In one of the most surprising twists of this MLB season, the San Francisco Giants are alive and kicking in the National League playoff picture.
After limping into the trade deadline and not doing much to improve the team coming out of it, many fans and pundits had given up on the Giants' playoff chances. However, they are now one of the hottest teams in baseball and that continued with a 7-4 win over the Colorado Rockies in Denver. The Giants have now won nine of their last 10 games and are just five games out of the last wild card spot with less than a month to go in the regular season.
Bob Melvin and company ran into a bit of a curious situation in the first inning when third baseman Matt Chapman was ejected from the game. That left Melvin without anyone to play the hot corner, so he moved Rafael Devers from first base to third base for the night.
Devers' position was a big controversy in Boston with the Red Sox before he was traded to the Giants, as Boston had him playing mostly first base and designated hitter. The Giants have had him in a similar role, but Devers picked it up like riding a bike on Tuesday night.
After the game, he shrugged off the transition and took it in stride.
Rafael Devers didn't hesitate to play third base tonight, despite not having taken any grounders at the position this season 😤 pic.twitter.com/b3OwsUYMMB
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 3, 2025
“I noticed the situation, I didn't hesitate,” Devers said through a translator. He asked me to play third base and I am here to help the team. … I haven't taken any grounders at third base but I felt comfortable. I think that both positions are similar, first and third.”
The star slugger started the game at first base and had a first baseman's glove, so he even had to steal Chapman's glove to go play third. Apparently, the accolades of Devers' star teammate carried over in the glove even after the ejection.
“It felt really good, it has five Platinum Gloves in there,” he said with a laugh.
Devers got his night started off with a bang at the plate, smashing a two-run home run in the first inning that started a benches-clearing altercation between the two NL West rivals. However, he struck out twice during the game and finished just 1-for-5.
While the Giants will not want to lose Chapman for any more time, it's good to know that Devers can still get the job done at third base during this playoff push if needed. Now, the Giants will want him to get going at the plate as they look to continue this epic comeback in the standings.
