An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows A San Francisco Giants player in a black uniform and helmet points directly at the viewer, Image 2 shows Giants player high-fiving teammates
SAN FRANCISCO — With one swing, Casey Schmitt got the ultimate redemption.
After making outs on the bases in each of the Giants’ past two games, including one early Saturday that cost them a run, Schmitt quickly made the 38,589 inside Oracle Park forget all about it.
The Giants’ Casey Schmitt led his team to victory Saturday against the Marlins in San Francisco. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Schmitt’s baserunning error looked pivotal when he came to the plate with the score tied at 1 in the sixth inning against the Marlins. It became irrelevant as soon as the rocket off his bat landed in the left field stands for a tiebreaking two-run home run that proved to be the difference in a 6-2 win.
“It led to the strategy of hit a home run,” manager Tony Vitello joked of the pair of outs Schmitt made at second base. “That way they can’t back-pick you at second base.”
Robbie Ray labored through five innings, pitching around three walks and traffic on the bases in all but one of his frames, but did enough to earn the decision despite his pitch count sitting at 74 after three.
“At times it looked like he went off to war and came back,” Vitello said. “But then you look up at the scoreboard and he got five innings done for us and kind of set the tone for the game.”
What it means
The start was Ray’s sixth of the season and the fifth time he’s taken the ball following a loss. Ray helped stop a losing streak for the third time, improving his record in those starts to 3-2 with a 2.30 ERA.
The win was the Giants‘ first over the Marlins (13-14) at Oracle Park since August 2024, snapping a six-game home losing streak that was tied for the eighth longest against an opponent since the ballpark opened in 2000.
Who’s hot
Schmitt has been one of the Giants’ best hitters early this season despite starting the year as a bench bat. He had been in a bit of a rut, going 4-for-21 entering the game, but his third home run of the season raised his OPS to .854, the best mark of any of San Francisco’s regulars.
Second on the leaderboard is Jung Hoo Lee, who reached base three more times — including a pair of doubles — to raise his OPS to .773. Lee slugged a solo homer in his last at-bat the previous night and is batting .404 (21-for-52) with seven extra-base hits dating back to the start of their last road trip.
Drew Gilbert and Heliot Ramos each added solo home runs as the bottom half of the lineup contributed the bulk of the Giants’ offense. Through the first two games of this series, the Giants’ 5-9 hitters have combined for 15 hits and eight RBIs (.429 BA) opposed to seven hits and two RBIs from the top four of their order (.200 BA).
The Giants’ three home runs matched a season high for a team tied for the fewest in the majors (18).
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The Giants’ Drew Gilbert hit a solo home run against the Marlins on Saturday. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Who’s not
Despite his contributions at the plate, Schmitt made two costly — and strikingly similar — mistakes on the bases the past two games.
Lee’s first double in the second inning should have put the Giants (12-15) ahead 1-0, but Schmitt had been erased at second base after initially hustling in safely on a bloop hit down the left field line.
Schmitt made the turn at second and lost his footing. He attempted to scramble back to the bag, but he couldn’t make it back before the throw from Kyle Stowers.
Schmitt pounded the ground in frustration. For good reason: The play almost exactly replicated the way he made an out the previous night, overrunning second base on an infield chopper from Lee.
Vitello believes it wasn’t a coincidence that Schmitt’s big moment followed a couple slip-ups.
“He wants to win, and so when an obstacle comes up, the one thing he does is he gets a little more determined,” Vitello said. “Maybe it was, but in my mind it wasn’t a coincidence that maybe he was a little more determined to get the job done there.”
Up next
The Giants will go for their third consecutive series win in the rubber match Sunday. They will have RHP Landen Roupp (4-1, 2.28 ERA) on the mound against RHP Max Meyer (1-0, 3.96) in the series finale.