SAN FRANCISCO — Willy Adames needed a moment to collect himself.
In the bottom of the first, runners on first and second, Arizona Diamondbacks starter began his at-bat against Adames with a sinker. Adames hacked and sent the pitch straight off his left knee cap. The impact sent him straight to the ground, the pain great enough to knock him off his feet.
One pitch later, Adames got his teammates on their feet. Gallen went with another sinker; Adames sent it over the fence. Three batters in, the Giants had a three-run lead, an advantage they’d never lose.
San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames (2) hits a three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Led by Adames’ 28th home run of the season and Patrick Bailey’s second solo homer in as many games, San Francisco (74-71) beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 on Tuesday night at Oracle Park. It’s the Giants’ 13th win over their last 16 games, and they sit two games back of the final NL wild card spot after the New York Mets (76-69) lost their fourth straight game. Since the Mets own the tiebreaker, the Giants are technically three games behind the Mets.
The Giants are gaining ground and gaining it fast. Still, they’re keeping their attention on their own domain.
“We just have to continue to play good baseball,” said Adames, who is two home runs away from being the first Giant with a 30-homer season since Barry Bonds in 2004. “We can’t worry about anybody else but our team right now. We just have to continue have fun and continue to win series. I think that’s the key right now.”
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” said Robbie Ray, who won his 11th game after allowing two runs over over five innings with five strikeouts. “We’re showing up here each and every day going about our business to prepare for today. You can’t look too far into the future. We’ve got to take care of what we can take care of, control the controllables and win each day.”
San Francisco has been able to win nearly every day over the last two weeks due in large part to an offense that continues to hum.
The Giants’ star power has been on display during this 13-3 stretch. Adames has now homered in eight consecutive series, the first Giant to do so since Barry Bonds in 2003. After knocking in his 100th RBI of the season in St. Louis, Devers drew his 100th walk of the season in the bottom of the first to set up Adames’ three-run shot.
Along with the sustained runs of Adames and Devers, Bailey is putting together his best offensive stretch of the season when it matters most.
San Francisco Giants’ Ryan Walker (74) celebrates their 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames (2) and San Francisco Giants’ Grant McCray (58) high-five after their 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames (2) has Gatorade dunked on him by San Francisco Giants’ Christian Koss (50) after their 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Ryan Walker (74) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames (2) makes a catch in front of San Francisco Giants’ Casey Schmitt (10) against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Ray Robbie (38) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Matt Chapman (26) scores a run off of a sacrifice fly by San Francisco Giants’ Casey Schmitt (10) against Arizona Diamondbacks’ James McCann (8) in the fourth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Gage (93) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Matt Chapman (26) makes a catch for an out on a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jordan Lawlar (10) in the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames (2) throws to first base to complete a double play after tagging out Arizona Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo (2) on a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll (7) in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Francisco Giants’ Casey Schmitt (10) hits a single against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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San Francisco Giants’ Ryan Walker (74) celebrates their 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Bailey is currently posting career-lows in batting average (.218), on-base percentage (.276) and slugging percentage (.318) in what will likely be the worst offensive season of his career. But over eight games in September, Bailey is 9-for-26 with three homers and seven RBIs. With tonight’s solo shot, he’s homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
“I think it shows you something about him,” said manager Bob Melvin. “You get to September and the numbers aren’t great. … We all know he’s better than that offensively, and now he’s doing his best work. That tells me something about Patrick Bailey. He’s in it to win right now and isn’t worried about his numbers.”
Along with the offense, the Giants’ bullpen continues enjoying collective success even with a vastly different personnel, one that does not feature Randy Rodríguez, Camilo Doval, Tyler Rogers or Erik Miller.
On Tuesday night, Matt Gage, Joel Peguero, Joey Lucchesi and Ryan Walker combined to allow one run over four combined innings following Ray’s departure. Gage, Peguero and Lucchesi recorded holds while Walker recorded his 15th save in his first opportunity since blowing a lead on Saturday.
Peguero, in particular, continues to make an impression. The rookie flamethrower entered in the top of the sixth with runners on second and third and protected the two-run lead by striking out Tim Tawa and Adrian Del Castillo.
After putting out a fire in the sixth, Peguero went back out for the seventh and retired the side in order, paving the way for Lucchesi in the eighth and Walker in the ninth. With tonight’s outing, Peguero has started his major-league career with 12 2/3 scoreless with 11 strikeouts to one walk.
“Threw a lot of momentum back in our dugout,” Melvin said of Peguero’s outing.
Originally Published: September 9, 2025 at 9:15 PM PDT