The Giants looked like they would whiff their opener—they struck out 17 times! But they struck back with four runs in a dramatic 9th to overtake the Reds. Jung Hoo Lee walked with one out, Matt Chapman singled him to third, and with two outs Patrick Bailey singled to tie the game. Wilmer Flores then homered to give the Giants the winning margin.
Logan Webb was not ace-like. His command was off: out of 78 pitches only 46 were strikes. He gave up six hits and three walks in his five frames and left with the team behind 3-2. But he kept the ball in the yard and looked like he could have tossed another scoreless inning. He got five ground ball outs including a double play and struck out seven. So, I'll take the positives! Heliot Ramos was responsible for those two runs. He homered with two outs in the 4th after an epic 11-pitch battle. He drove in Lee who had walked with one out. Wilmer had an 11-pitch AB in the 7th. It ended in a strikeout but I love to see that. I had a good feeling when he came to the plate in the 9th and sure enough he delivered.
Randy Rodriguez, Erik Miller, and Tyler Rogers each got an inning. Ryan Walker gave up a run with two outs in the 9th for the only blemish on the 'pen.
It's great to start the season with a win, especially on the road! Tomorrow, oddly, is an off-day. Justin Verlander gets the start on Saturday at 1:10 Pacific.
Go Giants!
--M.C.
4 comments:
That is the homerun he was getting ready to hit in the 2021 playoffs vs the Dodgers, when the ump ended the game with a Brutal call against the Flo man!
I love Wilmer. It's crazy how relaxed he looks, almost like he's bored! With Schmitt and FNG Koss around he shouldn't have to play the field much. He can concentrate on hitting and be the team's primary DH.
That 2021 team deserved better.
That game had a come from behind Kapler vibe, although without all the platooning.
Players obviously hated all that platooning. The thing was, that's WHY the 2021 won 107 games. Guys like Posey and Belt got lots of rest (and responded with monster seasons) and guys like Slater, Wade, Ruf, Duggar, Flo, etc got to shine. They were put into spots designed for them to have the best chance of success and it worked. It's just not sustainable, as we saw. Guys don't like being role players or platoon players. Until they get older of course, then they accept and embrace it!
Unfortunately players get hurt a lot and it degrades their performance. They have to have substitutes. And off-days. It seems that the trick is to put players into roles without them knowing it. Kapler tried to be explicit about everything and nobody wanted to hear it. Players need the kind of heavy-hand coaching that Kapler practiced, but it needs to be quiet and behind-the-scenes. Actors don't want an audience at rehearsals.
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