Adames becomes first SF Giants player to hit 30 homers in single season since Bonds

SAN FRANCISCO — Minutes before first pitch, Bob Melvin made a tweak to his starting lineup.

Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames were originally slated to hit first and second, respectively, but Melvin then asked Adames if he wanted to hit leadoff. Adames was on board with moving up to leadoff, and Ramos was moved to the two-spot.

The intent was obvious. Adames entered the afternoon with 29 homers, one shy of becoming the first Giant to hit 30 homers in a single season since Barry Bonds in 2004. Batting leadoff, then, would maximize his chances to hit the milestone homer.

One at-bat — one pitch — is all he needed. Adames sent the first pitch he saw from the Colorado Rockies’ McCade Brown over the center-field fence, officially ending a drought that had gone on for more than two decades.

“It just seemed like he would do,” said third baseman Matt Chapman. “I feel like he’s got a knack for the big moment sometimes.”

Chapman told Melvin prior to Adames’ first at-bat that Adames will “probably just hit the first pitch of the game out.” On cue, Adames cleared the fences on the first pitch he saw.

“Everybody was kind of waiting for that,” said Adames, who concluded his first season in San Francisco with 30 homers, 87 RBIs, 12 steals and a .739 OPS. “For me, like I said before, it’s more about the team winning.”

Adames, who joined the Giants on a seven-year, $182 million deal in the offseason, has something of a knack for these moments. On Friday, moments after being named the 2025 Willie Mac Award winner, Adames hit his 29th home run in his first at-bat of the night.

In late August, Adames received a standing ovation at American Family Field in Milwaukee before his first at-bat against the Brewers, his former team. Adames quickly turned those cheers into boos by homering on the first pitch he saw from Jose Quintana, one of two homers he hit against the Brewers that night.

“That’s the third time this year that that type of situation has come up for Willy, and it’s the third time he’s hit a home run,” Melvin said. “I’d like to say it surprised me. I originally had him two, and I said, ‘Do you want leadoff?’ He said yeah, so I put him leadoff spot and he hits a home run on the first pitch. We’ve gotten to know Willy a little bit. He steps up in those situations.”

Rafael Devers achieved a milestone of his own when he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first, becoming the first player since Justin Mourneau in 2008 to play 163 games in a single season. Devers then hit his 35th and final home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth, but he did not count towards breaking the 30-homer drought since 15 of his home runs were with the Boston Red Sox.

“There were many days where I didn’t feel like playing, where my body didn’t respond,” Devers said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros. “But guess what, that’s my job. I need to play. I need to be there every single day.”