Giants 5, Twins 2: Davidson's First Hit, Steal, and Run

Ninth pitch, first hit, then second base

September 21, 2026 - San Francisco - Bo Davidson fell behind 0-2 in his first major league at-bat, worked it full, and lined the ninth pitch he saw, a 91 mph cutter, to right at 103.8 mph. Oracle Park stood up. His mom, his brother, his girlfriend, and his daughter were in the 27,466. Then he stole second. Brett Harris singled both him and Drew Gilbert home, and the San Francisco Giants had a 2-0 lead before the Minnesota Twins had recorded an out they could feel good about.

Cloudy. 62 degrees. Wind 15 mph, varying. First pitch 6:45 p.m. The game lasted 2 hours, 28 minutes. San Francisco had 10 hits. Minnesota had four, two of them homers. The Giants stole one base. Davidson took it.

The MLB recap said Davidson was called up from Triple-A Sacramento to replace Jung Hoo Lee (groin contusion), and that he is San Francisco's No. 8 prospect. Before the game he said he wanted to show them who Bo is. "You'll see," he said. Afterward: "It was pretty incredible. I felt like I was just playing the game. It just felt like another day at the office, though, for me."

The recap said he is the first Giants player to record a hit, steal a base, and score a run in his debut since Johnny Vergez on April 14, 1931.

"I've never been in a big stadium where you've got a third deck, so when they stood up and the crowd got into it, I loved that," Davidson said.

Manager Tony Vitello, per the recap: "I think Bo's a guy that feeds off that. The presence I thought he had in the box, and in the outfield tonight, was outstanding. It's good that he got the first hit out of the way and had something to show for it. But I think he looked like he belonged physically and presence-wise."

Gilbert against the hometown club

Gilbert is a Minnesota native. He led off and went 3-for-4 with three RBI. The second inning was his first two. Osleivis Basabe singled. Christian Koss doubled. Gilbert lined a single to left, both of them scoring. 4-0. In the fifth he hit his 11th homer, a line drive to right. 5-1. That was the last San Francisco run. It was also enough.

Harris finished 2-for-4 with the two first-inning RBI. Jonah Cox doubled and struck out three times. Andrew Knizner singled after Drew Cavanaugh started behind the plate. Marcelo Mayer went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Scott Bandura went 0-for-3. The middle of the order did not have to be loud. Gilbert and a debut in the first two innings already were.

Zebby Matthews (9-11) took the loss. Five innings. Eight hits. Five earned. Zero walks. Nine strikeouts. One homer. 100 pitches. He punched out a lot of Giants and still left down 5-1 because the first two innings were four runs on contact. Taylor Rogers threw 1 1/3 scoreless. Travis Adams finished 1 2/3, one hit, three strikeouts. Minnesota's bullpen was fine. The start was the 5-2.

Two Twins homers, and Tidwell leaving early

Minnesota's first run was reviewed. Brooks Lee hit a fly to right-center in the fourth. The umpire's home-run call stood. His 24th. 4-1. Emmanuel Rodriguez hit his second in the eighth, a fly to center off Jason Foley. 5-2. That was the Twins' offense. Walker Jenkins went 1-for-4. Alan Roden went 1-for-2 with a walk. Luke Keaschall went 0-for-4. Ryan Jeffers went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Kody Clemens went 0-for-4. Four hits, two of them balls that left the yard, three left on.

The pitching news on the San Francisco side was not as clean as the debut. Blade Tidwell started and left in the fourth with right elbow discomfort, the MLB recap said. He had thrown 3 1/3: three hits, one earned, four strikeouts, no walks, 57 pitches. Lee's homer was the run. Tristan Beck (1-0) took over and threw 2 2/3 hitless: one strikeout, 32 pitches. That is the win. Sam Hentges struck out two in a scoreless seventh and walked one. Foley allowed Rodriguez's homer in the eighth. Trent Harris threw a 1-2-3 ninth, one strikeout, 16 pitches, for his second save.

San Francisco struck out 13 and did not walk a batter. Minnesota struck out eight and walked one. The Giants left four on. For a 5-2, that is a night that scored early and then asked the bullpen to finish a starter who could not.

Gilbert, on Davidson, going back to the 2024 Fall League, per the MLB recap: "To see where he was then, the all-around talent that he was, and see how he's started to put it together, it's pretty cool. He's a super confident kid, super talented and we're excited to have him."

Davidson signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023. The recap said he was once called the "JUCO Barry Bonds" after his numbers at Caldwell Community College in North Carolina. Vitello put him in a crowded outfield mix for 2027 with Gilbert, Cox, Victor Bericoto, Turner Hill, Bandura, and Grant McCray, and said the offseason work will shrink the pool.

"I think this offseason, with extenuating circumstances, how guys handle themselves and coach themselves and their work ethic is going to be an ultimate separator into the next pool," Vitello said. "Guys who don't do their stuff will get exposed."

65-92, and a debut worth the trip

The Giants are 65-92. The Twins are 73-84. Monday was not a playoff game. It was a first big league box score for a 24-year-old who told you to wait and see, then singled, stole, and scored in the first inning. Gilbert drove in the other three. Beck covered the innings Tidwell could not. Minnesota hit two homers and still never led.

Davidson went 1-for-4 with the steal and the run. That is a quiet line until you remember nobody in a Giants uniform had done the hit-steal-score debut trick since 1931. Gilbert's 3-for-4 is the production. Davidson's first inning is the reason the park stood up.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put San Francisco at 11 team fantasy points, second on the three-game Monday slate. Gilbert had 10 hitting FP. Beck had 9.66 pitching FP. Tidwell had 6.33. Brooks Lee had 6 hitting FP in the loss. Minnesota finished at minus-2.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*