After 15-hit game vs. Nationals, Giants aspire to keep offense rolling

Heliot Ramos and the San Francisco Giants will try to continue their offensive burst when they visit the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon for the middle contest of the teams' three-game series.

Ramos hit a three-run homer as part of a 15-hit attack in a 10-5 San Francisco win on Friday night. It was the first time this season the Giants recorded double-digit runs, and they had scored three or fewer runs in each of their past five games.

For Ramos, it was his first homer of the season, and it came after he had been out of the starting lineup the previous two games. He began Friday hitting .231, with seven RBIs.

"It's something that really woke me up," Ramos, who drove in four runs Friday, said of not starting. "Obviously, I know it's early, but at the end of the day, I have a pretty good sense of urgency, and I took it personally because I know I can be better than that. It did help me to work a lot. Just be aggressive at the plate, just be intentful, and I feel like it helped me with my mindset moving forward."

The San Francisco left fielder gave the Giants a 3-0 lead during a six-run second inning, and they kept adding runs. A member of the National League All-Star team in 2024, Ramos had 21 homers and 69 RBIs last season.

"Ramos is an All-Star for a reason. Everyone expects him to be really good, and he expects that of himself," Friday starter and winner Logan Webb said. "Good to see him get on track, and he's been working his butt off, so awesome to see."

Drew Gilbert and Casey Schmitt added solo shots for the Giants, and Matt Chapman had three hits and drove in three runs.

San Francisco will start Adrian Houser (0-2, 5.06 ERA) against fellow right-hander Cade Cavalli (0-1, 4.60) on Saturday.

Houser allowed four runs on five hits over 4 2/3 innings of a 6-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles last Sunday. He is 0-1 with a 1.27 ERA in six career games (four starts) vs. Washington.

Cavalli lasted only 1 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, giving up four runs on three hits and three walks in a 16-5 defeat.

"You could tell he was frustrated he couldn't get in the zone, just wasn't able to find it tonight," Nationals manager Blake Butera said after the game. "The first inning was good. It was just really when we went back out there for the second, he was just fighting himself, couldn't get in there."

Cavalli, who has never faced the Giants, has allowed 15 hits and issued 12 walks in 15 2/3 innings in 2026.

On Friday, James Wood and Daylen Lile homered, and Jose Tena had three hits for the Nationals, who were opening a seven-game homestand. Lile hit a two-run shot, his first homer of the season, to straight-away center off Webb to pull the Nationals within 8-3.

"It feels really good," Lile said. "I didn't think I had it in me to go dead center, but it's good to get the first one. Now I'm just trying to keep having quality at-bats."

--Field Level Media