SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants have yet to see the best version of Rafael Devers in 2026. But the three-time All-Star certainly appears to be trending in the right direction.
Devers took another step toward breaking out of his early cold spell by launching his second home run in as many games in the Giants’ 5-2 win over the Pirates in Friday night’s series opener at Oracle Park.
The Giants (15-23) entered Friday having lost eight of their last nine games and fell behind early after Marcell Ozuna took veteran left-hander Robbie Ray deep in the top of the second. But Devers quickly came through with the equalizer in the bottom half of the inning, smoking a down-the-middle fastball from Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski over the center-field fence to collect his fourth home run and extend his hitting streak to eight games, the longest by a Giant this year.
“When he gets going, as a team, we start rolling,” Ray said. “If he’s feeling good in the box and he’s taking at-bats like that, he can carry a team. It’s good to see, for sure.”
It was an encouraging sign for Devers, who has struggled to do damage against four-seam fastballs this year. The 29-year-old entered Friday batting only .200 with a 47.3% whiff rate and a 56.5% strikeout rate on those pitches in 2026, but he’s been looking more comfortable at the plate over the last week.
Devers is now slashing .346/.387/.654 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over his last eight games, bumping his OPS from .530 to .625 over that span.
“You could see it coming,” manager Tony Vitello said. “I think there were some knocks coming in Tampa and maybe even some better swings a little bit before that. But since that period, to me, the foul balls, the takes, the swings, the balls barreled up have all been really good. It’s good for him to be able to get feedback like he has the last two games.”
A resurgent Devers would be a major boon to a Giants offense that entered Friday last in the Majors in runs, homers and walks this year. The club’s bats seemed to collectively perk up following a much-needed day off on Thursday, combining for 12 hits against the Pirates, including two apiece from Devers, Jung Hoo Lee, Willy Adames and Heliot Ramos.
Ramos gave the Giants a 2-1 lead with a go-ahead single in the bottom of the fourth, and the Giants added on with a three-run rally in the seventh. It proved to be enough for Ray, who had to grind through a 31-pitch third but still managed to get through six innings and earn his third win of the year.
“I think my fastball command just kind of got dialed in a little bit better and then the changeup was working really good,” said Ray, who gave up one run on four hits while walking four and striking out seven. “But because the fastball location after that third inning started to get a little more crisp, it just made the changeup better.”
Adames also came close to clearing the fences in the bottom of the fourth, when he came up to the plate with a pair of runners on and lifted a ball deep to left field, but his 359-foot drive ended up being caught at the wall by former Giants prospect Bryan Reynolds. Still, the struggling shortstop singled in each of his next two at-bats to record his first multihit game since April 17.
Like Devers, Adames has gotten off to a slow start and is batting only .203 with a .577 OPS and three home runs over his first 37 games of the season. Adames went through a similar slump at the beginning of last year and managed to finish the season with a team-high 30 homers, so he could be primed for a similar turnaround in 2026.
“I think it’s getting there slowly,” Adames said. “I’ve been feeling better the past couple days. Obviously, I haven’t been getting a lot of results, but I feel like I’ve been hitting the ball better. Today felt great because we got the win. Hopefully we can change the momentum. The hits are starting to fall, and the wins are starting to come.”
The lack of consistent offense has left the Giants in a deep hole to start the season, but Vitello believes they can still find a way to dig themselves out of it -- much like Andy Dufresne in "The Shawshank Redemption."
“Shawshank’s a pretty good movie,” Vitello said. “Andy Dufresne had to swim through a lot of poo to come out on the other side and see the sunshine. Maybe that’s us.”