Give the Devers his due.
Yankees again.
The Red Sox have won four series in a row. Had they not been so far under .500 at the start of this run they’d really be cooking. But at least they’re back in the Wild Card hunt and, with two victories against New York and a six game losing streak from the the Yankees, Boston is only 5.0 games back in the division. Which is a lot, of course, but with three months to go and the Rays and Blue Jays 2.0 and 3.0 games back, respectively, has the division order in play.
The first member of the Big Three to reach the majors is also the first to be optioned back to Worcester.
Get ready to see more David Hamilton!
Confirming Jeff Passan, source confirms Kristian Campbell is being optioned to Triple-A Worcester.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier.bsky.social) 2025-06-19T19:35:31.735Z
With Wilyer Abreu expected to return to the club, the roster crunch was back on. And the short straw was drawn by Kristian Campbell. Despite Campbell being much more important to the future of the team, David Hamilton once again dodges a move that would kick him off the roster and will likely assume a number of starts, along with Romy Gonzalez. At least until Alex Bregman returns and needs Marcelo Mayer to move.
Rafael Devers, who has only DH’d for the San Francisco Giants in his first three games, has left the door wide open to appear at first base this weekend. He’s been taking grounders at first since arriving in San Francisco and realizing that it isn’t so hard after all. Will the Giants decide to put a player with only a few hours or work in the field at a position he has never played in any type of game anywhere? Maybe!
In any event, Devers will need to wait until 2026 to see if he can break the Curse of Barry Bonds, as no Giant has hit 30 home runs since Bonds in 2004. (The Giants do actually have a second Bonds curse: no left fielder has repeated Opening Day starts since Barry Bonds left after the 2007 season. Hey, maybe give Devers a shot there too now that he wants to be a good teammate!).
Hunter Dobbins and Hayden Birdsong have, essentially, the same FIP. So if Hunter can keep doing what he’s been doing don’t let that ERA in the 2s by Birdsong trick you.
Brayan Bello is coming off seven strong innings against the Yankees and has something new up his sleeve that could help him continue to develop.
Landon Roupp is coming off a 1.2 inning, 6-run beating at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He walks 9.4% while striking out about one-fifth of batters he faces. Hes been taking gives up a lot of hits. He’s basically a two-pitch guy: sinker (38.6%) and cutter (39.0%).
Since getting demolished by the Angels, Lucas Giolito has allowed just 3 hits and 1 run over his last 12 innings.
Robbie Ray only made 8 starts in 2023 and 2024 and looked bad while doing it. Now he’s healthy and rolling again. His opponents over the last month though have included the Nationals, Marlins, and Rockies. It’s not his 2021 Cy Young form but it’s close. Ray is the only lefty the Giants will be starting this weekend which helps keep Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer in the lineup.
Jung Hoo Lee is showing off his power (6 homers) and speed (6 steals) combination.
Yaz is slashing .262/.359/.398.
Matt Chapman is on the IL.
Dom Smith is there.
But this is a team that is 17th in baseball in runs scored. They’ve hit fewer home runs (71) than the Colorado Rockies (73), good for 22nd in baseball. They needed Devers. Which explains the willingness to take him on for the rest of his contact. But part of that is Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and more didn’t take their money over the past few winters.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday June 20: Hunter Dobbins (3.74 ERA / 3.66 FIP) vs. Hayden Birdsong (2.79 ERA / 3.67 FIP)
Saturday June 21: Brayan Bello (3.49 ERA / 4.26 FIP) vs. Landen Roupp (3.99 ERA / 3.85 FIP)
Sunday June 22: Lucas Giolito (4.73 ERA / 3.96 FIP) vs. Robbie Ray (2.68 ERA / 3.09 FIP)
When/Where to Watch
Friday June 20: 10:15 PM ET on NESN
Saturday June 21: 4:05 PM ET on NESN
Sunday June 22: 4:05 PM ET on NESN