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Rafael Devers is drawing harsh reaction after his nightmare start with the San Francisco Giants to open the 2026 season.

The San Francisco Giants came into Monday night’s series opener at Dodger Stadium carrying some uncomfortable numbers. They ranked among the worst offenses in baseball, tied for the fewest runs scored in the Majors. A seven-game road losing streak had just ended. Back-to-back wins had not happened since late April.

Los Angeles presented a steep test. The two-time defending World Series champions sat atop the National League West heading into the night.

They would not finish there.

Devers Leads Giants Past Dodgers

GettyRafael Devers of the San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco knocked the Los Angeles Dodgers off the top of the NL West with a 9-3 victory at Dodger Stadium, powered by a Rafael Devers performance that reminded everyone what this offense can look like when he gets going.

Devers opened the scoring in the second inning, pulling an outside splitter from Roki Sasaki over the right field wall for his fifth home run of the season. He added a single in the sixth. Then, with the bases loaded and the game tied in the seventh, he worked a seven-pitch walk off Alex Vesia to put San Francisco ahead for good. Willy Adames followed with a two-run single, and the Giants never looked back, tacking on three more in the ninth to pull away.

Manager Tony Vitello did not shy away from crediting Devers for what the win represented.

“When he’s vibing, it’s impossible not to be in the same mood that he is,” Vitello said. The message was clear. When Devers is locked in, the entire lineup feels it.

What the Numbers Show

The slow start was real. Devers hit .203 with a .530 OPS through his first 30 games, numbers that sat well below what the three-time All-Star is capable of producing.

The last eleven games have looked completely different. Devers is batting .361 over that stretch with seven extra-base hits and eight RBIs, including three home runs in his last five games alone. For context, among active players only Aaron Judge carries a higher career slugging percentage in the month of May. This time of year has historically been good to Devers, and 2026 appears to be no different.

Adames has provided complementary production at the right time. The shortstop went 2-for-4 with three RBIs on Monday and is now 5-for-11 with five RBIs over his last two games. “It feels great when you have guys getting hot at the same time,” Adames said after the win.

Rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald continued to impress in his second start of the year, holding Los Angeles to three runs over 5 1/3 innings while mixing in 20 changeups to keep the Dodgers off balance. Called up from Triple-A Sacramento to fill in for the injured Logan Webb, McDonald has made the most of his opportunities. The bullpen handled the rest, with Matt Gage, Keaton Winn, and JT Brubaker combining for 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

What It Means for the Giants

GettyTony Vitello of the San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco sits at 17-24, still well below where they want to be. But three wins in four games with the offense generating 12 hits, a season-high six walks, and multiple stolen bases for the first time all year suggests something may be shifting.

Vitello noted that Casey Schmitt has also been steady, going 2-for-3 with a walk to push his batting average to .294 with a team-high .864 OPS. The emergence of multiple contributors at once creates a different kind of problem for Vitello, one he is happy to have. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge was out of the starting lineup for the third time in four games Monday, though Vitello indicated he expects Eldridge back in the lineup Tuesday against Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Giants still have a lot of ground to make up. But an offense that looked lifeless a few weeks ago is starting to find its footing.

Final Word

Devers has been through a rough stretch. The numbers through April made that clear.

The last eleven games have told a different story. A road win at Dodger Stadium with the offense finally clicking is the kind of result that can shift momentum heading into a stretch where the Giants need to start climbing.

Vitello said the lineup feeds off Devers when he is right. Right now, he is right.