SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants’ lineup has been ravaged by injuries and trades in recent weeks, but it still has one bona fide slugger to count on: Rafael Devers.
The three-time All-Star flashed his game-changing power by crushing a three-run home run that carried the Giants to a 5-0 series-opening win over the Reds on Monday night at Oracle Park.
The Giants found themselves extremely shorthanded after losing three players -- including shortstop Willy Adames -- to the injured list on Monday. The flurry of transactions left San Francisco with only two members of its Opening Day lineup -- Devers and Jung Hoo Lee -- forcing the club to cobble together a starting nine that included third baseman Shay Whitcomb, right fielder Grant McCray and second baseman Nate Furman, all of whom were recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Monday.
Even so, the ragtag offense managed to defy expectations by jumping out to an early lead against All-Star right-hander Chase Burns, who was tagged for five runs over 3 2/3 innings in his shortest start of the year.
“He’s one of the best pitchers in the league,” said center fielder Drew Gilbert, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles. “Anytime you’ve got a guy like that going in, you know it’s going to be a battle. I thought we just did a good job sticking to a specific plan. If you try to hit everything against a guy like him, you’re going to have no shot. … I thought we were relatively relentless in our at-bats. We just kept getting after him.”
Burns entered Monday with a stellar 2.51 ERA over 24 starts this year, but he gave up four consecutive hits to lead off the bottom of the first inning, including an RBI single to Lee and an RBI double to Turner Hill, who batted cleanup in his seventh career big league game.
San Francisco extended its lead behind a two-out rally in the bottom of the second. Christian Koss singled and Gilbert doubled to set the table for Devers, who proceeded to crush a 97.9 mph fastball from Burns out to right-center field to make it 5-0 Giants.
Devers’ team-leading 27th home run of the year traveled a Statcast-projected 427 feet and had an exit velocity of 108.9 mph.
Devers isn’t viewed as the most vocal leader in the Giants’ clubhouse, but manager Tony Vitello said the 29-year-old first baseman spoke up during the club’s hitters’ meeting on Monday and shared his thoughts on the best way to approach the Reds.
“With Willy not there next to his side, he kind of just took the reins and said some things,” Vitello said. “I think it all was going in the right direction in the first inning. Fortunately we had stuff on the scoreboard to back that up.”
“When a guy like that speaks up and says something, it means something,” Gilbert said. “It’s cool anytime he talks.”
The Giants managed to overcome the loss of starter Carson Whisenhunt, who departed his outing after only 2 2/3 innings due to left elbow pain.
Whisenhunt opened his start with two scoreless innings, but he visibly grimaced and started flexing his left arm after firing a first-pitch sinker to Dane Myers with runners on the corners and two outs in the third. Head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner came out for a brief mound visit before Whisenhunt was pulled from the game and replaced by right-hander Jason Foley.
Whisenhunt also suffered a season-ending left elbow sprain in the Minors in 2023, but he said this discomfort was different from what he felt back then. He’s expected to undergo an MRI exam Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury.
“I’m trying not to think about it, honestly,” Whisenhunt said. “I’ve never really felt anything like this. I don’t really know where to be at with it. I’ll just kind of play it by ear, get the MRI tomorrow and then go from there.”
San Francisco’s bullpen provided shutdown relief after Whisenhunt exited the game, with Foley, Reiver Sanmartin, Ryan Walker, Carson Seymour and Dylan Smith combining to toss 6 1/3 scoreless innings to seal the club’s 10th shutout victory of the year.
“We didn’t take advantage of them losing their starter,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “We never were able to break through to anybody. We started following guys around instead of getting stubborn.”