The San Francisco Giants won on Saturday, and they did it the only way they know how: by one run. But they also did it the way they planned for six days ago, when they swung a trade with the Boston Red Sox, the team they just beat: by way of Rafael Devers.
Devers exacted his revenge on Saturday, and he did it with emphasis. The Giants won the baseball game 3-2 because Devers was in it, on their side. They would not have won the game had he not been.
He won’t get credit for one full win on the WAR charts, but the Giants are 43-34 because he wore orange and black on Saturday, and they’d be 42-35 if he did not.