Rafael Devers goes deep and Robbie Ray pitches the Giants to a 5-2 win over the Pirates

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rafael Devers homered to back six strong innings from Robbie Ray, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 on Friday night.

The only run allowed by Ray (3-4) came in the second when Marcell Ozuna led off with his 300th career homer to put Pittsburgh up 1-0.

Devers homered for the fourth time this season, connecting against Carmen Mlodzinski (2-3) leading off the bottom half to tie it. It was just the 24th home run for San Francisco this year.

Ray walked three straight batters to load the bases with two outs in the third but struck out Oneil Cruz to keep it tied. The left-hander yielded four hits and four walks while striking out seven.

Keaton Winn pitched a perfect seventh and Matt Gage worked a scoreless eighth for San Francisco. Caleb Kilian gave up a run in the ninth but retired pinch-hitter Ryan O'Hearn on a groundout with runners on second and third to close it out.

Devers singled in the fifth and scored on a two-out single by Heliot Ramos to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

Willy Adames led off the seventh with a single against Justin Lawrence and went to third on Ramos' double. Drew Gilbert singled to make it 3-1 before Jesús Rodríguez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Evan Sisk gave up a two-run single to Luis Arraez that made it 5-1.

Mlodzinski permitted two runs and seven hits in six innings. Lawrence was charged with three runs and failed to get an out.

The Giants began the day with the fewest homers in the majors, the fewest runs (115), and the fewest stolen bases (10).

Pirates RHP Braxton Ashcraft (1-2, 3.02 ERA) starts Saturday opposite Giants RHP Landen Roupp (5-2, 3.18).

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Pittsburgh Pirates' Marcell Ozuna (24) celebrates with Oneil Cruz (15) after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, May 8, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Drew Gilbert runs after hitting an RBI single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, May 8, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Drew Gilbert (0) celebrates with Heliot Ramos (17) after scoring against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Luis Arraez's single during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, May 8, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Robbie Ray pitches to a Pittsburgh Pirates batter during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 8, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

San Francisco Giants' Rafael Devers runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, May 8, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

PHOENIX (AP) — The struggling Arizona Diamondbacks shook up their roster Friday, promoting their top prospect, outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt, from Triple-A and designating veteran outfielder Alek Thomas for assignment.

The 23-year-old Waldschmidt — who nearly made the team out of spring training — was batting .289 with three homers, 22 RBIs and an .877 OPS at Triple-A Reno. He was the 31st pick in the 2024 amateur draft out of Kentucky.

Waldschmidt was not in the starting lineup Friday night against the New York Mets, but he had a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss. Both of his parents, his brother and some friends were at Chase Field to watch.

“That's one of the things you're looking to do — get your first hit,” Waldschmidt said. “For it to come in the first at-bat is really cool and definitely relieves some of the pressure that you put on yourself.”

The Diamondbacks have lost 12 of 16, falling to 17-20 this season.

The 26-year-old Thomas was hitting .181 with two homers in 100 plate appearances. The speedy center fielder has been a good defensive player throughout his five-year tenure with the club, but often struggled at the plate.

He has a .230 career batting average and a .273 on-base percentage. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo praised Thomas' ability and work ethic, but said the D-backs needed better at-bats at the bottom of the order.

“This is a game of production, this is a game of being able to go out there and do your job,” Lovullo said. “When things are grinding, and there's somebody as talented and ready as Ryan Waldschmidt is, these are the things that can potentially happen.”

Thomas had his share of big moments with the Diamondbacks, particularly during the team's run to the World Series in 2023. He hit four homers during the postseason, including a tying, two-run shot against the Phillies in Game 4 of the NLCS.

D-backs general manager Mike Hazen has seven days to trade or release Thomas before he's put on waivers. If he's not picked up by one of the other 29 teams, he could theoretically be sent back to Triple-A Reno.

“He is a tremendously talented player and a great kid and he works his butt off,” Hazen said. “It just didn't click for us for extended periods of time here.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Arizona Diamondbacks pinch hitter Ryan Waldschmidt, left, celebrates with first base coach Dave McKay after hitting his first career base hit against the New York Mets in the eighth inning, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ryan Waldschmidt gets ready before a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Diamondbacks pinch hitter Ryan Waldschmidt hits his first career base hit against the New York Mets in the eighth inning, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas (5) takes batting practice before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)