SAN FRANCISCO — The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader ended, and the Oracle Park stadium crew quickly got to work. From employees cleaning the seats to the grounds crew getting the field ready in a pinch, it was a clean slate for a new game.
The Giants approached it the same way, and a rejuvenated squad pulled off the 7-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 2 at Oracle Park to split the series with their division rivals.
Yunior Marte made his MLB debut and was nothing short of impressive.
The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher allowed three hits, one earned run and two walks, and struck out three through 4 2/3 innings.
And unlike Game 1, San Francisco’s bullpen and offense didn’t let the starting pitcher down.
Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge came through in big ways, which was pretty fitting on Jeff Kent night. It was a four-hit, four-RBI night for Eldridge. Devers had two of each.
Jung Hoo Lee, whose bobblehead was a hot commodity in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, also came up big when needed with an RBI single in the seventh.
Jason Foley ran into trouble in the top of the seventh. He allowed three hits and one earned run, but the rest of the bullpen held it down.
Here are the takeaways from the win in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader:
Marte’s debut
Yunior Marte, who was part of the trade that sent Mike Yastrzemski to the Kansas City Royals last year, made his MLB debut on Saturday.
And no, it is not the same Yunior Marté that was on the Giants in 2022.
The young Dominican righty warmed up to “Suave” by El Alfa, which translates to “smooth” in English.
Marte struggled to find the strike zone early, walking the first batter he faced and tossing eight balls in his first 16 pitches in the first inning. He settled in a bit the rest of his outing, throwing just three balls in his next trip to the mound.
And the rest of the way, he was pretty suave.
Marte tossed 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball. He might have pitched a scoreless outing had outfielder Grant McCray read a fly ball better in the third inning.
He received a standing ovation from Giants fans as he headed for the dugout. The TV broadcast turned to what appeared to be his friends and family, who were proudly waving the Dominican flag and visibly emotional.
Hello, offense
It appeared that the Giants’ offense only was aware of one of the two games scheduled on Saturday. The bats didn’t show up in Game 1, outside of a lone run in the eighth inning as the Giants lost 7-1 against the D-backs.
But Bryce Eldridge helped get the team going early, bringing in the first run for San Francisco in the first inning.
Arizona responded, tying the game in the third inning after McCray couldn’t secure a fly ball that otherwise would have kept the Diamondbacks off the board.
But two innings later, McCray helped make up for it at the plate. He got the ball rolling in the fifth inning, and the Giants’ batters loaded the bases for slugger Rafael Devers. Devers delivered with an RBI single to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.
Eldridge joined the party, knocking in a two-RBI single in the following at-bat that extended the team’s lead to three.
But you can never be too sure with this Giants team. As they have shown time and time again, no lead is safe.
Jung Hoo Lee brought in some always-needed insurance with an RBI single in the seventh inning.
Devers and Eldridge came through again in the eighth.
And this time, it all was enough for the Giants, as their offense supported good pitching to secure the win.
Thief on the loose
The 2026 Giants rank in the bottom five in stolen bases in all of baseball.
You might not have guessed that while watching Game 2 on Saturday.
Jonah Cox alone had three stolen bags by the third inning. He has eight on the season and increased his success rate to 88.9 percent.
Hey, there aren’t many things to be excited about with this Giants team this season, so we’ll cherish the small thrills when we can.