LOS ANGELES — San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello called a pregame meeting prior to Tuesday night’s 6-2 win at Dodger Stadium. There were some issues he wanted to address, and with the team in high spirits following two consecutive victories, the timing felt right.

He wanted to talk about the newly constructed roster that suddenly gives the coaching staff more options to substitute and play matchups in the late innings. He wanted to talk about role adjustments and the need for flexibility from rookies and veterans alike. Amid a loose and jovial room, he asked his players “to trust the overall process and the approach we’re trying to take to win games.”

Also, at some point before the meeting adjourned, he politely asked his outfielders to cool it with the pelvic thrusting.

“They’re a close knit group, let’s put it that way,” said Vitello, letting out a laugh when asked about Monday night’s game-ending, body-bumping celebration in center field between Harrison Bader, Drew Gilbert and Jung Hoo Lee that went viral on social media and inspired imitators from at least one other major league team.

For six weeks, the Giants offense was the worst in the major leagues. Now, even after the game is over, their outfielders are figuring out a way to get to second base.

“A lot of the winning teams, their personality comes out,” Vitello said. “Those guys are all pulling it out of each other.”

The good times continued when the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers met once again. Giants backup catcher and No.9 hitter Eric Haase was the surprise star of the night, poking a fastball from Yoshinobu Yamamoto over the fence for a solo home run in the third inning, going back to back with Bader in the fifth, and expertly receiving Adrian Houser and four relievers in the win over their heated rivals in Chavez Ravine.

Haase also got good wood on a pitch in the seventh inning, driving it to the deepest part of center field, but the ball wasn’t carrying as well in the thicker night air. No matter. The Giants already held a four-run lead at that point and Haase already had achieved a night of firsts for a San Francisco catcher that not even Buster Posey accomplished.

Haase became the first Giants catcher to hit two home runs in a game at Dodger Stadium and the first to accomplish it regardless of venue since Bob Melvin tagged a pair off Fernando Valenzuela on Sept. 22, 1987, at Candlestick Park. Haase had the added distinction of having his big day against Yamamoto, last year’s World Series MVP, who had never allowed multiple home runs to an individual hitter in a major league game.

“I didn’t have that on a bingo card, I’ll tell you that,” Haase said. “I’ve definitely had a lot worse days on a baseball field. So if that’s Giants history, then great.”

Eric Haase has two home runs, and the @SFGiants have a lead! pic.twitter.com/CvZwCl2azO

— MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2026

It’s only natural for the Giants and their fans to use the Dodgers as a measuring stick, which poses a problem when the arch-rivals are doing things like winning consecutive World Series titles and piling up NL West championships and disrupting the free-agent market by snatching up every star player they target. By that measure, the Giants have come up embarrassingly short. It didn’t help that they also appeared dysfunctional on too many nights in April while plunging to the bottom of the division.

But suddenly, after more than a month of getting slapped around, the Giants are playing competitive baseball. They might be one hot week from thrusting themselves back into contention, or at least inserting themselves back into the conversation. They might have overcome some early clubhouse friction, but they appear ready to embrace the grind now.

“I just think the chemistry in the room now is what we were searching for a lot of the season,” Haase said. “You can argue which pieces are to blame for that, but all we know is it’s nice to finally feel that shift of momentum and energy. And to do it in L.A., that’s obviously what we’re going to try to keep building.”

It wouldn’t be fair to assume that Haase was making a reference to Patrick Bailey, the two-time Gold Glove catcher and framing metrics savant whose offensive struggles became difficult to hide amid a lineup that lacked power and patience. But it’s not hard to take attendance and figure out who’s no longer in the room.

With Bailey traded to the Cleveland Guardians, the Giants turned over the position to Haase and rookie Jesus Rodriguez. Fellow rookie and Rule 5 draftee Daniel Susac could be reinstated from the injured list by the end of the week. Because Rodriguez can play second base and outfield, and Haase also can roam an outfield corner, there’s probably a place for three catchers on the roster. Keeping all of them will free up Vitello to use them at any point in a game. Haase’s experience — he’s played parts of nine major league seasons — gives him an element that the Giants otherwise would lack behind the plate. And he offers something at it, too. He runs well and hit 36 home runs over a two-year span in Detroit from 2021-22.

From the day he arrived as a non-roster player in spring training, Haase emerged as a popular presence in all corners of the clubhouse. He’s not the kind of guy who’ll rub people the wrong way.

“He did a lot of the things that you’re wanting to say or do from the dugout — a lot of the directional stuff and the coaching up of the pitcher stuff,” Vitello said of Haase’s contributions Tuesday night. “It was an incredible night offensively. We needed something because we just didn’t have anything cooking, and he did that for us a couple different times.

“He knows the game. He’s a good one to be in the trenches with. … It’s ‘Major League’ all over again. Maybe it’s ‘Major League 4.’ I don’t know how many of those things they made. They were getting pretty bad, so hopefully they stopped. But, you know, it’s Jake Taylor vibes from Haase.”

Haase said he would gladly continue shagging in the outfield to stay ready in case he’s needed to make a spot start or go out there in a double switch. When you’re occupying a backup role, you can’t be choosy about your opportunities. That’s why he tried to simplify things when he stepped in against Yamamoto, who had retired the first eight Giants batters and struck out four of them.

“Just trying to be on time,” Haase said. “It sounds really simple, but with a guy’s heater like that, it’s the first good-looking one you’re trying to put forward. Fortunately I got some good ones over the plate. … When I get my cleats in the dirt, just try to help the team push forward.”

A Houser-Haase battery didn’t roll out the welcome mat and prevented the Dodgers from doing any significant home cooking over 5 2/3 innings, although it helped that they hit a couple of warning-track outs that the ballpark barely contained.

“He pays attention,” Houser said of Haase. “He does his work, and then he’s watching what’s happening in the game. He also knows how we want to attack guys. He’s learning how we approach it, how we go about it. We’re on the same page. He’s adaptable, and he’s quick at doing it.”

The Giants created a bit of action on the base paths in a three-run seventh inning. Gilbert’s safety squeeze scored Heliot Ramos, and after Haase made a deep out, Lee roared with emotion when he split the gap in right-center with a two-run double.

The Giants hadn’t finished off the Dodgers quite yet, though. The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out against Sam Hentges before he struck out Max Muncy on a borderline pitch that the Dodgers inexplicably declined to challenge. Then Caleb Kilian entered, coaxed Andy Pages to fly out to left field, and completed a four-out save.

The outfield celebration was a little more G-rated this time. Gilbert, Lee and Ramos stood in a line and gave a respectful bow from the waist.

“Okay good! I like that,” said Vitello, who had his eyes trained elsewhere when his outfielders converged. “I like that for sure.”

The Giants are 4-1 against the Dodgers, and combined with their two series against the San Diego Padres (3-3), they’ve already equaled last year’s victory total (7-19) against the two teams viewed as the upper class of the NL West.

“I think we bring out the best in every team,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “They haven’t had a good season thus far, but against us, you can see the emotion that they’re playing with. We have to find a way to match that intensity.”

The Giants are still six games under .500, so even if they reach the most satisfying conclusion here and sweep the four-game series, there will be plenty more digging ahead. The next step in front of them: spoiling the Dodgers’ World Series jersey giveaway night and winning again on Wednesday.