Casey Schmitt (10) of the San Francisco Giants gets the Gatorade can treatment after defeating the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park in San Francisco while being interviewed by NBC Bay Area Sports on Sat Apr 25, 2026 (AP News photo)
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Oracle Park
San Francisco, California
Miami Marlins 2 (13-14)
San Francisco Giants 6 (12-15)
Win: Matt Gage (2-0)
Loss: Eury Perez (2-2)
Time: 2:06
Attendance: 38,589
By Stephen Ruderman
SAN FRANCISCO–The Giants bounced back nicely from a pair of losses with a 6-2 win over the Marlins Saturday. Giants pitcher Robbie Ray went five innings, and the offense came to life in the latter half of the game, with home runs by Drew Gilbert, Casey Schmitt and Heliot Ramos, as the bullpen held down the fort.
The fact that the Giants had lost two straight after their two wins against the Dodgers was a buzzkill. Friday night, Adrian Houser was shallacked for eight runs over four innings in a tough 9-4 loss in the series opener. Saturday, they needed something to get them back on track.
Before Saturday’s game started, the Giants honored one of the best first-basemen in their 68-plus years in San Francisco, Brandon Belt. Belt made the Opening Day roster in 2011, and we all remember Bruce Bochy telling him the news, and then offering the then-young kid a beer. It was on that Showtime show that featured the Giants that year.
So, of course we saw that memorable clip, as well as his first big league hit, which came against Clayton Kershaw in the Giants’ 2011 season opener at Dodger Stadium on March 31. Belt was yo-yo’d throughout the 2011 season, but he established himself as an everyday player in 2012, and was a big part of the 2012 and 2014 world championship teams.
Several of Belt’s former teammates were here in Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, Sergio Romo, George Kontos, Nate Schierholtz and Charlie Culberson. So were his two Giants managers, Bruce Bochy and Gabe Kapler, the latter of whom is in town as the General Manager of the Marlins.
Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow emceed the ceremony, and Posey, Kontos and Bochy spoke about Belt’s humor and his work ethic. Most importantly, they talked about Belt’s baseball intellect.
Belt then gave his address. He thanked his family, former teammates and his two Giants managers. He also paid homage to his late father, who passed away last July.
Belt’s kids threw out the first pitches. Belt and his family were then taken around the field on a boat being pulled by a truck.
I spent so much time on Belt’s ceremony that you probably forgot there was a game today. Perhaps the Belt ceremony, and the reminder of the winning culture that has long defined this organization would be a spark of motivation.
Anyway, Robbie Ray took the ball on this cold and tranquil Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park. Ray and Marlins’ starter Eury Perez both threw scoreless innings in the first.
Ray threw another scoreless inning in the top of the second, and the Giants wasted an opportunity in the bottom of the second. Well, Casey Schmitt led off the inning with a double, but was thrown out when he rounded second, and slipped and fell.
The Marlins added insult to injury by getting on the board in the top of the third on a two-out RBI base-hit by Xavier Edwards. Perez threw a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third, and the Giants were unable to do anything with a two-out double by Jung Hoo Lee in the bottom of the fourth.
By the way, that was Lee’s second double of the game. He also doubled after Casey Schmitt’s little gaffe.
Ray threw his first 1-2-3 inning of the day in the top of the fourth, and then he threw another scoreless inning in the top of the fifth. Unfortunately, Ray threw 97 pitches, so he was done after five. It still was not a bad outing, as he gave up a run and four hits. He walked three, and struck out four
The Giants finally got on the board when Drew Gilbert led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run to the green tin atop the 24-foot-high Willie Mays Wall out in right field.
Matt Gage came in, and got out of a jam unscathed in the top of the sixth. Matt Chapman then led off the bottom of the sixth with a double. Two batters later, Schmitt hit a two-run shot to left to put the Giants ahead.
Lee drew a walk, which forced Perez out of the game for Anthony Bender. Heliot Ramos singled Lee over to second, but Gilbert lined out. Patrick Bailey then came through with a base-hit to right that made it 4-1.
Keaton Winn threw a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, and Erik Miller, a scoreless eighth. Heliot Ramos led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to make it 5-1. The Giants then manufactured another run later in the inning, as Luis Arraez knocked in Patrick Bailey with a two-out double.
Despite the Giants holding a five-run lead at 6-1, Tony Vitello decided to go with his closer, Ryan Walker, anyway for the top of the ninth. The Marlins plated a run, but that’s all the drama there would be, and the Giants won 6-2.
I had mentioned earlier that Jung Hoo Lee hit two doubles today. Matt Chapman, Casey Schmitt and Heliot Ramos also had two-hit games. Drew Gilbert went 1-for-4, but all three of his outs were loud. Gilbert lined out twice, and then he had what would have at least been a double taken away on a great running catch by Heriberto Hernandez in the bottom of the eighth.
Matt Gage got the win, and Eury Perez took the loss.
The Giants improve to 12-15.
Landen Roupp (4-1, 2.28 ERA) will go for the Giants, as they try to take the series in the rubber match Sunday Max Meyer (1-0, 3.96 ERA) will go for Miami.
First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m.
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