a two-run double that tied the game, 3-3. It was Yastrzemski’s first hit with runners in scoring position since May 4.
Yastrzemski said his recent break helped “a lot, more so mentally than anything,” as it gave him some extra time to work in the batting cage and learn to trust his swing again.
“It’s a mental thing where you just have to trust yourself and know your abilities and really hone in on your approach,” Yastrzemski said. “I feel like I’ve done that well the last three or four days. That feels a lot better. I feel a lot more relaxed and ready to attack my pitch vs. doing too much.”
The Giants took their first lead of the afternoon with the help of a fielding error from Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies, who allowed Tyler Fitzgerald’s grounder to the right side to deflect off his glove and roll into shallow right field, enabling Yastrzemski to score from second.
The Giants finished with only three hits, but they drew three walks and executed a double steal in the second to help set the table for Yastrzemski. They did just enough to support right-hander Landen Roupp, who earned the win after allowing three runs on five hits over six innings.
San Francisco’s lights-out bullpen took it from there, with Ryan Walker, Randy Rodríguez and Camilo Doval combining to throw three scoreless innings to close out the win.
After watching Yastrzemski break out, the Giants hope to see a similar turnaround from Willy Adames, who also received his first day off of the season on Sunday. Adames played 161 games for the Brewers last year, but Melvin felt the 29-year-old shortstop could also benefit from some rest after going only 6-for-66 (.091) with 23 strikeouts over his past 20 games, a downturn that has caused his batting average to drop to .193 over 65 games in 2025.
“Grinding as hard as he is all the time and having incredibly high expectations for himself -- for guys like him, it can wear on you a little bit,” Melvin said. “I think it’s more mental than it is physical. Physically, he’s ready to play every day. But I think coupled with the off-day tomorrow, too, it’ll give him a little distance. Hopefully come Tuesday, it’ll take a little bit of a load off his mind some.”
Worth noting
The Giants experienced an injury scare in the bottom of the eighth, when Matt Chapman jammed his right hand after attempting to dive back to first base to avoid being picked off to end the inning. Chapman returned to third base for the top of the ninth and said X-rays came back negative, though he expected to undergo more testing on Monday’s off-day.
“For a second, it felt like I tore all three of these ligaments,” Chapman said, pointing to the middle three fingers of his right hand. “But we’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”