What we learned as Victor Bericoto caps Giants’ rally vs A’s with walk-off homer

BOX SCORESAN FRANCISCO — Victor Bericoto had to wait two weeks to get back in the lineup. The wait was worth it. The rookie blasted a no-doubter to left-center with two outs in the ninth at Oracle Park, picking up his first career walk-off and giving the Giants a 2-1 win over the A’s, who led heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Giants got homers from Bericoto and Rafael Devers, clinching the series after two hours of quality pitching on both sides. Victor Bericoto WALKS IT OFF with a MOONSHOT to left center pic.twitter.com/nweZk3bTTX — SF Giants on NBCS (&commat;NBCSGiants) June 25, 2026 Tyler Mahle was sharp in his return, but rookie Gage Jump was even better. The lefty struck out nine in five innings, combining with Mahle to turn this into a bullpen game. There had been just six total hits in a scoreless game until the top of the eighth, when something familiar happened. A man named Max Muncy hit a big homer at Oracle Park. The A’s version took Dylan Smith deep, finally giving him an ERA after eight scoreless appearances to begin his Giants career. The Giants had the tying run on second with one out in the eighth, but hard-throwing righty Luis Medina worked past some command issues to strike out Bryce Eldridge and Casey Schmitt. An inning later, the Giants finally got their big hit.Devers went dead center with a 99 mph fastball from Elvis Alvarado. while leading off the ninth, tying the game. RAFI BOMB TO TIE IT UP pic.twitter.com/DYoSlkbB7S — SF Giants on NBCS (&commat;NBCSGiants) June 25, 2026 The solo blast came a couple of minutes after Jung Hoo Lee went into the corner to keep it a one-run game. Bericoto then jumped on a hanging slider to send everyone home happy. Rally MahleMahle’s return to the rotation couldn’t have gone much better. The right-hander threw 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits and walking two. He struck out four, and his fastball was up 1.2 mph from his pre-injury starts. Mahle didn’t allow a baserunner through the first three innings, and when the A’s started putting some traffic on, he benefited from strong defense. Schmitt made a slick toss to start a double play after a leadoff walk in the fourth and Jung Hoo Lee ended the inning with a running catch on the track in right-center. The A’s put two on in the fifth and Mahle gave up a bullet to Lawrence Butler, but Schmitt caught it and then threw the ball away. It rolled to Victor Bericito, who fired a strike to the plate to end the inning. A double from Henry Bolte ended Mahle’s night in the sixth. Sam Hentges entered and gave up a rocket to Nick Kurtz, but it died on the track in center. Finally, Time For The RookiesWith a lefty on the other side and Luis Arraez sitting out with a sore foot, both Bericoto and Jonah Cox got to start, a rarity of late. The 24-year-olds have been lightly-used backups with Schmitt starting in left field every night and Drew Gilbert soaking up nearly all of the at-bats in center. Bericoto had just one at-bat since June 10 and was 1-for-3 in his return to the lineup with a single to left until his late heroics. He also contributed to a strong defensive night for the Giants, making a 93 mph throw to the plate in the fifth inning to cut Jacob Wilson down at the plate on a wild play. Just your average 4-7-2 double play &zwj; pic.twitter.com/TA3ni3TYaN — SF Giants on NBCS (&commat;NBCSGiants) June 25, 2026 Cox also had not started since June 10, although he got two at-bats off the bench Tuesday after Arraez departed. He had a single, strikeout and sacrifice bunt.The Giants will likely send one of the young outfielders back to Triple-A by the end of the week. Heliot Ramos (quad) is rehabbing with the River Cats and Tony Vitello said he’s “close” to returning to the lineup. Back On Track?Ryan Walker has quietly shown his old form since returning from a lengthy minor league stint, which included a few days at the organization’s pitch lab in Scottsdale. Walker pitched a scoreless seventh, throwing nine of 14 pitches for strikes. He got two groundouts and a strikeout against the heart of the A’s lineup. The scoreless outing was Walker’s fifth straight since returning, and he has allowed just one hit while striking out four. This is the first time all year he’s piled up more than two consecutive scoreless outings. Painted the corner pic.twitter.com/pqETzazH7D — SF Giants on NBCS (&commat;NBCSGiants) June 25, 2026 Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

What we learned as Victor Bericoto caps Giants’ rally vs A’s with walk-off homer

Trending News