SF Giants amass 20 hits in big win vs. Brewers to secure series split
MILWAUKEE - The Giants could get used to these hit parades.
Headlined by a grand slam by Eric Haase against his former team, San Francisco beat the Milwaukee Brewers 12-9 on Thursday afternoon at American Family Field, securing a series split after dropping the first two games of the series.
“Today, we felt like an actual team offense, not just a bunch of guys going up there trying to make stuff happen,” Haase said. “At-bats were leaning off each other, led to wearing down starters, wearing down bullpen guys. That’s the kind of stuff we want going forward; tons of eight, nine-pitch at-bats, get on, then the next guy comes up and has success.”
There was no shortage of notable stat lines on an afternoon where every starter had at least one hit, and the Giants (25-38) amassed 20 hits, their second-most in a single game this season. The most hits the Giants have had in a game this season were the 25 they got on Sunday while scoring a season-high 19 runs in Colorado.
Casey Schmitt (2-for-5, 2 RBIs) set the tone Thursday with the first leadoff homer of his career, which was his career-high 13th of the season. Rookie Bryce Eldridge (3-for-4, one walk, two runs) reached base four times for the second time in the last five days. Jung Hoo Lee had another four-hit game, and scored three runs, raising his batting average to .322 while extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Matt Chapman had three hits and two RBIs.
“For the youngest guy on the roster, he has the best takes as far as the calm and the position he’s in to hit,” said manager Tony Vitello of Eldridge. “I think that allows him to get on base in addition to the hitting, because the walks are there. He’s probably got our highest walk per plate appearance deal going on.
“We mentioned the other day in the locker room he adds length to the lineup, no matter where he’s slotted. … But when Chappy comes alive and is smiling today and is feeling good - the swings have been coming, he’s been knocking on that door - then all of a sudden it gets really interesting.”
For all of the fireworks on offense, the highlight of the afternoon belonged to center fielder Drew Gilbert, who scaled the right-center field wall in the bottom of the seventh to rob Andrew Vaughn of a two-run homer.
The home run robbery was redemption for Gilbert after he couldn’t catch a difficult but playable fly ball off the bat of Jackson Chourio in Tuesday’s loss that required him to leap into the angled center field wall. Gilbert, who was visibly frustrated after failing to make the play on Tuesday, said he had to adjust, noting the importance of catching the ball before making impact with the wall.
“You kind of want to catch first, and then wall,” Gilbert said. “Obviously, it’s happening fast, so you don’t have a ton of time to make it perfect, but I tried to make a little bit of an adjustment there.”
Despite entering the bottom of the ninth with a six-run lead, things got shaky when rookie right-hander Wilkin Ramos failed to retire any of the four batters he faced. After Ramos walked in a run to cut the Giants’ lead to five runs, Vitello was forced to call upon right-hander Caleb Kilian for the sudden save situation.
The Brewers’ David Hamilton nearly delivered a game-tying three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Hamilton’s deep drive to center field fell a couple of feet short and San Francisco escaped with a win.
Right-hander Adrian Houser, who made 129 appearances for the Brewers over seven seasons, allowed three runs (two earned) over 4 1/3 innings. It was his first appearance at American Family Field since he was traded in December 2023. Coincidentally, Milwaukee’s starting pitcher on Thursday was Coleman Crow, whom the Brewers received from the Mets in exchange for Houser and outfielder Tyrone Taylor.
The Giants spotted Houser three quick runs in the first inning, sending all nine batters to the plate. Schmitt started the afternoon with a bang with his homer on the game’s first pitch. The Giants added two more runs on a pair of RBI singles from Eldridge and Chapman.
Milwaukee got a run back in its half of the first, but the Giants put up three more runs in the third as Lee doubled home Willy Adames, Chapman singled in Lee and Schmitt drove in Eldridge on a sacrifice fly. By inning’s end, San Francisco had a commanding 6-1 lead.
Houser was cruising along through the first four innings, but the top of the Brewers’ order put an early end to his afternoon in the fifth. Christian Yelich pulled a one-out double down the right-field line, and Chourio followed Yelich with an opposite-field two-run homer to trim the Giants’ lead to 6-3. After allowing a double to Brice Turang, Vitello went to his bullpen.
With the Brewers threatening to come back against the Giants’ shaky bullpen, San Francisco’s offense blew the game open with a six-run seventh inning.
Lee, Eldridge and Chapman set the table with three straight singles - Eldridge knocked the Brewers’ Grant Anderson out of the game by hitting a line drive off Anderson’s forearm - and Haase delivered the big blow with his third career grand slam.
Up next
The Giants head south to Chicago for three games against the Cubs to complete their three-city, 10-game trip. Robbie Ray, Landen Roupp and Trevor McDonald are slated to start on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 2:48 PM.