SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants slugger Rafael Devers wasn’t tested much in his first two career starts at first base earlier this week. But the ball found him early and often in his third appearance on Saturday night, usually with shaky results.
Devers’ inexperience at his new position was on full display in a 2-1 loss that sealed a series defeat to the National League East-leading Mets at Oracle Park.
Devers, a natural third baseman who refused to play first base for the Red Sox before being shipped to the Giants last month, endured a challenging night on the field. He bobbled several balls that were hit his way, including a grounder from Brett Baty that helped set up Mark Vientos’ two-run, go-ahead double off left-hander Robbie Ray in the sixth inning.
"Those are things that are going to happen,” Devers said in Spanish. “Today I got some plays that I should have made, but that’s part of the game.”
The Giants took a 1-0 lead on Jung Hoo Lee’s RBI forceout in the fourth, but the Mets rallied after Juan Soto and Starling Marte each walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Baty followed by bouncing a grounder to Devers, who might have had a shot at turning an inning-ending double play if he hadn’t fumbled the ball while attempting to throw to second.
Devers managed to recover the ball and step on the bag to record the out at first base, but his miscue allowed both runners to move into scoring position with two outs.
Manager Bob Melvin had right-hander Ryan Walker warming in the bullpen, but he decided to let Ray face the right-handed-hitting Vientos, who subsequently lined a hanging slider to left field to knock in two runs and give the Mets a 2-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
"We had a chance [to turn the double play],” Devers said. “Those things are going to happen. We got one out, but after that, they came through with the big hit.”
Devers’ defensive growing pains also cropped up in the fourth, when he got caught in between on another tapper to the right side from Baty. Devers’ first instinct was to go after the ball, but he quickly realized that he needed to return to the bag to receive a feed from Ray. He ended up missing the throw when he got back to cover first, allowing Baty to reach on an infield single that loaded the bases with no outs.
"That’s not an easy thing to do, to go from third base to DH to first base and kind of learn it on the fly,” Ray said of Devers’ position change. “He’s giving his max effort out there, for sure. It’s not easy to do that, especially in the middle of the season like this.”
Still, Ray managed to avoid damage by striking out Vientos swinging on a slider and then inducing a 5-3 inning-ending double play from Francisco Alvarez. Devers made up for his earlier misplay by making a nice scoop on Matt Chapman’s throw to first, flashing a wide grin as he jogged back to the Giants’ dugout.
Devers saw more action in the fifth, when he smothered a 102 mph shot from Brandon Nimmo before stepping on the bag in time to record the out. He was also charged with his first error of the season after he couldn’t handle a 90.4 mph missile off the bat of Juan Soto in the seventh.
"I’m glad he got a bunch of balls today,” Melvin said. “The more he gets like that, the more in-between plays and plays where he’s got to make a decision on whether he’s covering first or going to get the ball -- all of those things are going to be good for him at the end of the day.”
“I think it’s something that I’m going to be learning day by day,” Devers said. “I think I’ll get better. I believe that’s my responsibility, to improve at the position.”
While it wasn’t the Giants’ best night defensively, they managed to keep the deficit at one and nearly staged a late comeback against Mets closer Edwin Díaz in the bottom of the ninth.
Lee came within a few feet of launching a game-tying home run, but he had to settle for a one-out double after his 399-foot drive hit off the bricks in right-center field. Mike Yastrzemski struck out swinging before Mets first baseman Pete Alonso made a leaping grab to snare Patrick Bailey’s 105.9 mph liner and end the game, leaving the Giants 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position over the first two games of this series.
The Giants (54-51) have now lost eight of their last 10 games, slipping two games behind the Padres for the third National League Wild Card spot with five days to go until Thursday’s Trade Deadline.