The Giants reached historic levels of run-scoring futility as they followed up a 3-hit shutout on Wednesday with a 1-hit shutout today adding 13 strikeouts in the process. Key Lines:
Robbie Ray LHP- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 3.38. Ray pitched better than Logan Webb RHP on Wednesday but it didn't matter when a 9-inning shutout was required just to stay even.
Heliot Ramos LF got the Giants only hit to go with one of the Giants 3 hits on Wednesday making him the only Giants batter to get a hit in both games.
The #3 and #4 batters, Rafael Devers DH and Willy Adames SS struck out 3 times each.
Per MCC per Duane Kuiper in his postgame comments, the 4 hits in these two losses are the fewest to start the season in the entire 144 years of franchise history and it ties the 1909 White Sox for fewest in all of MLB history.
Per Sarah Langs, this is the first time in Yankees history they have shut out their opponent in each of the first two games of the season.
Per Z. Miller in the MCC Game Summary comments, Per Associated Press the 2026 Giants are the first team in MLB history to record 0 Runs on 5 hits or less in MLB history.
Tyler Mahle RHP tries to right the ship in Game 3 of the series tomorrow facing Will Warren RHP Unfortunately it's one of those darn Fox Sports 4:15 PM starts.
just 54 more games like that for Ramos to catch DiMaggio!
ReplyDeleteNo real surprise. I know it's only two games and against a good team/pitchers but not hard to believe there are gonna be many, many games like this for the offense...Arraez and Devers will/should hit. After that? Adames and Chapman inconsistent/streaky. The rest will keep the Giants at a disadvantage even with good pitching( which is no guarantee). Vitello does not have an easy job in a position where he is going to have to learn real fast who he can trust and go with and/or playing musical chair and mixing/matching with the bats. The Old Giant way of 2010-2014 that Buster was counting on, and even guys like Kuiper comparing Oliva to Andress Torress, just doesn't work anymore if you want to compete for a PO spot. Prove me wrong starting tomorrow Giants!!
ReplyDeleteSteveVA
It's possible we'll look back at the end of the season after Fried and Schlittler both win 20 games and have ERA's below 2 and say we just witnessed the beginning of greatness. But right now it's looking like an inexplicable complete breakdown of an entire lineup by players who are being paid a lot of money on the expectation they will hit better than this.
DeleteAgree Oliva is not Andres Torres but Oliva is not the reason for these two losses. The guys in this lineup are supposed to be so good and so reliable that guys like Oliva and Christian Koss won't get many opportunities to play.
DeleteGiants lost all 3 games against AZ to open the 2012 season with Lincecum, Bumgarner, and Cain starting the games.
DeleteThey didn't get to .500 until Game 12.
They won the West by 8 games.
OK, they won't win the West in 2026.
Schlittler and Fried are very good but we have too much money tied up to the offense to have this little output. Hopefully we turn it around tomorrow. Very interested to see how Mahle starts the year
ReplyDeleteIt is a marathon, not a sprint, but this is going to be a rough start for the Giants. Here are Fangraphs projected wins and order of winning records for all of mlb facing the Giants these first two weeks: Yankees ( 90 wins, 2nd), Padres (79 wins, 17th), Mets (90 wins 2nd) and Phillies (88wins, 6th). Hopefully the Padres will give them an opportunity to get some momentum going.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Mets play last week in Florida and their lineup is scary good. Luis Robert looked phenomenal, even though injury prone wish the Giants had snagged him.
Other note- It would not surprise me if Cam Schlittler wins a Cy Young someday.
Would be the right game to give Susac a start and give Koss a first base glove and do tweaks with the batting order.
ReplyDeleteIf the Giants struggle all year to hit other teams #1 and #2 starters then we can look forward to another mediocre season. The lineup has some major flaws like Lee batting 5th and Devers/Adames back to back. If Tony V doesn’t establish himself as the leader of this team and get them focused and motivated within the first month he won’t last the year.
ReplyDeleteHe may be giving them some leash to observe and see how they react before laying down the law but if he doesn’t do it soon things will spiral into Melvin levels of failure. He needs to establish his authority if he wants to have any chance of success and he has to be prepared to bench guys if needed to get the respect of the team. If nobody fears that there will be repercussions for piss poor play then this will be the results we see on the field all year long.
As fans I think we need to be prepared for one of two outcomes this year. Another 500 season with exactly what we have seen over the last 4 years or some major changes to this lineup that could likely include taking a step back and doing a mini rebuild around players that want to listen to Tony V and play the right way. I will tive him a few more weeks to see if he can establish himself and the tone going forward but he needs to do it soon and he can start with a better lineup that needs some separation between our K dogs and maybe something like what other teams do with their best players by leading off with Devers. Bat Lee at the bottom like a second leadoff and go Devers, Ramos, Arraez, Adames first four. After that try anyone who is hot at 5th or Bring up Bryce to bat there
A player or players needs to be the leader imo. I was hoping Ramos might be that or Devers but so far I'm not seeing it.
Delete2 games.
DeleteYankees are good.
Come back when the batters get their feet doen.
In April...
Line up? Pfft
DeleteYou can't keep cycling through managers, I haven't been a big fan of Vitello yet but, also if it is more of the same you gotta move Webb and Ray and get a haul and nuke as much of the roster as you can. At some point the players have nothing to blame but, themselves.
DeleteA rebuild is something Larry Baer has said will never happen and he is a fool for that and for many other things. I think a major shake up might be needed if this continues like firing him and maybe Tony V if he doesn’t want to be here. I’ve never seen someone want the job less than Tony V seems to want to manage these guys. If you nuke the team it’s probably a good idea to just keep him around since he does better with boys apparently. Why he didn’t pinch hit for Bader or Bailey or anyone over 3 games makes me think he just has one toe in the water with this job. It might be the pressure of being in the MLB or it might be this futile offense and not much better pitching. Maybe he would be more invested if it were young players he could influence and a 3 year goal instead of win now with a pile of crap for a team
DeleteI don't disagree with the thoughts about Tony Vitello. I want to root for him and I want him to succeed, but there is something way off with the guy. Not sure what it is but I must say I have serious doubts about whether he is ready for this job. And that is based on my observations since he was hired because at the time the announcement was made I thought it might be a great hire.
DeleteIf Vitello fails, you have to go back to square one. What Vitello should is lean more on his brain trust as he is getting acclimated to MLB. A Vitello failure would be egg on Posey's and ownership's face and you may start seeing Candlestick level attendance numbers.
DeleteDevers has to lead most days whether DH ing or playing. It hasn't happened since he has been here. He gives strange looks when he grounds out or strikes out. I really hope I am wrong on this one. Bob in Dixon.
ReplyDeleteHe's not a clubhouse leader, he's a great hitter. He and all the reports have said as much, and that will be fine if he just does the hitting part!
DeleteI posted up above about the length of the season and that we shouldn't panic yet. I was at the game yesterday and yes, it was frustrating. The Giants got 9 hits to the Yankees 7, but the four double plays killed them. (Devers; Bader; Bailey (2).
ReplyDeleteLet's keep the pitchforks in the barn, before we circle the team with them.
No pitchforks but this goes way beyond getting swept by a good team. They are setting records for batting futility here and again, this feels eerily similar to the underachieving they did for most of last season too. So I think a healthy amount of concern is warranted.
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