SAN FRANCISCO — Dominic Smith grew up idolizing Barry Bonds. He watched how Bonds sent home run after home run into McCovey Cove, sending awaiting cadres of kayaks into a craze. Now, Smith, too, knows the feeling of sending a long ball into the San Francisco Bay.
Smith’s first Splash Hit — and the 107th in Oracle Park history — was the highlight of a night where the Giants (67-68) outslugged the Baltimore Orioles 15-8 on Friday night and extended their winning streak to six games.
Despite Friday’s win, the Giants remain six games back of the Mets for the final NL wild card spot following New York’s 19-9 bludgeoning of the Miami Marlins.
On a night where the Giants set their season-high in runs scored, there was no shortage of notable stat lines up and down the lineup.
Every starter totaled at least one hit. Five players — Smith, Willy Adames, Luis Matos, Rafael Devers, Drew Gilbert — recorded multiple hits. Five players — Smith, Devers, Matos, Gilbert, Matt Chapman — had multiple RBIs.
Smith finished with a season-high four RBIs. Matos hit his eighth home run of the season and totaled a career-high four hits along with three RBIs. Willy Adames totaled four hits, his second four-hit game as a Giant, along with a steal, an RBI and two runs scored. Matt Chapman drove in a pair of runs. Drew Gilbert scored a run with his first career double.
This marks the first time since June 14-17, 2023 that the Giants have scored at least 30 runs in a three-game span.
That offense was needed on a night where Robbie Ray allowed a season-high six runs over 4 1/3 innings, one of only five times this season that the left-hander hasn’t completed at least five innings.
Ray’s velocity had noticeably dipped in his last two starts, clocking in at 92.1 mph against the San Diego Padres and 91.3 mph against the Milwaukee Brewers, but his four-seamer was back up to 93.7 mph against the Orioles.
Smith’s splash landing, the first by a Giant since Mike Yastrzemski’s walk-off against the Cincinnati Reds, will be the defining highlight of the night, but one of the game’s most electrifying plays happened on the bases.
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In the bottom of the seventh with runners on first and second, Rafael Devers lined a single to left field. The Orioles’ Dylan Beavers airmailed the throw home, allowing Drew Gilbert to score from second and Willy Adames to advance to third. Devers, seeing the mistake, advanced from first to second.
If catcher Alex Jackson ate the throw, the play would’ve been over and only one run would’ve scored. Instead, Jackson threw to second to try to get Devers. Adames, recognizing that no one was home, dashed for the plate. Jackson scrambled back to cover, but the throw home was too late.