Rafael Devers wasted no time setting the tone Friday night at Oracle Park.
With two outs in the first inning, the Giants slugger jumped on a Keider Montero knuckle curve that sat at 80 mph and sent it 401 feet to center field for his 24th homer of the season. That blast kicked off a fast start for San Francisco and helped the Giants beat the Tigers 5-2 to open their nine-game homestand.
The Giants had dropped five of their previous six before getting back on track against Detroit, and the offense did enough early to keep the pressure on. Devers drove in two runs in the first, then Jung Hoo Lee came through with a two-out hit in the second to stretch the lead to 4-2. San Francisco finished with 11 hits, including Willy Adames’ 19th home run in the fifth.
Adrian Houser earned the win after turning in five innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and striking out four. J.T. Brubaker served as the opener for the first time this season under manager Tony Vitello, giving up a run in his lone inning before Houser took over.
The game tightened in the fifth, when Houser worked around danger after the Tigers put runners on the corners with two singles. On two would-be sacrifice fly chances that were fouled to right, Jung Hoo Lee flashed both his speed and his arm to keep a runner parked at third. Then Grant McCrae made an acrobatic sliding play on a blooped hit to second to preserve the 5-2 lead.
Keaton Winn handled the seventh and faced three batters before Sam Hentges took over, and Dylan Smith finished it off in the ninth.
Landon Roupp (7-10) is scheduled to start Saturday.
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Giants May Have Found A Fascinating Robbie Ray Trade Lottery Ticket
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Joniel Hernandez was signed out of Cuba during the international period and has produced a promising early batting line with a healthy walk rate, which is enough to get a scouts attention even before the power arrives. For the Giants, the appeal is obvious: a middle infielder with a chance to grow into more impact as he advances, provided the contact skills keep moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]