SAN DIEGO -- Last year, Willy Adames batted leadoff only once for the Giants.
Adames entered the last day of the regular season with 29 home runs, so the Giants decided to move him to the top of the lineup to try to maximize his chances of reaching 30.
The 30-year-old shortstop made the most of the opportunity, crushing his first career leadoff homer against the Rockies to become the first Giants hitter to deliver a 30-homer season since Barry Bonds in 2004.
The leadoff spot has continued to suit Adames in 2026.
Batting first for the second consecutive game, Adames went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and his first home run of the season to set the tone for the Giants’ 9-3 win over the Padres on Tuesday night at Petco Park.
Each member of the Giants’ starting lineup recorded at least one hit, with Jung Hoo Lee (3-for-5, three RBIs), Rafael Devers (2-for-5) and Matt Chapman (2-for-5) also enjoying multihit efforts. The nine runs and 16 hits were both season highs for San Francisco, which produced only four runs over its first four games of the year.
Adames opened the scoring with his second career leadoff blast in the top of the first, driving the second pitch he saw from San Diego starter Germán Márquez off the top of the left-field fence to spark a three-run inning for the Giants.
Chapman made it 4-0 with a second solo shot off Márquez in the third, though the Padres managed to cut the deficit to one by scoring three runs off right-hander Logan Webb in the bottom half of the inning.
Still, the Giants broke out for another extended rally in the sixth, pushing across four more runs behind RBI singles from Adames and Heliot Ramos and a sacrifice fly from former Padre Luis Arraez.
While he was nicked up in the third, Webb came back to retire the final 10 batters he faced to get through six innings and pick up his first win of the year.