It’s been a while, but Red Sox followers have seen this before.
Rafael Devers made his first sport back at Fenway Park as an opposing participant memorable, hitting his twenty sixth residence run of the season Friday evening for the Giants in their 6-4 loss against his previous membership.
Devers returned to the ballpark where he spent the first 9 seasons of his main league profession until the Red Sox traded him to the Giants in June of 2025.
He obtained a combined response from followers at Fenway, but the boos appeared to largely outweigh the smattering of applause as a smiling Devers took to the plate for the first time in the prime of the first.
Devers’ most important second came at the plate during the fourth inning, his second at bat of the sport.
The Giants entered the inning trailing 5-1 after the Red Sox scored 5 runs against Logan Webb in the backside of the third.
Rafael Devers hits a solo residence run during the fourth inning of the Giants’ loss to the Red Sox on Aug. 21, 2026 at Fenway Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
With two outs in the fourth, Drew Gilbert hit a two-run residence run off Red Sox starter Sonny Gray to reduce the deficit to 5-3.
Devers came to the plate next and took Gray useless middle, taking a four-seam fastball yard to carry the Giants within a run of his previous crew, reducing the lead 5-4.
It was Devers’ twenty sixth residence run of the season and his first at Fenway Park since leaving the Red Sox.
Rafael Devers made his return to Boston on on Aug. 21, 2026. MLB Photos via Getty Images
Devers’ homer continued a season in which he has remained the Giants’ main energy hitter despite the crew’s general struggles, as they arrived in Boston at 52-75, lengthy out of the National League’s otherwise contentious playoff chase.
Entering Friday, the 29-year-old had performed in all 127 of the Giants’ video games and was hitting .244 with a .320 on-base proportion and .470 slugging proportion.
He had 117 hits, including 31 doubles and 25 residence runs, alongside with 69 RBIs and 67 runs scored.
Devers’ .789 OPS is his lowest since 2018 — his first full MLB season — but he’s still prime three among Giants hitters in WAR for the fourth-place NL West membership.
The Red Sox initially signed Devers as an worldwide free agent in 2013.
He debuted in 2017 and turned one of the franchise’s most productive hitters, serving to the crew win the 2018 World Series, where he hit .294 in the postseason general.
His relationship with the group worsened during the 2025 season following disagreements over his defensive function, and Boston finally traded him to the Giants.