The San Francisco Giants haven’t had the season they envisioned by any means, and they fell 8-1 to the Cleveland Guardians in Tuesday night’s series opener.
Ahead of Wednesday’s matchup, however, the Giants announced a notable lineup change involving infielder Willy Adames, who has been sidelined with a back injury. Adames hasn’t played since Aug. 12 against the Houston Astros, when he left the game early.
Giants Announce Adames News
For Wednesday night’s matchup, the Giants revealed that Adames will return to the lineup for the first time in a week. He’ll start at shortstop and bat third in the order.
Via Underdog MLB: “Giants 8/19 J. Cox CF R. Devers DH W. Adames SS B. Eldridge 1B V. Bericoto LF J. Lee RF O. Basabe 2B D. Cavanaugh C C. Koss 3B M. Wilkinson SP.”
Giants 8/19
J. Cox CF
R. Devers DH
W. Adames SS
B. Eldridge 1B
V. Bericoto LF
J. Lee RF
O. Basabe 2B
D. Cavanaugh C
C. Koss 3BM. Wilkinson SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 19, 2026
Adames’ 2026 Season
Outside of this brief stint on the sidelines, Adames has played in nearly every game for the Giants this season despite never landing on the IL. He’s appeared in 116 games and logged 446 at-bats, batting .224 while slugging .413 with a .697 OPS.
He’s also recorded 59 runs, 100 hits, 19 home runs, 48 RBIs and 36 walks.
Looking at the Giants
San Francisco is well out of the postseason race at 51-74 overall. The Giants sit 24.0 games back in the NL West and 15.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
Despite this, Buster Posey, the team’s president of baseball operations, has made it clear that first-year manager Tony Vitello will return next season despite some recent rumblings about his job security.
“Yeah, he’s coming back. It’s not a question,” Posey told the media earlier this week.
San Francisco Giants Announce Willy Adames News During Guardians Series