Rafael Devers homers twice, leads Giants past Mets

Devers got the scoring started on Saturday, taking Michael King deep for a two-run blast to put the Giants on the board. He’s been one of the hottest hitters in the second half, with 18 home runs since the All-Star break, trailing only Pete Crow-Armstrong. The 29-year-old slugger is up to 37 homers, 88 runs scored, and 98 RBI while slashing .258/.340/.525 across 633 plate appearances.

The slam was exceptional, as he picked a Robbie Ray curve off the ground and hit it out to right in one of the game’s toughest ballparks. It was his ninth career grand slam. He has 36 homers and 96 RBI for the season.

Andre Pallante just suddenly became a significantly better streaming option. Manager Tony Vitello spoke yesterday about giving Devers a day off, though it’s unclear if Devers wanted it. He certainly doesn’t seem to need it, having hit .393/.493/.918 with nine homers in his last 16 games. Turner Hill is DHing today, opening up left field for Grant McCray.

Devers’ first double, which plated a run in the first, was a 406-foot shot to right-center that would have been a homer in 29 ballparks, but not at Oracle Park. He has 36 doubles this season. It’s his highest total since 2022, but he’s not approaching his career high of 54 from 2019.

Devers is scalding hot right now. Two more doubles here give him 34 on the season – tied for most in the league – and this home run was his 33rd. It was a towering blast too traveling deep into the upper deck in right field. Shame on anybody who thought he wouldn’t be a highly productive player any more as he now has an .846 OPS that has risen sharply over the past few weeks.

Devers’ homer tonight was hit 415 feet to center. He has eight RBI in his last four games, greatly improving his chances of getting to 100 for the fifth time in his career. He’s 16 away with 22 games left.

Devers took Braves starter Bryce Elder deep in the opening frame for his eighth round-tripper since the start of August, reaching the lofty 30-homer plateau for the second straight season and fifth time since 2019. He also walked twice in this contest. The 29-year-old slugger is one of the few legitimate threats in an injury-depleted Giants lineup and it wouldn’t be shocking to see more teams pitch around him during the final month of the season. He has a real shot at surpassing his previous career-high mark of 38 round-trippers, which he set with the Red Sox back in 2021.

Devers’ homer came on a hanging breaking ball from Nick Lodolo, which he promptly deposited into McCovey Cove. It marked the third straight contest in which he homered, giving him 29 on the year. He has once again rebounded after a concerningly slow start to the season. Devers is now one homer away from becoming the second Giant since 2005 to connect for 30. Willy Adames accomplished that feat on the final day of the 2025 regular season.

Devers drew a walk and scored a run in the first inning, then later extended the Giants’ lead with a solo homer off Brady Singer in the fifth. It was his third home run in his last five games. The 29-year-old first baseman is slashing .244/.322/.480 with 28 homers, 73 runs scored, and 74 RBI across 559 plate appearances.

The Giants, who just got swept by the Red Sox over the weekend, made 10 transactions today before their matchup against one of the NL’s best pitchers and then lost their starting pitcher to an injury in the third, but it ended up being a pretty good night. Devers’ homer was one of five extra-base hits the team had before knocking Chase Burns out in the fourth. He has three homers in eight games and 27 on the season.