The San Francisco Giants came into Tuesday night’s game at Dodger Stadium already riding good feelings from a 9-3 win the night before. The offense had clicked. The mood in the clubhouse was loose. A series win over the two-time defending World Series champions was there for the taking.
What nobody saw coming was who would deliver it.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto had retired the first eight Giants he faced without much trouble. Then Eric Haase stepped in.
Haase Makes Giants History at Dodger Stadium
GettyEric Haase of the San Francisco Giants.
Haase homered twice off Yamamoto, becoming the first Giants catcher ever to accomplish that feat at Dodger Stadium. The last Giants catcher to homer twice against the Dodgers anywhere was Bob Melvin in 1987 at Candlestick Park. Haase nearly made it three, going 399 feet to dead center in his third at-bat before the ball stayed in the park by inches.
The first came in the third inning when Haase jumped on a cutter and drove it out to left for his first home run as a Giant. Two innings later, with Harrison Bader having just gone deep, Haase followed with another shot to left off a four-seamer. Yamamoto had not allowed back-to-back homers in any of his previous 55 big league starts. Tuesday night changed that.
Drew Gilbert added a pinch-hit squeeze in the seventh and Jung Hoo Lee doubled into the gap to make it a four-run inning. The Giants put a season-high five runs on Yamamoto’s line and won 6-2, improving to 4-1 against Los Angeles on the season and four wins in their last five games.
Haase kept his explanation simple after the game. “I was just trying to be on time,” he said. For a player who nearly wasn’t here, that kind of night carries a different kind of weight.
The Road That Led Here
Haase arrived in Giants camp this spring as a 33-year-old backup catcher who had played for three other organizations. He was competing for a roster spot behind a Gold Glove winner in Patrick Bailey and two talented 24-year-olds in Daniel Susac and Jesus Rodriguez. The math was not in his favor.
When Susac was officially kept on the roster, Haase exercised an opt-out in his contract, spent a few days testing the market, found nothing, and came back to report to Triple-A Sacramento. No hard feelings. Just a veteran who wanted to keep playing and understood the situation.
Then Bailey was traded to Cleveland. Susac went down with an injury. And Haase got the call.
Tuesday was just his fifth start for San Francisco. He now has 50 career home runs and a two-homer game for the first time since July 2024. Manager Tony Vitello made clear after the game that the performance went beyond what showed up in the box score. “He’s a good one to be in the trenches with,” Vitello said.
What It Means for the Giants Going Forward
GettyGiants’ Manager Tony Vitello.
The Giants’ catching situation remains fluid. Susac is wrapping up his rehab assignment and is expected back soon, which will force another roster decision. Haase has no minor league options remaining, meaning the Giants cannot send him down without exposing him to other teams. After Tuesday, the idea of letting him walk a second time seems far less appealing.
Adrian Houser gave the Giants length on the mound, allowing two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings and continuing a strong stretch in May. Matt Gage came on with the tying run on second and Max Muncy at the plate and struck him out on a slider to close out the threat. It was Gage’s fourth appearance in five days, and he delivered again.
Logan Webb is expected back from the injured list in just over a week. Trevor McDonald has pitched well enough to hold a rotation spot. The pieces are starting to come together at the right time.
Final Word for the Giants
Haase nearly did not make this roster. He tested the market, found nothing, and came back to Sacramento to wait.
Four wins in five games later, back-to-back victories at Dodger Stadium, and a historic night at the plate that nobody saw coming. That is what happens when a veteran stays ready.
The Giants have a good problem to solve when Susac returns. Right now, they are just happy Haase is here.
So is he.
Giants’ Eric Haase Drops Major Statement in Historic Night vs. Dodgers