SAN FRANCISCO -- Heliot Ramos put the Giants in an early hole with a costly defensive miscue in the first inning. But the 25-year-old outfielder ultimately made up for it with his bat.
Ramos went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, and Casey Schmitt, Mike Yastrzemski and Willy Adames each homered to help the Giants take two out of three from the Red Sox with a 9-5 win in Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Oracle Park.
It wasn’t the crispest game for either side, as both clubs combined to make four errors and several outs on the bases, resulting in a back-and-forth tilt that featured four lead changes.
The Red Sox got on the board in the top of the first inning with the help of two errors by the Giants. After Roman Anthony walked and Carlos Narváez singled, catcher Patrick Bailey made a poor throw back to the mound that bounced under left-hander Robbie Ray’s glove and rolled to shortstop Adames, allowing Anthony to advance to third.
The next batter, Jarren Duran, then lifted a routine fly ball to left field that popped out of Ramos’ glove and fell for another two-out error that scored Anthony.
Still, Ramos quickly atoned for the mistake by delivering a two-out, bases-loaded single off Boston starter Lucas Giolito to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the third.
“It’s huge,” Yastrzemski said. “I had a little talk with him afterwards. I could see he was frustrated. I’ve been there. I’ve done just about everything poorly in this game that you could do, so I knew what he was feeling. I just told him, ‘Look man, it’s a physical thing. It’s going to happen. Don’t let it affect the rest of your game. You’re going to have a lot more opportunities to impact this game.’ He snapped out of it really quick and turned it around. I’m really impressed with him. He handled himself really well today.”
The middle innings turned into a bit of a slugfest, with lefty killers Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez tagging Ray for a pair of homers before Schmitt and Yastrzemski each took Giolito deep to tie the game, 4-4, in the bottom of the fifth. The Red Sox briefly went ahead behind Ceddanne Rafaela’s solo shot off Spencer Bivens in the sixth, but the Giants managed to erase the deficit with a four-run seventh that was capped by Ramos’ two-run double to right field.
Adames led off the seventh with a single and Schmitt doubled to put runners on second and third with one out for Tyler Fitzgerald, who tied the game with his second sacrifice bunt of the afternoon. Yastrzemski then sent a 98.5 mph shot to the right side that Gonzalez couldn’t handle, scoring the go-ahead run from third.
“When we’ve been at our best this year, we’ve been able to do that and take advantage of opportunities like that,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Look, Yaz hits that ball right on the nose -- it’s probably knuckling. It’s not the easiest play in the world, even though it looked like it was right to him. When given extra outs, especially here at home late in games, we’ve been able to take advantage of that.”
Former Red Sox Rafael Devers kept the rally going with a single before Ramos came through with the biggest blow, driving an 0-1 slider from left-hander Justin Wilson to the opposite field to stretch the Giants’ lead to 8-5.
While Ramos has had some defensive stumbles -- he’s recorded -6 Outs Above Average in left field this season -- he hasn’t let his struggles with the glove affect him at the plate, where he’s emerged as the Giants’ most consistent hitter in 2025. Ramos is now batting .285 with an .835 OPS and 13 home runs over 76 games this year, which should put him in the mix for his second consecutive All-Star nod.
“Everybody sometimes goes through difficult times, whether it’s on bases, whether it’s defensively,” Melvin said. “To be able to show up and hit when you make mistakes, that kind of tells you what he’s all about.”
After capping an eventful weekend that was headlined by Devers’ first clash with his old team, the Giants will enjoy an off-day on Monday before kicking off a stretch of 16 consecutive games against the Marlins, White Sox, D-backs, A’s and Phillies.
“It was a lot,” Melvin said. “I’m sure that a lot of people on their side and a couple on our side are glad it’s just kind of over. There was a big spotlight on it. After losing a game, to be able to come back and win two, it’s a pretty good feeling, because that’s a good team. They’ve got a lot of really good young players that they can mix and match a little bit. It was a team that was playing really well. … I think shows a lot about the confidence this team has.”