Back to Sport

Devers' three-run homer opens a lead the Giants could not keep

Rafael Devers hit his 31st home run, a three-run shot in the second, but San Francisco lost 13-12 in Pittsburgh on a ninth-inning throwing error.

Saratoga Newsroom

September 2, 20262 min read

Symbolic baseball in a gold trophy frame with laurel wreaths, no athletes
MLBFinal
San Francisco Giants12
Pittsburgh Pirates13

September 1, 2026

Rafael Devers' swing in the second inning put San Francisco ahead by three. By the ninth, he was the first baseman watching a throw get away as the winning run scored.

Devers homered to center - ESPN's scoring play put it at 415 feet - with Christian Koss and Turner Hill aboard, his 31st of the season and a three-RBI blow that made it 5-2. The Associated Press and ESPN both credit him with that second-inning homer.

CBS Sports' line is 1-for-4 with a run, three RBIs, the homer, two walks, and a strikeout; ESPN's summary hit column shows 1-for-4 with three RBIs. Pittsburgh still won 13-12 when Brandon Lowe scored on a throwing error by third baseman Osleivis Basabe with two outs in the ninth. San Francisco is 57-82.

Pittsburgh is 68-71.

Early lead, then the third-inning flood

Paul Skenes was on the mound for that Devers homer. The right-hander lasted 4 2/3 innings with eight hits, five earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts on 95 pitches. His ERA moved to 3.97, and the AP noted he has not won since mid-July.

Logan Webb, opposite him, lasted only two innings and was charged with nine earned runs as Pittsburgh scored nine in the third behind eight singles, two walks, and a hit batter over 34 minutes, the AP said.

Devers walked in the first ahead of empty outs and walked again in the fourth with Hill on base before striking out looking. He struck out swinging in the sixth with runners on and grounded into a double play in the ninth after Hill reached. The three-run homer was his only hit; it was also the Giants' only home run of the night.

Tied at 12, lost on the throw

San Francisco clawed back with two in the sixth and five in the eighth. Jonah Cox and Jung Hoo Lee helped manufacture the sixth; Cavanaugh's double and Furman's single finished the eighth tie. Mason Montgomery (6-3) held the Giants scoreless in the ninth.

Carson Seymour inherited Lowe at the start of the bottom half. After Gonzales singled and Cruz reached on a fielder's choice, Flores' grounder to third was handled, but the throw short-hopped Devers and Lowe scored from third. The AP identified Devers as the first baseman who could not glove the short hop.

ESPN's play credits the run on Basabe's error (the AP used the spelling Oseilvis for Basabe's first name; box scores use Osleivis).

Lowe had four hits including his 29th homer. Oneil Cruz also had four hits and drove in four. Attendance was 11,814 for a 3-hour, 38-minute game.

Wednesday's reset

Landen Roupp (8-13, 4.25 ERA) faces Bubba Chandler (6-9, 4.26) as the series continues. Devers' 31st homer bought a three-run lead that did not survive the third inning or the ninth. The Giants hit enough to score 12 on the road; they left with a one-run loss decided on an errant throw to first.

Sources

https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401816762

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gametracker/boxscore/MLB_20260901_SF@PIT/

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401816762/giants-pirates

Share

Saratoga Newsroom

Reporting from Saratoga and the surrounding area.

Related Stories

More in Weather