Pirates sidestep red-hot Rafael Devers; Bryce Eldridge wins it for Giants in 10th

PITTSBURGH — Everyone in the San Francisco Giants dugout knew it. Everyone in the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout knew it. The smattering of fans in the stands at PNC Park probably had a good idea, too.

There was no way Rafael Devers was going to see a strike in the 10th inning Wednesday night.

Devers is on the kind of hot streak that has few comparables in the Giants’ post-Bonds era. He hit a home run for the third consecutive game when he muscled a solo shot to center field in the first inning. He singled to help set up a two-run rally in the fifth. When Giants left fielder Turner Hill made a sliding catch to send the game to the 10th, Devers was due up second.

You don’t pitch to someone who’s cooking a 10-game hitting streak in which he has compiled these morsels: a .421 average, six home runs, 13 RBIs and 13 runs scored. You really don’t pitch to Devers when nearly all his supporting cast from opening day — Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, Casey Schmitt, Luis Arraez, Heliot Ramos, Patrick Bailey and Harrison Bader — are on the injured list or got shipped out before the trade deadline.

The Giants aren’t playing out a season. They’re reading the last chapters of an Agatha Christie novel.

But the Pirates still had to contend with a hitter who has main-character energy. The Giants are entrusting Bryce Eldridge, their 21-year-old rookie, with the job of protecting Devers in the lineup. And after Osleivis Basabe’s sacrifice bunt advanced placed runner Christian Koss to third base, followed by an intentional walk to Devers, Eldridge came through with an RBI double off former San Francisco All-Star closer Camilo Doval. Devers scored a critical run on Hill’s sacrifice fly, which allowed Dylan Smith to allow his placed runner to score while still recording the save in the Giants’ 5-4 victory in Steel City.

The outcome didn’t send any shockwaves through the National League standings — the Giants are 58-82 and clinched a losing record with their painful, 13-12 loss the previous night — but it counted as a character builder for a suddenly young team and its rookie manager, Tony Vitello, who is getting more and more accustomed to handling the ups and downs of a long season.

Bryce’s grandma, Erica approves! pic.twitter.com/yI1pDBmOI7

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 3, 2026

What made the game winner even sweeter for Eldridge was that it came in front of an especially important cheering section. His 93-year-old grandmother, Erica Kenney, traveled from her home in Northern Virginia for the series. It’s the first time she has seen her grandson play in the major leagues. A week earlier, with Eldridge on bereavement leave, the family gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to bury his grandfather, Edward Kenney, a Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient who died in March.

“They had the honor guard and the band playing for him, and they fired shots off for him, too,” Eldridge said. “I knew he got injured (in Korea), but he had all these other crazy medals that they started listing off at the service. I didn’t know he was such a badass. They told us you can’t pay to get buried here. You have to earn it. So it’s very special I got to see my own grandfather buried there.”

Erica Kenney had seen her grandson play a game for Double-A Richmond last year. Despite her mobility challenges, there wasn’t a chance she would miss seeing him in a big-league uniform. A family funeral, besides honoring the deceased, is a reminder for the living to make the most of every moment.

A 93-year-old staying to the end of Tuesday’s 13-12 game? That deserves a medal, too.

“She told me that the one thing in her life she hasn’t accomplished yet was seeing me play, and I’m glad that I got a big moment for her,” Eldridge said. “On the postgame broadcast, they said that they were showing her, and she had a big smile on her face. So I’m looking forward to opening my phone and hopefully seeing her reaction to that hit.”

Even in a losing season, there’s plenty of carpe diem to be had. Vitello praised Basabe for getting down a sacrifice bunt one night after his throwing error cost them the game. The manager also liked the way Hill stayed even keel after Tuesday’s four-hit night, which included three knocks against 2025 Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes. Getting too high can be just as unproductive as getting too low.

But the difference-makers were the Giants’ tandem of left-handed sluggers. Devers, who couldn’t pick Basabe’s throw a night earlier, returned to first base, and Eldridge started at designated hitter. They’ll continue to trade off for the remainder of the season, although club officials have taken note of Eldridge’s steady defensive improvement and might lean toward giving him more starts in the field down the stretch.

Mostly, the 29-year-old veteran and 21-year-old rookie are forming one heck of a mutual admiration society.

“I have always said that Bryce is a great player,” Devers said in Spanish through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “He has a lot to bring to the table, and obviously, I like it that he’s hitting behind me. … There’s not much that I can teach him. He played in the minor leagues. He has a great eye. He knows his strike zone. He has a lot of potential. So, I mean, he’s just one of the best.

“He’s a great hitter. He has a lot of talent. I mean, he’s just starting his career. He has a long time to play in here. So yeah, he will get better.”

The numbers for Devers continue to pile up. His 32 home runs are the most for the Giants since Barry Bonds hit 45 in 2004. Devers is the first player in major-league history to hit two or fewer home runs in his first 36 games and still reach 30 home runs before September, according to Stats LLC. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence Devers came out of his slump in the same week Eldridge arrived from the minor leagues. Either way, it’s clear by now the two hitters have been more complementary than redundant.

“Oh, it’s unbelievable,” Eldridge said. “It’s been really fun to watch him all year. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hitter more locked in than Rafi has been the last few weeks. I feel very grateful that I get to hit behind him. I’ve watched him a lot growing up, and the fact that I get to hit behind him and try and give him support is pretty cool. So it’s fun to watch from the on-deck circle for sure.

“As soon as we traded for him, that’s all I could think about was being a battery with him. He’s just a very special player, and it’s exciting to be a part of it and watch him go. I thought about it from the jump when we picked him up last year: Me and him could be really dangerous, and being a part of that with him, with all the success that he’s had in his career, is pretty cool.”

Vitello hasn’t always gotten favorable matchups in the late innings, especially in extra innings on the road. But he felt so good about how the 10th inning set up that he gave up an out to get Koss to third base — a move managers seldom make on the road.

“It’s an absolute headache when you’re in the other dugout,” Vitello said. “You’ve got to pick your poison. If you have a guy on first with two outs, both guys can hit a double or a home run with the drop of a hat. So it’s definitely a big advantage for sure.

“And since you guys don’t get a ton of Rafi interviews, I’ll do one right now for him: He’s having fun. I mean, I don’t ever like to speak for anybody, but I guarantee you right now he’s having fun. These guys have such a burden on them in general at this level, but no one on our team has a bigger burden on his shoulders than him. So to have fun, I think, is bringing out his best.”

On this night, Devers was happy to speak for himself.

“I’m always having fun,” he said. “I mean, it hasn’t been the best of the years, (but) there’s a lot of blessings that have come my way. I’ve been healthy all year long. I mean, yeah, sometimes you will drown yourself with having a bad month, two bad months, but you know what? I’ve always been having fun.”

Devers said he isn’t shooting for 40 home runs or to drive in the 17 runs he’d need to be the Giants’ first 100-RBI man since Buster Posey in 2012. He said he doesn’t even know what his numbers are.

“I mean, they were great players,” Devers said of Bonds and Posey. “For me, I just want to play baseball. I don’t even know what my batting average is right now. I don’t even know how many home runs I have. The only thing I want to do is just play baseball, have fun and enjoy the game.”

That’s the goal for Eldridge as well: finish strong and plan for next season to be a thriller instead of a mystery.

“Bryce is always going to be intense and into it, but in that moment, you’re probably fighting the battle of being calm and not trying to do too much more than anything,” Vitello said. “And he did it, and he won.

“Even though he might not always get the outcome, you see maturity (with) how he puts the helmet back in the helmet rack. He’s making progress in a lot of areas. So I don’t see why he can’t keep going up.”