Devers homer; Susac’s hot start

Rafael Devers changed a 0-0 game with one swing on April 8, sending a three-run home run into center field in the sixth inning and pushing San Francisco to a 5-0 win over Philadelphia at Oracle Park. It was the hit that broke open a game Aaron Nola and Tyler Mahle had kept tight for five innings. (mlb.com) That home run was Devers’ second of the season, and both of San Francisco’s first two home homers in 2026 had come off his bat. The Giants had gone deep only twice in their first 10 home games, so Devers’ power was doing almost all of the early heavy lifting in that park. (mlb.com) The odd part is that Devers is doing this in a new uniform, not in Boston. San Francisco acquired the longtime Red Sox star before 2026, and the early picture is simple: the Giants are still learning how to score consistently, and Devers is the one hitter who can erase a scoreless afternoon with one mistake from a pitcher. (mlb.com) A day earlier, the other jolt came from a player with almost no major league track record at all. Catcher Daniel Susac went 3-for-4 on April 7 and ripped a two-run triple in the eighth inning, which left him 6-for-7 through his first three big league games with San Francisco. (mlb.com) Susac is 24, was the 19th overall pick in the 2022 draft, and arrived in the organization through the Rule 5 Draft after the Athletics left him off their 40-man roster and Minnesota flipped him to San Francisco. Rule 5 players are the roster version of “keep him in the majors or lose him,” which makes a 6-for-7 opening week even louder. (mlb.com) His first major league start on April 2 was already a shock, because he singled three times and walked once in a 7-2 win over the Mets. Five days later he added that first career triple and his first two runs batted in, so this was not one lucky swing dropped between fielders. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) Susac’s background helps explain why the Giants were willing to carry him. At Triple-A Las Vegas in 2025, he hit.275 with an.832 on-base plus slugging percentage, 18 home runs, and 68 runs batted in over 97 games, which was his most complete minor league season. (mlb.com) So the Giants opened April with two very different answers to the same problem. Devers is the established middle-of-the-order bat who can decide a game with one swing, and Susac is the rookie catcher who forced his way into the conversation by reaching six hits before making eight outs. (mlb.com 1) (mlb.com 2) San Francisco was 5-8 after the Devers homer and had just taken two of three from Philadelphia, so the team record still said uneven start. But the shape of the offense was suddenly clear: if Devers keeps supplying the thunder and Susac keeps giving the lineup extra traffic at the bottom, the Giants look less thin than they did a week earlier. (mlb.com) (espn.com)