Willy Adames Delivers Grand Slam as Giants Open Second Half With Statement Win

Willy Adames led the San Francisco Giants to a winning start after the All-Star break as he hit the seventh grand slam of his career in a 7-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

The win gave San Francisco its third straight victory and its fourth in the last five games. The Giants can also secure their first four-game winning streak of the season with another win on Saturday.

Seattle struggled from the opening innings and couldn't register a hit until the fourth inning, when Josh Naylor singled. They finished the night with only two hits and suffered their sixth loss in the last seven games, falling two games below .500.

The Giants broke through in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Patrick Bailey hit a chopper toward second base, but Cole Young failed to field the ball cleanly. The error proved costly as it allowed San Francisco to score and take the lead.

San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (left). Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

An inning later, the Giants put the game out of reach. With the bases loaded in the seventh, Adames stayed back on a hanging slider from reliever Nick Davila and launched it into the right-center field seats for a grand slam. It was the Giants' major league-leading eighth grand slam of the season and Adames' second this year.

In a video posted by MLB on X, the shortstop celebrated the moment with visible excitement, jumping into the air before reaching second base and again as he headed home after circling the bases. The performance continued his strong form after a difficult first half of the season.

Willy Adames breaks this game open with a GRAND SLAM ☄️ pic.twitter.com/AvJzIQAAb8
— MLB (@MLB) July 18, 2026

He entered the All-Star break after collecting three hits in the Giants' first-half finale on Sunday. Before that, he had cooled off following a strong run between May 18 and June 19. During that hot streak, he hit several home runs, but he managed only two homers over his next 19 games.

Friday's grand slam raised his home run total to 16, giving him a chance to reach 30 home runs for the second straight season. He hasn't matched expectations since signing a seven-year, $182 million contract before last season. His offense has been inconsistent, and his defensive play has also fallen below his usual standard.

He is batting .229 this season and has dealt with back trouble for much of the year, and he ranks second from last among qualified shortstops in Outs Above Average (minus-11). However, Adames' defensive struggles continued late in Friday's game. He committed an error in the ninth inning, his 14th of the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league.

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