LOS ANGELES — At approximately 5:18 p.m. PST, Joey Lucchesi emerged from the visiting bullpen doors at Dodger Stadium and jogged out to the mound for his season debut. When the funky-throwing lefty delivered his first pitch of the night, the Giants had yet to announce that Lucchesi was officially on the roster.

It was not until 5:45 p.m. PST that San Francisco officially announced Lucchesi had been selected from Triple-A Sacramento — after Lucchesi’s outing had ended. Given what unfolded pregame, it felt oddly apropos.

That’s because minutes before their 4:10 p.m. PST game against the Los Angeles Dodgers — a game they would lose 5-4 — news broke that the Giants were acquiring three-time All-Star Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for left-hander Kyle Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks, outfielder James Tibbs III and right-hander Jose Bello.

And for all the emotions, there was still a game to be played.

“It was a lot,” manager Bob Melvin said of the day. “And it was late. To get it done, though, is something we really needed. It was a huge move by Zack (Minasian) and Buster (Posey).”

Harrison, who had spent his entire professional career with the Giants, was scheduled to start. That was no longer possible because of the trade, forcing Melvin into his first bullpen game of the year.

Melvin was already without long reliever Spencer Bivens, who threw a season-high 3 1/3 innings in Saturday’s 11-5 loss. Right-hander Tristan Beck, another multi-inning reliever, contributed two innings before backup catcher Logan Porter pitched the eighth.

Roughly 40 minutes before the game, Melvin told right-hander Sean Hjelle that he was starting. Hjelle initially didn’t know why he was starting Harrison, but put things together once he saw Harrison and right-hander Jordan Hicks say their goodbyes.

“It’s tough to process when you’re out there getting ready for a game,” Melvin said. “In Kyle’s case, he’s been with one organization and he’s from the Bay Area. There’s a lot for him to process immediately right after the game. I spent a little time with him — not as much as I could like, but the reaction, there’s obviously some shock involved.”

It was far from the ideal circumstances for Hjelle to make his first career start, but the towering right-hander was ready for the assignment. Hjelle’s mentality was simple: empty the tank.

Melvin was hoping for three innings, and Hjelle delivered. Despite the short notice, Hjelle allowed two runs over a season-high 3 2/3 innings.

“I told (pitching coach) J.P. (Martinez) and Bob before the game, ‘Just run me,” Hjelle said. “If you still think I’ve got a couple of pitches left, then keep me out there. Just run me. Squeeze me dry. We have an off day (Monday). We’ll reload, and we’ll all be fine.’”

The Giants could’ve easily rolled over given the shocking pregame news, but they actually led the Dodgers after four innings, 3-2, thanks to Christian Koss’ RBI single and Jung Hoo Lee’s two-run triple.

Lucchesi, who arrived to Dodger Stadium earlier this morning, ended up taking the loss, allowing a pair of singles that set the table for Andy Pages’ three-run homer in the fifth off Ryan Walker to give the Dodgers a lead that they’d never lose. Before day’s end, Daniel Johnson hit a solo homer in the eighth to trim the deficit to one run, his first home run since August 2021.

“We battled today. We did,” Melvin said. “It’s one pitch to Pages that (Walker) makes a bad pitch on a slider. Other than that, with the group we had out there today, and then Casey coming out of the game … I thought we battled really well right down to the end. Proud of the way they played today with a lot of emotions and everything that was going on right before the game as well.”

Less than an hour after the trade, third baseman Casey Schmitt, who has been filling in for the injured Matt Chapman, left the ballgame with a left ankle contusion after fouling a ball off himself in the top of the second inning. Schmitt had been playing exceptionally well upon taking over for Chapman, going 7-for-20 with three homers and becoming the first player in franchise history to hit grand slams in back-to-back games.

If Schmitt has to miss time, the Giants won’t have to look far to find someone capable of playing the hot corner.

“This fits us perfectly,” Melvin said of Devers. “It’s a power left-handed bat that can go the other way and hit for power in our ballpark. It’s tailor made for us. Kudos to the front office to swing this.”

Originally Published: June 15, 2025 at 6:35 PM PDT