SF Giants finally overcome issue that has dogged them for ages vs. Mets

It's no secret that the SF Giants have struggled to put up runs against left-handed pitchers over the last couple of seasons. In 2025, the Giants sat last in the league in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS against southpaws. So when David Peterson — who only had allowed more than two runs once in his previous five matchups against them — was announced as the starter for the first of a four-game series against the New York Mets, the concern was warranted.

But on Wednesday night, the Giants once again proved us this group can be productive and that the danger can come from anywhere in the lineup — even against left-handed pitchers.

SF Giants make progress against a familiar weakness

The Giants came into the game with a .200 batting average, 11 hits, a .539 OPS, and zero home runs in 55 at-bats against lefties, with most of that production (or lack thereof) coming against Max Fried on Opening Day, when the New York Yankees’ ace limited them to just two hits in 6 and 1/3 innings.

Manager Tony Vitello gave the Giants their best chance to succeed with his lineup choices. First, he stuck with Heliot Ramos — who led the Giants in batting average (.254), hits (43), doubles (13) and OPS (.743) against lefties last season — in the number three hole.

Second, he made his first lineup change after sticking with the same starting nine through the first six games, replacing Patrick Bailey with rookie catcher Daniel Susac. The young catcher swung the bat well during spring training, and on Thursday, he proved his first-year coach right. He reached base four times, becoming the first Giants player to do so in his first career start since Kevin Frandsen on April 28, 2006. Even more impressively, he singled on the first two MLB pitches he saw and finished with three hits (to his nephew's detriment).

And finally, the guy the Giants brought in to hit is actually hitting. After going 3-for-4 against the Padres the day before, Luis Arraez again provided big-time production, finishing 2-for-5 with an RBI triple.

We have questioned Vitello’s decision to use Casey Schmitt at first and Arraez at second instead of swapping them, and we probably will continue to. But one thing is for sure: Schmitt’s bat got hot on Thursday. After a rough day in San Diego on Wednesday, the 27-year-old delivered the perfect response. He finished the game 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk — and he caught the [expletive] ball this time.

You add all of those productive performances together, and it gave you this: the Giants recorded nine hits, drew two walks, and scored six runs through 4 1/3 innings against David Peterson en route to a 7-2 win over the Mets at Oracle Park.

Rafael Devers put the cherry on top by finally snapping a 25 at-bat drought and doing what he does best: hitting the ball hard. He blasted his first homer of the season — a 404-foot shot to center field — against a left-handed reliever no less.

One struggling team had to break through

Probably for the best, the Giants’ opponent on Wednesday, the Mets, came in as one of the worst offenses since Opening Day — particularly against lefties.

After lighting up Paul Skenes and the Pirates in their first game of the season, New York managed just 12 runs while going 33-for-175 (.185) over its next five games. Its big three of Francisco Lindor, Bo Bichette, and Juan Soto came into the game having gone just 3-for-25 (.120) against left-handers, and Robbie Ray made sure it stayed that way. The Mets managed just three hits against the ultimate grunter, who, despite walking the leadoff batter three times, gave up just two runs through 5 1/3 innings.

The next three pitchers the Giants will face in the series are right-handed. That does not mean they will score 10 runs or keep swinging the bats at a high clip the rest of the way, but this win definitely seemed to inject some confidence into their swings.

Wednesday made one thing clear: Tony Vitello should strongly consider starting Susac against lefties going forward.