SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Belt recently turned 38, and as some Giants officials watched his ceremony — or participated in it — Saturday morning, they might have found themselves wondering if The Captain could still help this current group.
It’s been a struggle for the Giants’ best hitters for most of the 2026 MLB season, particularly lately, but the bottom half picked things up Saturday as the Giants beat the Miami Marlins 6-2 to even this series.
The first hour of the game was filled with baserunners for the Marlins and big whiffs for Giants hitters who couldn’t catch up to Eury Pérez’s fastball. But Robbie Ray kept it close, and Drew Gilbert tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with a low liner that crept just over the tall wall in right.
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 year for Schmitt, who made up for being thrown out on the bases twice in the first 11 innings of this series. Patrick Bailey followed with an RBI single.
The Giants were able to hand a lead to a bullpen that’s been as good as any over the last couple of weeks. Matt Gage, Keaton Winn and Erik Miller got the ball to Ryan Walker, who closed it out but didn’t pick up his third save of the week because Ramos hit a shot into the arcade as he was warming up.
Grinding
Ray didn’t give up a run in the first, but the Marlins made him throw 31 pitches. He was at 74 by the end of the third, which included a run on two hits and a walk, but he had a quick fourth. There was more trouble in the fifth, but he induced an inning-ending double play.
Ray ended up throwing 97 pitches in five innings. The Marlins had four hits, three walks and two stolen bases but scored just one run off the lefty, who has a 2.70 ERA through six starts, many of which have been similar.
Ray has allowed fewer than three runs in five of his six starts. He also has gone exactly five or 5 1/3 innings in four of them.
Back on Track
Jung Hoo Lee found his swing on the last homestand and has been the team’s most dangerous hitter for a couple of weeks now. Lee had two doubles and a walk on Saturday, raising his average to .287 and OPS to .773. The multi-hit game was his seventh in his last 14 games.
Lee also had a strong day in right field, running down two deep fly balls, including one that was all the way in the corner with a runner on in the third. By Outs Above Average, he has rated as a league-average right fielder early on, but that’s a huge step up from last season, when the metrics had him as one of the worst defensive center fielders in the league.
Time for a Break?
Utility man Christian Koss hasn’t made a start in two weeks, but Tony Vitello has multiple players who look like they could use a breather at some point soon.
Leadoff hitter Willy Adames struck out twice Saturday and also grounded out to short twice before hitting a long fly ball that was caught on the track. Adames is 1-for-22 with 10 strikeouts on the homestand.
Rafael Devers has struggled just about the entire season and went 0-for-4 on Sunday with a strikeout. He’s 3-for-19 on the homestand with eight strikeouts.
The Giants finish their week at home against Max Meyer on Sunday. After a day off, they’ll start a six-game trip against the slumping Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast
