SAN FRANCISCO — In a night filled with both chaos and clutch moments, the San Francisco Giants edged out the Atlanta Braves 5-4 in a thrilling 10-inning showdown at Oracle Park on Friday, June 6, 2025. The game was a rollercoaster of emotions, marked by unusual incidents, defensive heroics, and a walk-off finish that underscored the Giants’ resilience despite a less-than-perfect performance.
From the outset, the Giants showed flashes of brilliance but also bouts of inconsistency. Starter Hayden Birdsong, who had been a model of control throughout the season, surprisingly struggled with his command, walking a season-high five batters and plunking one. Birdsong cruised through the first three innings, striking out five and allowing two walks, but the wheels came off in the fourth inning. He hit Matt Olson and walked Marcell Ozuna and Ozzie Albies, setting the stage for an Atlanta rally. Sean Murphy’s sacrifice fly scored Olson, and Michael Harris followed with an RBI single, helping the Braves claw back into the game.
Adding to the oddity of the night, during Murphy’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, a second baseball suddenly appeared on the field — seemingly thrown from the upper deck by a fan. Giants manager Bob Melvin, a seasoned veteran with thousands of games under his belt, admitted, “That’s a first. I’ve never seen that before. I don’t know where it came from, and I don’t know what the rule is. I think everybody was a little surprised by it. It didn’t affect the play, but it was extremely odd to see another baseball come on the field.” Pitcher Birdsong was equally baffled, recalling, “I thought it was the ball that was thrown home. Then I realized Patty had the other ball. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ I had no idea.” The umpiring crew convened briefly but ultimately let the play stand, awarding Atlanta their first run of the game.
Despite Birdsong’s struggles, the Giants maintained a 4-2 lead entering the seventh inning, only to see it evaporate when Olson crushed a two-run homer off reliever Ryan Walker, tying the game at four apiece. The Giants' baserunning woes compounded the tension, as they made three outs on the bases late in the game, including two pickoffs and a caught stealing. Tyler Fitzgerald, the team’s speedy second baseman, was picked off at first base by Braves reliever Pierce Johnson to end the ninth inning, a costly miscue in a tight game. Fitzgerald explained his aggressive approach: “Last year, that would’ve bothered me a little bit more, but I was being aggressive in that situation with two outs. Trying to take a vault jump to second and he just made a good play. I did all my homework. I kind of had his timing down, but he held it a little bit longer.”
Nevertheless, Fitzgerald’s night was far from over. As the automatic runner to start the 10th inning, he advanced from second to third on a groundout by Jung Hoo Lee. Then came the moment of magic: with two outs, Braves reliever Pierce Johnson unleashed a wild 1-2 curveball that slipped past catcher Sean Murphy, allowing Fitzgerald to dash home from third and secure the walk-off victory for the Giants. This marked the Giants’ MLB-high seventh walk-off win of the season and extended their winning streak to three games since recent roster changes.
“It wasn’t our cleanest game of the year, but finding a way to win at the end,” Melvin said. “We’ve done that plenty of times here at home. You put away the mistakes and everything that’s gone on over the course of the game and try to get one run in the ninth. How we did it was a little unorthodox, but we’ll certainly take it.”
Fitzgerald, who also scored a walk-off run on a wild pitch last year against Toronto, was confident heading into the inning. “I kind of had a feeling it might hit the dirt, and if that guy’s curveball hits the dirt, there’s no stopping it,” he said. “And then (third base coach) Matt Williams did a great job of reminding me, ‘Hey, this guy’s going to throw a lot of curveballs.’ It was in the back of my mind, for sure.”
Defensively, the Giants showcased their mettle, especially in the tense top of the 10th inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Luke Williams hit a slow roller toward third base. Matt Chapman, the Giants' third baseman, made a remarkable play, fielding the 41.5 mph tapper and firing a precise throw to first base to end the inning and preserve the tie. Fitzgerald praised Chapman’s reliability: “He’s unbelievable. He makes those plays — it feels like — every game. That’s not even like the top-50 best plays I’ve seen him make. But with the game on the line, it’s special what he’s able to do. He can keep his emotions in check and deliver a good throw to first. He takes a lot of hits away from people in the big situations, so we’re lucky to have him.”
Other defensive highlights included shortstop Willy Adames’ acrobatic play in the sixth inning, where he fielded a scorching 106.6 mph bouncer from Sean Murphy and spun to fire to first base for an out. Right fielder Mike Yastrzemski also saved the day by sprinting in from right field to catch a fly ball that Jung Hoo Lee appeared to lose in the lights.
Dominic Smith, a recent addition to the Giants’ roster, continued to impress both offensively and defensively. The 29-year-old first baseman, signed to a one-year deal just days earlier, drove in two runs with a pair of sacrifice flies and made a spectacular catch along the first-base railing in the fifth inning. Smith is now 3-for-9 with two walks and four RBIs since joining the team.
The Braves, meanwhile, fought valiantly, rallying from an early 3-0 deficit to force extra innings. However, they dropped their fifth straight game, with reliever Pierce Johnson taking the loss. Atlanta’s bullpen included the return of veteran Craig Kimbrel, who made his first appearance with the Braves since 2014. Kimbrel pitched a scoreless inning in the seventh but was unable to prevent the Giants from taking the lead in the 10th.
Overall, the game was a testament to the Giants’ ability to persevere through adversity. Despite shaky pitching, baserunning blunders, and unusual distractions like the second ball on the field, San Francisco found a way to win. The victory improved the Giants’ record to 36-28 and marked their third straight win since Buster Posey’s roster shakeup, signaling a potential turning point in their season.
As the Giants celebrate another walk-off triumph, fans and analysts alike are reminded that in baseball, sometimes it’s not about playing perfectly — it’s about playing to win. And on this wild Friday night in San Francisco, the Giants did just that.
