DENVER — Suddenly, the Giants are in the midst of their biggest power surge in nearly a quarter century.
San Francisco (69-69) has now won eight of its last nine games to climb back to .500 for the first time since Aug. 10.
The Giants came out swinging early thanks to Devers, who launched a 411-foot laser out to right field to open the scoring in the top of the first inning. Devers’ 29th home run of the season — and his 14th for San Francisco — rifled off his bat at 114.5 mph, making it the Giants’ hardest-hit long ball since Statcast began tracking in 2015.
The 28-year-old slugger batted only .219 with four home runs over his first 37 games with the Giants, but he’s regained his All-Star form in recent weeks, hitting .299 (32-for-107) with 10 homers over his last 29 games.
Still, Devers isn’t the only one swinging a hot bat right now. Gilbert finished 4-for-4 and extended the Giants’ lead to 3-0 with a two-run blast in the third, giving him seven hits in his last two games. The 24-year-old rookie outfielder fired up his teammates when he returned to the dugout after mashing his second career homer, prompting third baseman Matt Chapman to playfully restrain him by the neck as he roared in celebration.
Adames capped the Giants’ slugfest with another two-run shot to left field in the seventh. The 29-year-old shortstop now has a team-high 26 homers, leaving him four shy of becoming the first Giant to hit 30 in a single season since Barry Bonds in 2007.
Kai-Wei Teng, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday to replace the injured Carson Whisenhunt (back strain), earned the win after striking out eight and giving up two runs over 5 1/3 innings in his fifth appearance of the year for the Giants.
