The Giants lost to the Yankees 5-0 on opening day in New York.
Logan Webb looked great, even if the final line doesn't end up looking great (6 innings, 4 earned runs). He did strike out 12 in the process - setting a Giants record for opening day starts. He got tagged by Judge for a solo shot - happens - and had kind of a yankee stadium special for the other 2 run homer. The last run was charged to his record after giving up a leadoff single in the seventh, when he was then replaced by John Brebbia who could not keep that runner from scoring. It would obviously have been cooler if he gave up less runs, but considering the Giants didn’t score at all it doesn’t matter if it was 1 or 10 - other than for individual stats.
Gerrit Cole looked great - and just outdueled Webb. It’s one of those games where you just tip your cap and go gettem tomorrow (or in this case on Saturday, with an off day Friday. Editor's note: I know why they do this but I still hate it). Cole has great stuff, but has sometimes lacked consistency which is why he led the league in homers allowed last year. He had his ace level stuff today. Sometimes it happens.
Even though it was a pretty lackluster performance, I think the lineup is going to be fine. It’s hard because we spend all off season anticipating opening day, and then we over analyze a single game. The best teams win 60% of their games. We’re gonna over analyze this one game because it’s the first one, and we don’t have one tomorrow. But we have 161 left. One thing I’m a little worried about is that they don’t have a variance of hitter types. They are all patient, work the zone/work the count type hitters. I think there’s something to be said for having a variety of hitters. For example having a bad-ball hitter and maybe a high contact guy thrown in so the pitcher has to vary his game plan hitter to hitter. When they had Posey, Sandoval, and Pence in a row - you can’t get in a groove against those three because they all have such different approaches. That all being said though, Cole looked like peak Cole. There’s 161 more games. Hopefully it looks better when Hanniger is back.
I usually love morning baseball. Coffee, breakfast burrito, baseball. But i’m not sure I love it on opening day. What am I supposed to do the rest of the day now?!
The new rules were hardly noticeable. The pitch clock gave us a quicker pace. There were 32 strikeouts in the game out of the 51 outs (the home team didn't bat in the bottom of the ninth), so we didn't see much about the lack of shift. Estrada probably got a stolen base because of the bigger bases as he barely got in under the tag at second.
Speaking of Thairo Estrada, he had two hits on this opener, both of them were scalded and went for singles. It's just one day, but considering he was a very solid player last year it's good to see him get off to another good start.
The Giants made a couple of unexpected roster moves right before the game. They optioned Bryce Johnson who had seemed like a lock to make the roster for most of the spring - or at least since Austin Slater has been hurt. Instead they opted to go with Brett Wisely as the backup centerfielder to Yaz. The Giants will not draw any of the Yankees left handed starting pitchers, and the White Sox do not have any left handed starters, so Johnson wasn't going to get any starts until the home opener - at which point maybe Mitch Haniger is back. He's also not a strong enough hitter where you'd feel comfortable pinch hitting with him. He's a "start against lefties and bat him ninth while providing strong defense" type of player, so as surprising as it was at the time it does make sense.
The Giants also traded for Matt Beaty out of nowhere. They wanted even more left handed hitting options off of the bench. I don't really know what to think about this, as he seems to be the odd man out when Haniger and Slater are back. They acquired him for cash, so it's not like they gave up anyone to get him, but this seems like one of those moves where he won't be around long enough to remember he was on the roster. I'd be happy to wrong.
The other odd man out might be Joey Bart, who didn't get the start on opening day. This one is a bit of a head scratcher. Perez performed well - caught a good game and had a hit of his own - but I'm afraid this might be telling of where Bart stands in the pecking order. Villar also did not get the start, but that seems to be more of the incumbent getting the start over the rookie under the big lights in New York.
Baseball is back. 161 (and hopefully more) to go.
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