Rafael Devers enters the rivalry: Giants takeaways from a win at Dodger Stadium

AL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksPower RankingsMLB Season Rafael Devers and Casey Schmitt each played an important part in the Giants' offensive outburst Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Harry How / Getty Images Share articleLOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers scheduled a miniature replica World Series trophy giveaway for Monday night. They also played host to the archrival San Francisco Giants for the first time this season. The timing might have been a coincidence. It probably was not. What’s a long-running feud without a few thumbs and noses? The Dodgers didn’t rub it in too badly, though. The back-to-back champions didn’t wear their World Series rings on the outside of their batting gloves. But the reminders were not subtle. The Giants had to expect to hear some gloating when they arrived at Chavez Ravine. It couldn’t have been easy for the Dodgers to sit back in silence while the Giants basked in the glittering glow of their three championships between 2010 and 2014. So it was replica trophies on Monday. It’ll be a World Series gold jersey giveaway on Wednesday. The Ice Cube bobblehead they’re handing out Tuesday night even features the rapper in a low rider with a circle-of-flags trophy tucked under each arm. The fans who arrived early at Dodger Stadium, less of an endangered species than they used to be, watched a pregame video montage of World Series highlights set to some remixed Billie Eilish. The aggressive-spending Dodgers are leaning into the idea that they are the “bad guys” of Major League Baseball. At last check, though, the Giants were still the ones wearing the black hats. And Rafael Devers knows a thing or two about foiling a rival. Rafael Devers goes deep at Dodger Stadium pic.twitter.com/xovJPnkSg6 — SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 12, 2026 Devers continued his reanimation at the plate, hitting a solo home run in the second inning and lining a single in the sixth that helped to start a two-run rally. His production is returning, and, just as important, so is his presence in the lineup. He drew a bases-loaded walk amid a three-run seventh inning. When Devers batted again in the ninth and Casey Schmitt stole second base with a 2-1 count, the Dodgers intentionally walked him. For weeks, everyone from staff aces to low-leverage relievers went straight at Devers with fastballs down the middle. Now pitchers and opposing managers are showing him a little more respect. And it sure seemed to have had a trickle-down effect for the Giants, who collected 12 hits and a season-high six walks while seizing a series-opening 9-3 victory at Dodger Stadium. During his nine years with the Boston Red Sox, Devers was at his most dangerous when he faced the New York Yankees. His final act before the Red Sox traded him last June was to smack a home run against the Yankees at Fenway Park, helping the Red Sox win a series. It has taken awhile, but Devers is beginning to imprint himself on his new rivals. “I don’t think Rafi is ever going to be a direct-traffic guy, like a point guard or quarterback, but he really is a team leader for a lot of reasons,” Giants manager Tony Vitello said. “When he’s vibing, it’s impossible not to be in the same mood that he is. He’s fun to be around. He’s comedic, and then he also wants to win. He has that mojo or vibe going right now, and I think other guys kind of fall in line with it.” For all the Dodgers’ well-deserved confidence, the Giants wanted to brand themselves as the antagonists this season. They were the team that would be managed with a swaggering edge, the team you hated to play, the team that made life difficult for you and would fight you with every pitch, maybe in between pitches, too. But sometimes when you are looking for a fight, you confuse yourself for one of the combatants. Their hitters appeared to be fighting themselves more than the opposing pitcher. That’s not how the game works. There are so many times when you have to let the game come to you. That’s what Devers did when he refused to chase a 3-2 pitch from left-hander Alex Vesia and a run trotted home. Matt Chapman drew another bases-loaded walk in the ninth. Suddenly, the Giants have drawn 11 walks over their past two games. For all the Giants’ foibles and flaws, it’s worth noting they are off to an encouraging start against the best of the NL West. They’ve taken three of four from the Dodgers thus far and are 6-4 against the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. One more victory and they’ll match last year’s total (7-19) against those teams. It’s interesting to compare the Giants (17-24) to a team like the Cincinnati Reds, who are 22-19 despite a 1-9 record against fellow NL Central teams. The Reds’ run differential (minus-33) isn’t much better than the Giants’ major league-worst mark (minus-42). But the Reds have played the right teams in the moribund American League, winning 15 of 21 against them. The Giants, who have played the surging Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, are 1-8 in interleague games. Even with a schedule more balanced than it used to be, it’s still important to play well within your division. The Giants’ failures to this point have more to do with their own shortcomings than the teams they’ve played. But it would be extra concerning if they looked overmatched against NL West opponents. That was certainly the case last season when their mark against the Dodgers and Padres probably cost former manager Bob Melvin his job. It probably helps the Giants that their NL West opponents are also dealing with lineup anchors (Fernando Tatis Jr., Kyle Tucker, and even Shohei Ohtani) who are off to unproductive starts. The Giants built their lineup with continuity in mind, but there have been times this season when it’s appeared they took the concept a little too far. They left themselves little maneuverability to strategize or get favorable hitting matchups in the late innings. They’ve basically played with their hole cards up, saying, “This is what we’ve got. Either you can beat it or you can’t.” So the decision to promote top prospect Bryce Eldridge was designed to instill some power and patience in a lineup lacking both, while also making them a little less predictable on the days he doesn’t start. When the season began, the Giants didn’t have any left-handed bats on the bench and their right-handed reserves weren’t exactly threatening. Now they have a left-handed power hitter who can change the game with one swing. There’s just one problem with that: When Eldridge didn’t start on Monday, social media turned into a structure fire. Vitello was asked all the proper questions during batting practice Monday afternoon. He acknowledged that the Giants have a three-body problem between Devers, Eldridge and Casey Schmitt. “I don’t ever like taking Rafi out, to be honest with you,” Vitello said. “He’s got a track record of posting. He wants to be out there. It’s nice that he’s flexible as far as the DH and will work with us on that. But he’s our biggest threat, as much of a threat as Bryce is. Our biggest threat in the lineup is Rafi. Our best producer so far has been Casey, so it does kind of make it a triangle of bodies there. It does make it a little bit of a puzzle to solve.” “A threat,” Vitello said. “He’s a big threat in the lineup. It’s a big threat off the bench when he comes in. When he comes in (a one-run game), everyone knows we’re one swing away and it doesn’t even have to be centered on the barrel and the game’s tied. “If we played on this road trip … and all he did was pinch hit, I’m hopeful — and this could be thrown back in my face — I’m hopeful in every game he’d get at least one at-bat. That’s not how Barry Bonds got in a rhythm every day, but I do think that is a consistent enough appearances and preparation and things like that and seeing live pitching to where he can stay in the necessary rhythm to do what he’s capable of doing.” No, a bench role is not the ideal way to develop a 21-year-old who represents your best hitting prospect in a generation. But maybe we should wait to see how Eldridge’s usage plays out before getting too worked up about it. Vitello said the 6-foot-7 rookie would start one game at first base and one game at designated hitter during the four-game series at Dodger Stadium. When he comes off the bench, there’s a decent chance it’ll be in the middle innings and he’ll end up with multiple at-bats. The Eldridge plan sounds similar to what the Chicago Cubs are doing with 22-year-old rookie Moisés Ballesteros this season. The door is open for Eldridge to hit his way into an everyday role, and it’s clear that the Giants would rather stoke that outcome than committing to run him out there every day, knowing his strikeout rate continues to be a concern and that he could become easily overwhelmed if those strikeouts start to pile up. You might not agree with that development strategy, but the Giants’ view is that they don’t ever want to send Eldridge back to the minor leagues, and perhaps the most realistic way to achieve that is to ease him in, which also allows their late-innings matchups to be a little less predictable on the days he doesn’t start. One other roster move Monday that should lead to a more functional bench: center fielder Harrison Bader returning from the IL, which pushes Drew Gilbert into a lefty-hitting reserve role. There are times when continuity beats matchups. Dodgers left-hander Alex Vesia had allowed one hit to a left-handed batter all season (1-for-22). Lefty hitters Jung Hoo Lee and Luis Arraez collected hits against him in consecutive at-bats in the seventh inning to spring a tiebreaking, three-run rally. #SFGiants increase the lead in the 7th 👏 pic.twitter.com/nNXkTw7AWQ — SFGiants (@SFGiants) May 12, 2026 Trevor McDonald continues to look like one of the Giants’ best 13 pitchers. His start was more impressive than his final line mostly because of what he did in the fourth inning, when he gave up singles to the first four batters he faced, but kept the Dodgers from busting the game open. He kept his poise and got Andy Pages, the Dodgers’ leading RBI man, to hit into a double play. McDonald also threw 20 changeups against the Dodgers’ lefty-loaded lineup, showing that he has a broad enough repertoire to make adjustments from start to start. Vitello was so inspired by McDonald that he interrupted the players’ postgame celebration to shout it out. “I honestly shouldn’t admit this too much, but one thing, before I got to this level, I didn’t understand as much: in a situation like that, we probably can’t do anything,” Vitello said of the bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth. “So it’s kind of up to him to dive into the mess there and see what he can he can make of it. They always say (you) can’t make chicken salad out of stuff, but he kind of made chicken salad in that inning. So that’s my best way to say it.” It seemed more like chicken stuff on May 4 when the Giants optioned McDonald to Triple-A Sacramento after he made a spot start against the Padres and held them to a run on two hits in seven innings. The Giants need McDonald to take at least two more turns before Logan Webb is eligible to return from the injured list. But it is a bit amusing that McDonald’s next assignment would come … in Sacramento against the A’s Saturday night. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms