Just keep swinging

Giants 5, Phillies 0

Every time Rafael Devers steps to plate, I wait for the swing where he crushes every atom of the baseball. Where he sends one beyond the bay and into orbit with Artemis II.

Maybe that feeling will wear off as the next eight years of his contract play out. For now, it remains. And he finally met the moment Wednesday afternoon.

Another rally was about to fizzle out, sending a scoreless game into the seventh. Disappointment lingered over Matt Chapman’s walk turning into a strikeout after an ABS challenge.

It didn’t linger long. Devers demolished the first-pitch fastball, planting a three-run homer into the garden beyond center field.

If it felt like a breakthrough swing of the bat, that’s because it was. It was Devers’ first go-ahead homer in the sixth inning or later with the Giants.

He’s started the season slow, and really, his numbers since joining the Giants are underwhelming. He’s batting .231 with a .775 OPS—compared to his .279 average and .859 OPS with the Red Sox.

But days like Wednesday are the ones you dream on. The ones Buster Posey dreamed on a year ago when he made the trade. The ones that make me believe there was something more to that swing, keeping me waiting for the next one.

Up next: The Giants are off Thursday as they head east to start a road trip that will cover Baltimore, Cincinnati, and DC. Come Friday it’ll be Landon Roupp against Shane Baz on Apple TV. First pitch at 4:15 pm.