MILWAUKEE (AP) — Willy Adames couldn’t have scripted a much better scenario for his return to Milwaukee to face his former team.
The San Francisco Giants shortstop just would have preferred a different ending.
Adames homered twice Friday as he played at American Family Field for the first time since leaving the Brewers, with one of his solo shots coming on the first pitch he saw.
“It felt like a movie,” Adames said afterward. “It felt like somebody wrote it in a book or something. That’s how it felt.”
But the Giants still lost the game 5-4 on William Contreras’ walk-off homer in the ninth.
Adames helped lead the Brewers to three playoff appearances from 2021-24 before the Giants signed him to a seven-year, $182 million contract. He remains enormously popular with Milwaukee fans and with his former Brewers teammates.
The American Family Field sellout crowd gave Adames a hearty welcome, offering standing ovations when a pregame tribute video aired on the scoreboard and again when he stepped to the plate for the first time.
Adames wore a yellow sleeve on his right arm and said it was to pay his respects to the Brewers, who wear blue and gold. He removed his batting helmet and saluted the fans before taking his home-run swing in the first inning.
“It felt very good to see that they had that much love for me,” Adames said. “They know that I have the same love back.”
Adames connected on a first-pitch fastball from José Quintana and delivered a 419-foot shot well over the left-field wall in the first inning. He added another solo shot in the eighth against Aaron Ashby.
“There was a special vibe in the air for sure,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Willy was spectacular. We saw that Willy Adames trying to break our heart tonight, but we saw that Willy Adames helping us break other people’s hearts last year.”
Before the game, Adames said his former team's success this season hasn't surprised him.
The 29-year-old Adames says the biggest thing that has caught his attention about this Milwaukee team is how the Brewers have received contributions from everyone on the roster rather than relying on a few players to carry them.
“Everybody’s ready to be the guy,” Adames said. “It’s not just (Christian) Yelich or Contreras or (Jackson) Chourio. Everybody.”
Adames said the Brewers’ speed enables them to withstand their relative lack of power. The Brewers entered Friday 18th in the majors in homers (136) but second in runs scored (658).
“I feel like they run a lot,” Adames said. “They put themselves in scoring position a majority of time. When you do that, it doesn’t matter if you hit homers or not. You’ve got a lot of chances to score when you have guys in scoring position.”
Adames savored his return to Milwaukee so much that he went in the home locker room and even said a quick hello to Murphy early Friday afternoon.
He said this visit to Milwaukee is particularly special because it’s happening on the weekend when the Brewers are honoring longtime broadcaster Bob Uecker with a pregame celebration of life ceremony Sunday.
Uecker died Jan. 16 at the age of 90. Asked about his favorite Uecker memories, Adames said that “every day was an unbelievable moment with him” and noted that the broadcaster’s “energy was insane.”
Adames also reflected on the friendship his father had with Uecker, a relationship that overcame a language barrier.
“It made me appreciate him more,” Adames said. “He embraced my family even though they didn’t speak the same language. They sent each other gifts. I was like, ‘How do you guys like each other so much? I don’t understand. What’s going on here?’ “
Adames was named the team’s most valuable player by Milwaukee’s chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America in 2021 and 2022. In his final season with Milwaukee, Adames set career highs with 32 homers and 112 RBIs.
“I feel like even the first year I got here, (Brewers fans) welcomed me like I was part of them, like I came up with the team,” Adames said. “They embraced me since Day One. They gave me love since Day One and they never stopped doing it. Even when I had a bad year in ’23, they still loved me. They still gave me love and still supported me. That made the relationship special.”
Adames hasn’t produced at a similar rate his first year in San Francisco. He's batting .224 with a .312 on-base percentage, 22 homers and 65 RBIs in 127 games.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said the Giants remain happy with what Adames has provided thus far.
“He’s meant a lot to this team, not only on the field and what he does playing every day, the production you get, but also the energy he brings every day,” Melvin said before Friday's game. “Everybody knows what he’s all about. He’s a great teammate. He’s shown up from Day One for us and been a great signing for us.”
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Freelance writer Joe Totoraitis contributed to this report.
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