SAN FRANCISCO—Michael Harris II hit a grand slam in his first plate appearance after missing nearly two months because of a hamstring injury, sparking the Atlanta Braves to a 13–2 rout of the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
Activated from the injured list before the game, Harris crushed an 0–1 curveball from Robbie Ray (2–2) into San Francisco Bay beyond the right-field arcade for his first career grand slam and Atlanta’s fourth of the season. It was the first grand slam hit into McCovey Cove by an opposing player in the 25-year history of Oracle Park.
“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Harris said. “It’s crazy because I told myself before the game, I think I’ve seen somebody hit a grand slam, and I told myself I’d never hit one. Went up there and did it first AB back. Pretty cool.”
Atlanta rookie starter Grant Holmes (1–0) struck out six in seven innings in his first career victory. The 28-year-old allowed two runs on eight hits. Former Giants pitcher Luke Jackson and Jimmy Herget retired three batters each to finish the game.
Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Sean Murphy also homered for Atlanta in the Braves’ third consecutive victory over the Giants.
San Francisco used outfielder Mike Yastrzemski to pitch the ninth inning. Yastrzemski threw 29 pitches and allowed two runs, two hits, and three walks.
Tyler Fitzgerald led off the first inning with his 14th home run of the season and 16th of his career for the Giants. Fitzgerald and late Hall of Famer Willie Mays are the only players in franchise history to hit at least 16 home runs in their first 60 career games. Mays had 17.
Olson hit his 21st home run of the season off Sean Hjelle in the third. Riley connected off Erik Miller in the fifth.
Jarred Kelenic added a two-run double for Atlanta in the sixth, and Murphy hit a two-run home run in the eighth.
That was more than enough support for Holmes, who had not pitched beyond five innings in any of his previous three starts.
“I was thinking tonight, the last time I threw seven innings was 2017 [in the minor leagues],” Holmes said. “So, it was pretty cool to do that in the big leagues.”
The Giants have lost four straight. They continued to struggle offensively and stranded eight runners, leaving the bases loaded in the third.
Ray ran into trouble right away when he hit the first two batters with pitches. After Marcel Ozuna struck out looking, Ray walked Matt Olson and Orlando Arcia to force in a run. Following a mound visit by Giants pitching coach Bryan Price, Harris pushed the lead to 5–0 with his sixth home run of the season.
“That’s a way to make your entrance,” Braves Manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s just good to have him in there. He’s one of our guys, and we’ve missed him. So, it’s good to get him back out there and running around.”
Ray lasted only 2/3 of an inning, matching the shortest start of his career.
