Sunday, June 22, 2025

Oracle Park

Boston Red Sox 5 (40-39)

San Francisco Giants 9 (44-34)

Win: Erik Miller (4-0)

Loss: Greg Weissert (2-2)

Time: 2:43

Attendance: 40,350

San Francisco Giants Casey Schmitt rounds the bases after hitting a home run off Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito in the bottom of the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Jun 22, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants rode some breaks and some good fundamental baseball to a wild 9-5 seesaw win to take this series over the Red Sox at Oracle Park Sunday.

After the Red Sox came back to win the series opener on Friday, the Giants held on for a 3-2 win Sunday to even the series. Sunday, the Giants would look to take the series with Robbie Ray on the mound.

It was another clear day for baseball at Oracle Park, but the top of the first inning would be a bit rough for Ray and the Giants. The Red Sox had runners at first and second with two outs when Patrick Bailey, on just a routine throw back to Ray, threw the ball away Rube Baker style, and Roman Anthony, the lead runner, went over to third.

Jarren Duran then hit a liner out to left-center field, which looked to be routine as left-fielder Heliot Ramos came to his left, but Ramos dropped the ball. Anthony came in to score, and the Red Sox struck first.

The Giants’ offensive doldrums continued against Red Sox’ starter Lucas Giolito, as he set down the first six men he faced. Meanwhile, Ray pitched a scoreless top of the second, and a one two three top of the third.

The Giants would have their first rally against Giolito in the bottom of the third. Casey Schmitt led off the inning with a single to left. Patrick Bailey hit a blooper to shallow left that Red Sox’ third-baseman Nate Eaton camped under, but left-fielder Jarren Duran came in, collided with Eaton and caused the ball to fall. Eaton was originally charged with the air, but it was eventually changed to an error on Duran.

The Giants had runners at first and second with nobody out, and here is where the good fundamental baseball came in. Tyler Fitzgerald laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over to second and third.

The Red Sox had their infield play in, which was surprising for a 1-0 game in the third inning. However, it paid off, Yaz hit a one-hop bullet to first for the second out, and neither runner was able to advance.

Giolito then got ahead of Devers 0-2, but Devers worked the count full to 3-2, and then walked on a pitch clock violation on Giolito. Up came Heliot Ramos, who flipped a base-hit to left, which knocked in a pair to give the Giants the lead.

Ray survived a two-out rally in the top of the fourth thanks to an incredible play by Mike Yastrzemski out in right on a double by Ceddanne Rafaela. Rafaela doubled down the right field line, and Yastrzemski fielded the ball perfectly and got it back into the infield. Second-baseman Tyler Fitzgerald then made a perfect relay to Bailey to cut Abraham Toro down at the plate.

Toro avoided the tag, but since he went more than three feet out of his established base path to avoid the tag from Bailey, Toro was called out by Home Plate Umpire Mike Muchlinski. Red Sox Manager Alex Cora went out to discuss the call with Muchlinski, but Muchlinski nailed it.

After the Giants went down scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, the Red Sox struck with a pair of home runs in the top of the fifth. First, it was Rob Refsnyder, who hit a two-run home run to center, to put the Red Sox back ahead. Then two batters with one out, Romy Gonzalez hit one of his own to left-center to make it 4-2.

The Giants would strike right back in the bottom of the fifth. Casey Schmitt led off the inning with a home run to left to make it 4-3. Then with two outs, Yaz shot one out to right for his first home run since April 22, and just like that, the game was tied.

The wind was whipping in all sorts of directions at Oracle Park. However, one thing was certain: the ball was carrying today. Major League Baseball may have told Andrew McCutchen that the baseballs were heavier this season, but you already can’t believe a word that comes from the Commissioner’s Office, and the balls were certainly flying like Rob Manfred’s patented juiced balls today.

Ray was done after five. He walked one, and struck out seven, but he was tagged for eight hits and four runs, three of them earned.

Spencer Bivens came in for the sixth. Bivens retired the first man he faced, but with one out, Rafaela put the Red Sox back ahead with a home run to left.

Giolito ended his day with a one two three inning in the bottom of the sixth. He gave up four runs and four hits. He walked two, and struck out five.

Erik Miller threw a scoreless top of the seventh for the Giants, and Cora brought in Greg Weissert for the bottom of the seventh. Willy Adames led off the inning with a base-hit to left, and then Schmitt doubled to right to put runners at second and third with nobody out.

The Giants had been able to come through on Ramos’ base-hit in the bottom of the third. The question was whether they could come through again in the bottom of the seventh.

Patrick Bailey grounded out back to Weissert, and that raised some doubts. However, Bob Melvin put on the safety squeeze with Tyler Fitzgerald at the plate, and Fitzgerald laid down the perfect sacrifice bunt to tie it.

Cora lifted Weissert for Justin Wilson, as the Red Sox looked to limit the damage to just a run and keep the game tied. Yaztrezemski was at the plate, and he hit a liner right to second-baseman Romy Gonzalez, but the ball went off Gonzalez’s glove and into right field. Schmitt scored, and the Giants retook the lead.

That would open the floodgates for the Giants’ offense. Rafael Devers continued the rally with a base-hit to right, which moved Yastrzemski over to second. Heliot Ramos then shot a double down the line in right to knock both runners in, and the Giants now led it 8-5. For Ramos, it was his third and fourth RBIs of the game.

Tyler Rogers came in for the eighth, and he appeared headed for some drama when Duran lined a base-hit down the right field line. Yastrzemski made a perfect throw to second, and while Duran originally got in ahead of the tag, he was called out when he overslid the bag.

Replays indicated that Duran’s fingers may have been on the bag when the tag was applied. However, it was not clear and convincing evidence, and the call stood.

Duran made his displeasure known to Second Base Umpire and Crew Chief Doug Eddings, who promptly threw him out of the game. Cora came out, and he too was ejected.

Rogers got through the remainder of the inning, and Adames hit a solo home run off Zack Kelly with one out in the bottom of the eighth to make it 9-5. The Red Sox made some noise in the top of the ninth against Randy Rodriguez, but Rodriguez ended up throwing a scoreless innings, and the Giants won it 9-5.

Alright, so who got the decisions in this mess? Erik Miller was the Giants’ pitcher in the top of the seventh, so he got the win. Greg Weissert gave up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh, so he took the loss.

The Giants are back to 10 games over .500 at 44-34, and they remain in second place and three and a half games back of the Dodgers in the National League West.

The Giants will get a bit of a treat here in the last week of June in that they’re going to get to face the Marlins and the White Sox. The Giants will have a day off Monday, and then the Marlins will come into San Francisco for three games starting on Tuesday night.

Justin Verlander (0-4, 4.45 ERA) will look for his first win in what will be his 12th start of the season. The right-hander, Cal Quantrill (3-7 ERA 5.68), the son of former reliever Paul Quantrill, will take the ball for Miami.

First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m.