Matt Chapman, Giants win duel vs. Nick Martinez, Reds

Matt Chapman put on a show on both sides of the ball during the San Francisco Giants' win over the Reds on Sunday afternoon.

BY FIELD LEVEL MEDIA

Mar 31, 2025, 6:41 AM

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CINCINNATI, OHIO - MARCH 30: Matt Chapman #26 of the San Francisco Giants gestures as he rounds the...

(Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images)

Matt Chapman belted a two-run homer and turned in several key defensive plays to lead the visiting San Francisco Giants to a 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.

Heliot Ramos homered and drove in a pair while Camilo Doval earned his first save with a scoreless ninth for the Giants, who won the rubber game of the three-game series.

Eight months after Blake Snell came into Great American Ball Park and held the Reds hitless in a 3-0 victory, another San Francisco pitcher threatened to do the same for the first five innings.

Never test Matt Chapman pic.twitter.com/8vcTQ1uRyG

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 30, 2025

Robbie Ray retired the first 15 batters and was perfect through five innings on just 61 pitches. The lefty was staked to a 4-0 lead before Gavin Lux singled cleanly up the middle to open the Cincinnati sixth. One out later, the shutout was gone as No. 9 hitter Austin Wynns belted a two-run homer to left to cut San Francisco’s lead in half.

Matt McLain followed with his second homer to cut the San Francisco lead to one, 4-3. Ray walked Santiago Espinal and was pulled for reliever Erik Miller. The lefty reliever allowed a single to Elly De La Cruz before Christian Encarnacion-Strand grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.

Ray (1-0) allowed three hits and three runs over 5 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.

Early on, Cincinnati starter Nick Martinez was equal to Ray, retiring the first 13 San Francisco batters.

The Giants finally broke through with one out in the fifth when Ramos drove a changeup from Martinez to the seats in left for his second homer of the season and a 1-0 Giants lead.

But Martinez recovered for the next two outs. But the Giants added to their lead in the sixth when Jung Hoo Lee doubled in Tyler Fitzgerald and Matt Chapman belted a two-run homer to left for a 4-0 lead. Martinez (0-1) was charged with four hits and four runs over six innings, striking out five and walking one.

First of the season for our third baseman 💣 pic.twitter.com/Blnv3Du0Xo

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 30, 2025

The Giants added two unearned runs in the eighth when Fitzgerald reached on a throwing error by De La Cruz at short. After an out call on Fitzgerald stealing third was reversed by a challenge, Willy Adames drove him home with a sacrifice fly. Ramos added an RBI single to make it 6-3.

–Field Level Media