Adames Delivers as Giants Walk Off Mariners in Wild Home Opener

SAN FRANCISCO — After an impressive 5-1 road trip to begin the season, the San Francisco Giants finally returned to the Bay on a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon for their home opener against the Seattle Mariners at Oracle Park.

It was a wild affair, with the game going back and forth, and nine innings weren’t enough to settle it. In the bottom of the 11th, the Giants were down a run with the tying and winning runs in scoring position and two outs. Willy Adames, the Giants’ biggest offseason free agent acquisition, slapped a single to right field off Carlos Vargas. When Tyler Fitzgerald slid home safely, the Giants walked off the field with a crazy 10–9 come-from-behind win in front of a sold-out crowd.

Adames’ heroics were a bit of redemption for the Giants shortstop, who had a rough day in the field as the Mariners fired rockets his way throughout the game. That made it difficult for Adames, who wasn’t able to make plays on balls headed to the outfield for base hits. He did, however, have one defensive gem when he made an outstanding leaping catch to rob Julio Rodríguez of a base hit in the fourth inning.

“They (Mariners’ hitters) tried to kill me today,” Adames said jokingly after the game. “Like, every ground ball that was hit at me today was 155 (miles per hour)! Obviously, I was trying to make every play. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen a few times. I always want the ball hit to me, but I love being in the middle of everything—when they’re not trying to kill me.”

Justin Verlander made his home debut in a Giants uniform, though it wasn’t a great outing for the three-time Cy Young Award winner. Verlander lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits with two walks and one strikeout. Seattle made Verlander work hard, and his pitch count got the best of him as he exited in the third inning after 65 pitches.

“You gotta tip your cap sometimes,” Verlander said, referencing the 13-pitch walk to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, the last batter he faced. “Cal (Raleigh) gave me a tough at-bat there. He obviously fouled off some tough pitches and worked a walk. You know, the walks are really going to gnaw at me tonight.”

Lamont Wade Jr. had his breakout game in front of the home crowd. After starting the season 0-for-16, Wade now has four extra-base hits in his last two games, going 3-for-6 with two doubles and a triple on Friday. Patrick Bailey went 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. Matt Chapman also had an impressive day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with his second home run of the season, along with two walks and two RBI. Heliot Ramos extended his hitting streak to seven games, going 3-for-5 and reaching base four times with an RBI.

The Giants’ bullpen was the unsung hero despite giving up six runs. Camilo Doval was the victim of poor infield defense during the sixth inning, when Fitzgerald’s error on a ground ball that hopped over his glove allowed two runs to score during Seattle’s three-run frame that gave them their first lead of the game.

Erik Miller, Tyler Rogers, Ryan Walker, and Spencer Bivins each threw scoreless innings, keeping the Giants in the game and giving the offense a chance to win it behind Adames, who finished 3-for-7 with three RBI—including his two-run single for the improbable comeback win.

Giants manager Bob Melvin looked like he had just run a marathon during his postgame presser. He was impressed with his team’s resilience in not folding when they fell behind, and in winning six of their first seven games to start the season.

“A lot of twists and turns. We did a lot of good things right. Obviously, we didn’t do some things right,” Melvin said. “It kind of went both ways. But for an Opening Day like that, with a packed house—nobody left for one second—it seemed like there was drama every single inning. At least we put on a good show.”

It was fitting that Neal Schon, guitarist for the legendary Bay Area rock band Journey, played a jamming version of the Star-Spangled Banner on his guitar. The Giants didn’t stop believing during a roller coaster ride of a game that lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes.

This is the Giants’ best start since the 2014 season, when they went on to win their third World Series title in five years. While no one is planning a parade for 2025 (especially since San Francisco is currently the third-best team in the National League West behind the Dodgers and Padres, who are off to 8–1 and 7–1 starts, respectively), this year’s Giants are ready to remind the National League not to overlook them.

Verlander said earlier this week, “I said in the spring, this team has something special. I thought we were overlooked. It’s early, but I think you can see that this team is pretty good.”

The Giants continue their three-game series with the Mariners on Saturday, April 5, at 6:05 p.m. at Oracle Park. Lefty Robbie Ray (1–0, 5.06 ERA) gets the ball, opposed by the Mariners’ Bryce Miller (0–1, 4.76 ERA).