SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Belt recently turned 38, and as some Giants officers watched his ceremony — or participated in it — Saturday morning, they may have discovered themselves questioning if The Captain might nonetheless assist this present group.
It’s been a battle for the Giants’ finest hitters for a lot of the 2026 MLB season, notably these days, however the backside half picked issues up Saturday because the Giants beat the Miami Marlins 6-2 to even this sequence.
The first hour of the sport was crammed with baserunners for the Marlins and large whiffs for Giants hitters who could not catch as much as Eury Pérez’s fastball. But Robbie Ray saved it shut, and Drew Gilbert tied the sport within the backside of the fifth with a low liner that crept simply over the tall wall in proper.
The Giants took the lead an inning later. Matt Chapman hit a leadoff double and Casey Schmitt smoked a homer into the seats in left. The homer was the third of the yr for Schmitt, who made up for being thrown out on the bases twice within the first 11 innings of this sequence. Patrick Bailey adopted with an RBI single.
The Giants had been capable of hand a result in a bullpen that is been nearly as good as any over the past couple of weeks. Matt Gage, Keaton Winn and Erik Miller acquired the ball to Ryan Walker, who closed it out however did not decide up his third save of the week as a result of Ramos hit a shot into the arcade as he was warming up.
Grinding
Ray did not quit a run within the first, however the Marlins made him throw 31 pitches. He was at 74 by the top of the third, which included a run on two hits and a stroll, however he had a fast fourth. There was extra bother within the fifth, however he induced an inning-ending double play.
Ray ended up throwing 97 pitches in 5 innings. The Marlins had 4 hits, three walks and two stolen bases however scored only one run off the lefty, who has a 2.70 ERA via six begins, lots of which have been comparable.
Ray has allowed fewer than three runs in 5 of his six begins. He additionally has gone precisely 5 or 5 1/3 innings in 4 of them.
Back on Track
Jung Hoo Lee discovered his swing on the final homestand and has been the group’s most harmful hitter for a few weeks now. Lee had two doubles and a stroll on Saturday, elevating his common to .287 and OPS to .773. The multi-hit sport was his seventh in his final 14 video games.
Lee additionally had a powerful day in proper area, working down two deep fly balls, together with one which was all the way in which within the nook with a runner on within the third. By Outs Above Average, he has rated as a league-average proper fielder early on, however that is an enormous step up from final season, when the metrics had him as one of many worst defensive heart fielders within the league.
Time for a Break?
Utility man Christian Koss hasn’t made a begin in two weeks, however Tony Vitello has a number of gamers who appear to be they might use a breather sooner or later.
Leadoff hitter Willy Adames struck out twice Saturday and likewise grounded out to quick twice earlier than hitting a protracted fly ball that was caught on the observe. Adames is 1-for-22 with 10 strikeouts on the homestand.
Rafael Devers has struggled nearly the whole season and went 0-for-4 on Sunday with a strikeout. He’s 3-for-19 on the homestand with eight strikeouts.
The Giants end their week at house towards Max Meyer on Sunday. After a day without work, they’re going to begin a six-game journey towards the slumping Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays.
