Game Wrap 4/3/2025: Giants 10 Mariners 9(11 Innings)

The Giants home opener turned into a wild, ragged game that seemed like it would never end but a win always makes the struggle worth it.  Key Lines:

Lamonte Wade Jr 1B- 3 for 6, 2 2B, 3B, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.  BA= .174.  It will take LMWJ a few more games to dig his BA out of the dumpster, but he kept the good vibes from this PH HR on Wednesday by reaching base 4 times with 3 XBH's.  He now has a total of 4 hits on the season, all XBH. He was hitting the ball hard on the road trip but right at people, so this positive regression is not a surprise.

Willy Adames SS- 3 for 7, 2B, SB(1), R, 3 RBI.  BA= .200.  Adames had a rough game but came through when it mattered most driving in the tying and winning runs in the 11'th for the walk-off win.  There was one stretch where he had something like 3 consecutive screamers hit at him that he got gloves on but couldn't field cleanly.  He was initially charged with an error on one of them which was later changed to a hit.  Those were tough, tough plays but I couldn't help but think peak Brandon Crawford woulda had them.  Sorry Willy, we love you, but Brandon is a tough act to follow for Giants fans.

Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 4, HR(2), 2 BB, R, 2 RBI.  BA= .280.  Chapman's single in the second inning drove in LMWJ and his solo HR leading off the 6'th closed the gap to 8-7 after the Mariners put up 5 runs over innings 5 and 6.

Heliot Ramos LF- 3 for 5, BB, SB(2), R, RBI.  BA= .323.  Like last season, just when you think he's about to hit a wall, Ramos bounces back.  His XBH streak to start the season ended at 6 games keeping him tied with Felipe Alou for that record but reaching base 4 times in 6 PA's might be more impressive and more of an indicator of long term success.

Patrick Bailey C- 3 for 5, 2 2B, R, RBI.  BA= .222.  Bailey had a nice game at the plate but had to work extra hard behind it nursing pitchers with wild hairs up their noses and working with a home plate ump that had a ridiculously tight strike zone. He also gave up a double steal although that was probably on Camilo Doval who is notoriously slow to the plate.

Justin Verlander RHP- 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 6.14.  Hmm.....Oracle Park might not be pitcher-friendly for Justin Verlander.  As Kruk and Kuip love to say, "ownage is ownage!"  The ump's tight strike zone and what appeared to be unusual carry in the ballpark might have contributed.  

Randy Rodriguez RHP- 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  For the second game in a row, Rodriguez came into a bases loaded situation, this time with 1 out and 2 runs in.  Once again he got the fire put out and kept the game tied.

Lou Trivino RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.00.  Trivino did not look like the guy from spring training as he was hit hard and gave up the 2-run lead the Giants gained in the 4'th inning.

Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Doval was definitely victimized by the BABIP gods as all 3 hits were infield(though some were scorched).  There was the double steal which was probably his own fault and a fielding error by Fitzgerald trying to get the lead runner at the plate which scored 2 runs.

Erik Miller LHP, Tyler Rogers RHP and Ryan Walker RHP each pitched a scoreless inning to get the game to extra innings.

Spencer Bivens RHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 7.36.  Bivens did a great job dealing with 2 extra-innings starting with designated runners at 2B and earned the well-deserved Win.

*After the 10'th inning I decided this game needed less of my involvement in it which proved to be true as the winning runs scored while I was making a run to the store.

The Win improves the Giants record to 6-1.  

Robbie Ray LHP tries to secure a series win tomorrow evening facing Bryce Miller RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/3/2025

 AAA:  Sacramento River Cats topped the Las Vegas Aviators 4-2(10 innings):

Brett Wisely 2B- 2 for 3, 2B, BB, Sac, 2 SB(2).  BA= .286.

Carson Seymour RHP- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's, 8/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 0.00.

Joey Lucchesi LHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 5.40.

Joel Peguero RHP- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Justin Garza RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Aviators best hitter, Nick Kurtz, was not in the lineup.  Carson Seymour has pitched 9 innings with 13 K's, 2 BB's and a GO/AO= 2.00.

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Today is Opening Day for the rest of the full season minor leagues.  

AA Richmond Flying Squirrels Roster:

Pitchers:  Will Bednar RHP, John Michael Bertrand LHP, Jack Choate LHP, Cameron Cotter RHP, Dylan Cumming RHP, Nick Garcia RHP, Evan Gates RHP, Trent Harris RHP, Seth Lonsway LHP, Manuel Mercedes RHP, Tyler Myrick RHP, Braxton Roxby RHP, Nick Sinacola RHP, Michael Stryfeller RHP, Joe Whitman LHP.

Catchers:  Zach Morgan, Adrian Sugastey.

Infielders:  Aeverson Arteaga, Sabin Ceballos, Diego Velasquez, Justin Wishkoski.

Outfielders:  Victor Bericoto, Vaun Brown, Matt Higgins, Carter Howell, Rodolfo Nolasco, Jairo Pomares.

60-Day IL:  Ryan Murphy RHP, Nate Furman IF.

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A+ Eugene Emeralds Roster:

Pitchers:  Daniel Blair RHP, Josh Bostick RHP, Marques Johnson RHP, Tommy Kane LHP, Cale Lansville RHP, Brayan Palencia RHP, Cesar Perdomo LHP, Elijah Pleasants RHP, Shane Rademacher RHP, Austin Strickland RHP, Cody Tucker RHP, Ryan Vanderhei RHP, Ian Villers RHP, Esmerlin Vinicio LHP, Tyler Vogel RHP, C J Widger LHP.

Catchers:  Thomas Gavello, Jack Payton, Onil Perez, Luke Shliger.

Infielders:  Cole Foster, Quinn McDaniel, Charlie Szyknowny Zane Zielinski.

Outfielders:  Scott Bandura, Jonah Cox, Bo Davidson, Alexander Suarez, James Tibbs III, Guillermo Williamson.

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A San Jose Giants Roster:

Pitchers:  Sam Bower RHP, Jacob Bresnahan LHP, Hunter Dryden RHP, Greg Farone LHP, Junior Flores RHP, Drake George RHP, Evan Gray RHP, Nicolas Herold RHP, Cole Hilliard RHP, Gerelmi Maldonado RHP, Niko Mazza RHP, Charlie McDaniel LHP, Ubert Mejias RHP, Ben Peterson RHP, Cameron Pferrer RHP, Ryan Slater RHP, Tyler Switalski LHP, Cade Vernon RHP.

Catchers:  Drew Cavanaugh, Ty Hanchey, Juan Perez.

Infielders: 

Robert Hipwell, Walker Martin, Jose Ramos, Elian Rayo, Ryan Reckley, Jean Carlos Sio.

Outfieldes:  Jacob Christian, Lisbel Diaz, Carlos Gutierrez, Dakota Jordan Jose Ortiz.

Thoughts on the First Week

 Many things about the first week of a baseball season can be ignored.  There is always a lot of noise in the statistic pages mostly due to small sample sizes.  A batting average can be .100 one day and .300 the next.  Teams can go from first to last place in 2 or 3 games.  There are many ups and downs in a 162 game season and with expanded playoffs, when you finish 162 the season that counts is just starting....at least for the teams that make it in.  There is an old saying that you can't win a championship in the first week of the season but you can lose one.....or maybe it's the first month?  I believe a team can lose it in the first week.  

I'll never forget the first 4 games of the 1969 season.  It was the first year of divisions and the Giants started the season with 4 games in Atlanta.  They came way 0-4.  The Braves went on to win the division by 3 games over the Giants then lost to the Amazin Mets in the NL Championship series.  That opening series decided the season!  Ever since, I have always been super aware of the importance of getting off to a strong start... or at least not getting off to a bad one.  

So the Giants are 5-1.  That is a strong start.  As always, no guarantees but there is a strong statistical correlation between going 5-1 in the first 6 games and getting into the postseason.  That's thought #1.  What else can we say about the first week?

The Pitching is Good.  #5 in MLB in Team ERA.  #7 in Walks. #9 in GO/AO.  One trip through the rotation and every member pitched well.  Webb pitched better than well in his second start.  

Wilmer Flores is Healthy.  And a healthy Wilmer Flores is a darn good hitter.  Oh, and Wilmer Flores is not a small man! His statcast adjusted height is 6'3" and I never would have believed it.  

The  Defense is Good. Zero errors.  The only team that can say that.  1 SB.  1 WP.  15 GIDP which is tied for #7 in MLB.  Not sure about zone ratings and other more advanced metrics, those are very sample size dependent, but they sure pass the eye test, especially on the left side of the infield and left field.  

The Lineup is Good.....but with some yellow flags.  Wilmer Flores and Heliot Ramos have carried the team.  They have 7 of the team's 10 HR's and 17 of 30 RBI's.  Jung Hoo Lee has been a good table setter out of the 3-hole.  Whether that is sustainable depends on Wilmer's knee staying healthy and Ramos cutting down on the K's.  The good news is players off to slower starts like Willy Adames should pick up any future slack and Luis Matos looks ready to break out and claim more playing time.

Can't wait for the next game!

Down on the Farm: 4/2/2025

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators defeated the Sacramento River Cats 6-3:

David Villar 3B- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .500.  

Osleivis Basabe 2B- 2 for 4, 2B.  BA= .188.

Keaton Winn RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R,  3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 13.50.

Sean Hjelle RHP- 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 4.50.

Mason Black RHP- 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K's.  ERA= 0.00.

Mason Black came in and finally shut down the Aviators attack but not in time to save this game.   River Cats hitters are collectively off to a slow start.

Game Wrap 4/2/2025: Giants 6 Astros 3

The Giants roughed up Astros ace Framber Valdez LHP for 5 runs in the first two innings and the pitching held on to complete a swweeeep of the 3-game road series.  Key Lines:

Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 5, 2B, 4 K's, 2 RBI.  BA= .269.  Heliot hasn't been making a lot of contact but he's made the most of it as he extended his season-opening streak of consecutive games with an XBH to 6 tying him with Felipe Alou for the team record.  That's probably not sustainable unless he can better control the strike zone.  For now, it's worth an OPS of 1.000.

Wilmer Flores DH- 1 for 4, HR(4), 2 RBI.  BA= .227.  Speaking of making the most of it....it looks like the Bob Melvin found his dedicated DH.  If he can stay healthy, Wilmer is well on his way to 30 HR.

Luis Matos CF- 2 for 3, HR(1), BB, R, RBI.  BA= .400.  Matos started in CF for Jung Hoo Lee who got the day off against a tough lefty.  Matos had another strong game highlighted by a long HR to L-CF that had to be reviewed to see it bounced off the cream colored tile above the yellow HR line which at that spot in the ballpark is way up there!

Lamonte Wade Jr PH/1B- 1 for 1, HR(1).  BA= .059.  First hit of the season for LMWJ.  In fact, first time on-base.  Except for Tuesday's game he's been hitting the ball hard with regularity, just right at fielders so it was a matter of time all along.  The solo HR extended the Giants lead to 6-3 giving the bullpen a little more breathing room.

Landen Roupp RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 8 K's.  ERA= 6.75.  As you can see from the 8 K's, Roupp had fantastic stuff with crazy movement.  The big movement might have contributed to inconsistent command that got him in trouble more than once.  He was hurt in the 5'th inning by a pop up in front of home plate nobody called for and Matt Chapman had to come racing in from 3B and missed a diving catch which put runners at first and second with no outs.  Roupp walked the next batter and was done for the day.

Randy Rodriguez 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Rodriguez had the unenviable task of coming in to face Yordan Alvarez with the bases loaded and no outs.  It looked like he might strike him out but Alvarez dug out a backfoot slider that didn't quite get far enough down or inside and golfed it into RF for a 2-run single still with no outs and runners at the corners.  Rodriguez then bore down and went pop-up, K and K to get out of the inning with just the 2 runs scored and the Giants lead still intact at 5-3.

Hayden Birdsong RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Birdsong made his first appearance of the season.  Although his command also came and went several times he flashed great stuff and hit 98 MPH on the radar gun for 2 scoreless frames.

Tyler Rogers RHP and Camilo Doval RHP pitched a scoreless inning each with Doval recording his second Save.  There were four Save Opportunities on the road trip with Doval and Ryan Walker RHP getting 2 each.

The Win improves the Giants record to 5-1.  OK team, chew on this awhile:   Thanks to McCovey Chronicles BlueSky feed for these states but over the last 4 seasons 11 teams have started the season at least 5-1 over their first 6 games.  10 of those 11 teams finished with winning records.  8 of 11 made the postseason and 7 of 11 won at least 90 games.  Also, per Joaquin Ruiz of NBCSports Bay Area the last two times the Giants started the season 5-1 they ended those seasons with parades. 

The Giants get tomorrow off with their families to prep for the Home Opener Friday against the Mariners with Justin Verlander RHP facing Bryce Miller RHP.

Down on the Farm: 4/1/2025

 AAA:  Las Vegas Aviators bombed the Sacramento River Cats 14-2:

Jake Lamb 1B- 2 for 4.  BA= .400.

Hunter Bishop RF- 1 for 4, 2B.  BA= .200.

Helcris Olivares LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.

Complete blowout.  Olivares pitched the 8'th inning.  All other Cats pitchers got rocked including starter Carson Ragsdale.  Not sure what was going on out in Vegas. It's a notorious hitters park but didn't look like there were extreme conditions or a wind blowing out.  A's have some serious prospects led by Nick Kurtz who was drafted just last season and should be up in the majors very soon.

Game Wrap 4/1/2025: Giants 3 Astros 1

A classic Logan Webb pitching performance and some timely hitting powered the Giants to their third win in a row and clinched their second series win of the year.....on the road, no less.  Key Lines:

Willy Adames SS- 1 for 4, 2B, 2 RBI.  BA= .158.  Adames is off to a slow start but he made his hit count driving in two runs to get the Giants on the board in the third inning.  

Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 4, HR(3), R, RBI.  BA= .286.  Ramos hit a laser beam into the Crawford Boxes in LF.  He hit it so hard it barely got enough altitude to clear the wall.  That extended the Giants lead to 3-0.  It also was Heliot's 5'th consecutive game with an XBH to open the season.  The last Giants player to do that was none other than Willie Mays in 1971.  Felipe Alou holds the record with XBH's in 6 games to start the 1963 season.  It's a tall order for Heliot to tie Alou's record tomorrow with Framber Valdez on the mound. Then again, Valdez is a LHP and Heliot feasts off them.

Christian Koss 2B- 0 for 3, BB R.  BA= .000.  Christian Koss played in his first MLB game after riding the bench for 4 games.  He can consider it a successful debut as he drew a tough walk in the 3'rd inning and scored on Adames double.  He also turned 2 double plays including an great relay after a feed from Matt Chapman at 3B. He also started a third GIDP to make Logan Webb's night easier.  He also caught an huge pop up that almost hit the retractable roof of the stadium.  He also reached first base on a bunt that was ruled an error but his speed, the placement of the bunt and the lefthandedness of pitcher all contributed to the bobble.  All in all an eventful and successful first game for Christian Koss.  Wishing him many more.

Logan Webb RHP- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K's, 9/3 GO/AO.  ERA= 3.00.  A return to form for Webb who was never really in trouble.  Much better command than Opening Day and 3 GIDP's helped.  

Tyler Rogers RHP and Ryan Walker RHP to the final 6 outs without allowing a run with Walker recording his second Save.

The Win improved the Giants record to 4-1.

Landen Roupp RHP goes for the swweeeep tomorrow facing Astros ace, Framber Valdez LHP.