San Francisco Giants first baseman Rafeal Devers said he didn’t want to talk about the past regarding how he departed from his former team the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston during batting practice on Fri Aug 21, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
Friday night the San Francico Giants (52-75) took on the Boston Red Sox (68-59) at the historic Fenway Park. The game got underway under cloudy conditions with rain called for over the weekend. Regardless of the outcome of this series it was highly anticipated by many of the younger Giants’ players.
Playing at Fenway is always special for many of them, a dream if you will. It was a scoreless first two innings with San Francisco’s Logan Webb giving up two hits in the first two innings and Red Sox starter Sonny Gray also giving up two.
The Giants took the first lead of the game in the third inning 1-0 but the Red Sox wasted no time answering with five runs of their own in the bottom of the third taking a 5-1 lead.
When we expected a pitchers duel, we got some lights out hitting from both teams in the third and fourth innings. San Francisco scored three runs in the top of the fourth via a couple of home runs from Drew Gilbert and Rafael Devers. Boston led going into the bottom of the sixth inning adding one more run for a 6-4 final in game one.
GAME RECAP
The game got underway with Red Sox starting pitcher veteran Sonny Gray taking the mound. Gray gave up a single in the first inning but sailed through the rest of the inning. The Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb also gave up a single and a walk in the inning but nothing else.
We expected this game to be a pitchers duel with two excellent guys on the mound. The last thing anyone expected was a slugfest. The two pitchers got through the second inning unscathed, Gray giving up a double and Webb a triple.
The Giants were first up on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning. Bryce Eldridge singled Christian Koss home for their first run. San Franciso’s Jung Hoo Lee walked loading up the bases with Eldridge and Rafael Devers on base but Osleivis Basabe flied out for the third out and the Giants missed a great opportunity to score more runs.
The Red Sox answered back big time in the bottom of the third inning scoring five runs. Willson Contreras homered with Nick Sogard and Wilyer Abreu on base giving Boston a 3-1 lead.
It was a rough start for Webb giving up the home run but Boston had two outs and Webb just wanted to get out of the inning. San Francisco just could not get that final out and Webb would allow a couple more singles and hit two batters loading the bases and walking in one run with another run scoring when Mickey Gasper was hit with the bases loaded. The Red Sox had a 5-1 lead going into the fourth inning. Webb finally got out of the nightmare inning but the damage had been done.
San Francisco was looking at a sizable deficit but was undeterred. With two outs they got an impressive rally going into the fourth inning. Christian Koss doubled and Drew Gilbert hit a two run home run cutting the 5-1 Boston lead down to 5-3.
Rafael Devers came to the plate and hit a solo home run and just like that the Giants were back in this game only trailing by a single run 5-4. There was a pitching change for the Giants as Reiver SanMartin relieved Logan Webb after only 2 2/3 innings. SanMartin gave up a walk and a single but kept Boston from extending their lead.
San Francisco went three and out in the top of the fifth. SanMartin was relieved in the fifth by Tyler Harris who finished off the fifth and pitched into the sixth inning. The Red Sox would add another run in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Nick Sogard on base Wilyer Abreu tripled him home and Boston had a 6-4 lead going into the seventhn inning.
Erik Miller relieved Sonny Gray in the seventh inning and was terrific. San Francisco was down to their last six outs. Boston hung onto their 6-4 lead as this game was rapidly winding down. San Francisco was just not getting the timely hits they so badly needed.
Jason Foley pitched the final two innings for San Francisco, the eighth and ninth. He kept the Red Sox from doing any more damage but the Giants just stalled out at the plate. The final was 6-4 and Boston had taken the first game of this series. After the exceptional fourth inning the Giants just went flat and production at the plate all but vanished.
GAME NOTES
San Francisco just could not capitalize on the momentum they stirred up in fourth inning. Their offense went quiet only managing a few hits and could not put together another rally. Starting pitcher Logan Webb was hurt by Boston’s huge five-run third inning which included Willson Contreras’ three-run homer.
When the Red Sox added that insurance run in the sixth inning it all began so much more difficult for San Francisco. That run was key for Boston as they went on to win the first game of the series.
This was so very frustrating for the Giants since they had completely erased the momentum deficit in the fourth inning but then they could not get the big hit they needed over the final five innings. They finished with only seven hits, the Red Sox had 11. This was a game that San Francisco was absolutely capable of winning after the fourth inning comeback.
Logan Webb had a terribly disappointing outing only pitching 2 2/3 innings allowing six hits, five runs, three walks and only two strikeouts. He was just off Friday night.
Although Sonny Gray had a rough fourth inning, he remained in the game through six innings. He finished giving up seven hits, four earned runs, two walks with six strikeouts.
Saturday San Francisco will be looking to tie up this series after coming close Friday night. Blade Tidwell will take the mound for the Giants in game two. He has no wins this season only having pitched three starts. His ERA is 4.33 and Saturday will be his first career start against the Red Sox. Patrick Sandoval will take the mound for Boston. He has a 1-2 win/loss record and a 4.76 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 4:15 PM.
