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Giants Star Sluggers Achieve Feat Not Done Since Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent

Originally posted on San Francisco Giants on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Offense has been an issue for the San Francisco Giants at times during the 2025 MLB regular season.

But that wasn’t always the case in August. The team saw glimpses of what could be when it comes to their lineup down the stretch and into the future. If the Giants are going to make any noise over the last month of the season and become the perennial playoff team they believe capable of, they need Willy Adames and Rafael Devers to produce.

Both have fallen short of expectations since joining the franchise. Adames, who left the Milwaukee Brewers to sign a seven-year, $182 million deal with San Fanciscco in free agency, started incredibly slow. He was called a bust by many people, but he has performed at a much higher level in the second half than in the first half.

The contract Adames agreed to with the Giants was the largest in contract history. That is, until Devers and his massive 10-year, $313.5 million deal were acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox. In need of an offensive punch, Buster Posey jumped at the opportunity to add one of the best sluggers in baseball.

Alas, things haven’t gone according to plan since his acquisition either. Prior to a recent six-game winning streak, San Francisco had the worst record in the MLB since adding Devers to their lineup. The Red Sox were on the opposite end of the spectrum with the third-best record.

Willy Adames, Rafael Devers Had Historic Power Month For Giants

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However, like Adames, Devers looks to be getting more and more comfortable with his new surroundings. His performance in August looked much more like the kind of production everyone became accustomed to seeing when he was with the Red Sox. He crushed the ball in August, launching nine home runs and recording an impressive .989 OPS.

That resulted in him and Adames accomplishing something that hasn’t been done in 23 years. The star shortstop hit under .200 in August, but the power stroke was present, hitting nine home runs of his own. That makes them the first Giants duo to hit at least nine home runs apiece in a month since Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent did it in 2002.

Rafael Devers in August: 9 home runs, .989 OPS.

He and Willy Adames are the first pair of Giants with at least nine home runs in a single month since Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2002.
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) September 1, 2025

Coincidentally, it was also the month of August when Bonds and Kent accomplished the feat. The MLB all time home run leader hit 11 home runs that month, hitting 46 total in 2002. Kent had 14 that month and 37 on the season.

The current Giants duo of Adames and Devers has a shot to both reach the 30 home run plateau, which would be an impressive feat and provide some optimism for the duo moving forward.