SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants gave fans a late scare but delivered one of their most complete performances of the season Friday night, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 behind a resurgent offense that erupted late at Oracle Park.
The Giants lineup looked rejuvenated from top to bottom, with timely hitting and aggressive at-bats helping the San Francisco improve to 15-23 on the season. Leading the charge was slugger Rafael Devers, who continued his recent turnaround at the plate. Devers went 2-for-4 and launched his fourth home run of the season in the second inning, tying the game at 1-1 with a towering shot that barely cleared the reach of the Pirates center fielder.
After a slow and frustrating start to the 2026 campaign, Devers may finally be heating up. Entering the week, the star infielder was batting just .221 with two home runs and 12 RBIs. But since the Giants’ series against the San Diego Padres began Monday, Devers has shown signs of breaking out, collecting two home runs and four RBIs over his last four games.
San Francisco’s offense has struggled to generate consistency for much of the season, making Friday’s balanced attack an encouraging sign for a club searching for momentum early in the year.
“You could see it coming,” manager Tony Vitello said. “There were some knocks coming in Tampa and some better swings before that, but since that period, the foul balls, the takes, the swings, the balls barrelled up have all been really good.”
With his early home run, Devers extended his hitting streak to eight games, while his fourth-inning single secured his first multi-hit performance since April 22 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he also finished 2-for-4.
“He’s looking better at the plate,” Devers’ said teammate Willy Adames about his recent offensive surge. “He’s the biggest force on this lineup, and if he starts going, we’re going to be in a better position. When he gets hot, it’s gonna be fun.”
Giants starter Robbie Ray also emerged as a difference-maker Friday night. After a shaky opening stretch that included a second-inning home run surrendered to Marcell Ozuna and four walks through the first three innings, Ray settled in and took control.
The veteran left-hander battled through the early turbulence to strike out seven batters while allowing just one earned run across six innings of work, delivering another gritty performance atop the Giants rotation.
“[Matt] Chapman’s double play in the first inning set the tone for Robbie to be able to go really deep in the game, showed a lot of guts,” Vitello said.
The defense held firm long enough for the San Francisco’s offense to turn a spark into a full-blown rally.
Devers wasn’t the only Giant swinging a hot bat. San Francisco piled up 12 hits on the night, more than doubling the Pittsburgh Pirates’ five-hit output.
The Giants appeared poised to break the game open in the fourth inning after back-to-back singles from Casey Schmitt and Devers put runners on base. Adames then crushed a deep drive to left field and briefly admired what looked destined to be a three-run homer.
But Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds had other plans, leaping at the wall to rob Adames of the home run in one of the game’s biggest defensive plays. Still, the Giants managed to capitalize and avoided coming away empty-handed in the inning.
“It’s getting there slowly,” Adames said about his swing. “Hopefully we can change the momentum, get the hits start to fall and the wins start to come.”
Heliot Ramos came through with a clutch RBI hit, driving in Devers from third base to give the San Francisco a hard-earned 2-1 lead.
The floodgates finally opened in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Giants offense erupted. Three consecutive hits to begin the inning plated another run to push the lead to 3-1 before catcher Jesús Rodríguez was hit by a pitch on the elbow to load the bases.
Luis Arraez then stepped to the plate and lined a ground ball past a diving second baseman, bringing home two more runs and extending San Francisco’s lead to 5-1.
The Giants, however, had to survive some late drama. Reliever Caleb Kilian entered looking to close out the game cleanly, but the Pittsburgh quickly applied pressure with a pair of hits and an RBI single to right field, cutting the deficit to three runs with the tying run at the plate and only one out.
Fueled by a roaring Oracle Park crowd, Kilian regrouped and retired the next two batters on a pop out and a ground out to secure the Giants’ 5-2 victory.
Next Up: The Giants and Pirates continue their series Saturday night at 6:05 p.m.
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