SF Giants' Houser's rough outing vs. Marlins spoils Lee's big night
SAN FRANCISCO - It was, plain and simple, a night to forget for Adrian Houser.
Houser matched his career-high in earned runs (eight) and hits (11) across four innings as the Giants fell 9-4 to the Miami Marlins on Friday evening at Oracle Park.
“Just wasn’t able to get it going,” Houser said. “It comes down to execution for me there. Leaving stuff over the plate, and they were putting good swings on it. Even when I made some good pitches, because I was so erratic, they were able to put some good swings on and stay on the ball.”
The right-hander, who signed a two-year, $22 million deal with a club option for 2028 in the offseason, has had a brutal start to his tenure with San Francisco (11-15). Over his first five starts, Houser has allowed 21 earned runs over 25 2/3 innings (7.36 ERA). What’s especially concerning is his minuscule strikeout rate of 11.3 percent, which is almost half the league average of 22.3 percent.
Houser said he’s been battling all season “to get everything going the right way.” He believes his stuff and his velocity is normal, but cited that he’s been working through an issue with his mechanics and timing.
“Just something slightly off where I’m not able to execute how I want to be and balls just not coming out the way I wanted to,” Houser said. “So, just trying to hammer that down and figure that out, if it’s something not activating right, something not moving right. Whatever it may be, just need to figure it out and get it going.”
Jung Hoo Lee was one of the few positives on Friday night, going 3-for-4 and hitting his second home run of the season. Lee’s homer landed in McCovey Cove but wasn’t a true Splash Hit because the ball didn’t land in the water on the fly.
Lee has been finding his stride offensively over the last two weeks. In his last 10 games, Lee is 15-for-37 (.405) with a homer and two doubles.
“I think he’s kind of just found who he is,” said manager Tony Vitello. “He did have a lot of hard-contact outs early in the year. I never did take the time to put statistical information to back that up, but I’m willing to bet it would at least show … he was making good contact, and maybe didn’t have as much to show for it as you would think he deserved. So, I think that’s caught up a little bit. But also, I think he’s caught his rhythm.”
Along with Lee, second baseman Luis Arraez collected three hits and stole his team-leading fourth base of the season. For Arraez, it was his 100th career three-hit game, the most among all players since Arraez made his debut in 2019. Heliot Ramos also collected a double and a walk.
Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner, earned his third win of the season, picking up a quality start as he allowed three runs over six innings despite allowing nine hits.
The Marlins raced out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to Xavier Edwards’ RBI double and Liam Hicks’ two-run homer, an impressive drive that cut through a cold San Francisco night. Miami added another run in the second on an RBI single by Graham Pauley, then another in the third on a sacrifice fly by Hicks.
That five-run lead would’ve already been more than enough for Alcantara, but in the top of the fourth, the Marlins officially blew the ballgame open with a three-run homer by No. 9 hitter Connor Norby. As Houser walked off the field, a few restless fans tossed boos in Houser’s direction.
Oracle Park roared to life in the bottom of the fifth as San Francisco’s offense finally got to Alcantara, trimming the deficit to 8-3 as Drew Gilbert, Eric Haase and Luis Arraez all drove in a run apiece. The Giants got another run when Lee homered in the eighth, but the eight runs that Houser surrendered were too much to overcome.
Up next
Left-hander Robbie Ray (2-3, 2.86 ERA will face the Marlins’ talented 23-year-old right-hander Eury Pérez (2-1, 4.15 ERA) as the Giants host Brandon Belt celebration day.
Worth noting
Infielder Parks Harber, the Giants’ No. 16 prospect per Baseball America, made his debut for Double-A Richmond, going 1-for-5 with three strikeouts. Harber sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain in mid-March, which pushed back his season debut.
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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 10:31 PM.