The San Francisco Giants are struggling big time at the plate, and Rafael Devers‘ bat-breaking moment perfectly captured their season so far.
Already down four runs to the Cincinnati Reds in the second inning, Devers whiffed on a seven-pitch battle with starter Rhett Lowder, flailing at an 87-mph slider. The cleanup hitter stomped away from the box and slammed his bat on the ground, snapping the handle.
That’s where this Giants offense is right now.
Through 18 games, they’re dead last in the National League with a minus-27 run differential. The lineup’s collective .269 on-base percentage ranks second-to-last in the league, and with only nine team home runs, they’re also last in slugging (.292) and OPS (.561).
The struggles started right out of the gate. San Francisco failed to score in their first 20 regular-season innings, matching a team record. They were shut out three times in their first nine games.
The individual numbers tell the story:
- Harrison Bader (.115 batting average)
- Patrick Bailey (.136)
- Jung Hoo Lee (.213)
- Devers (.229)
Willie Adames, who opened the season batting .184, remains confident in the veteran-laden lineup that features Matt Chapman, Hellot Ramos, and Devers, a three-time All-Star.
“We have a ton of guys that have power on this team, Chappy, Ramos, Rafi obviously can hit a lot of homers,” Adames said.
Under manager Tony Vitello’s direction, the Giants continue emphasizing contact hitting and controlling the strike zone. They own the league’s 11th-best batting average (.242), but have scored the fewest runs (52).
What makes this so frustrating is they’re making contact – they’re just not driving anything.
At 6-12, the Giants need something to break loose soon. The way things are going, more bats might end up broken before the offense starts clicking.
