© Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
SAN DIEGO – Journalism teachers advise you not to describe the setting in your lede, but it is difficult abide by that rule on a day like today. There was a sparse selection of clouds, allowing the Giants’ first game of the Major League Baseball season to open with bright, 68-degree weather highlighting the picturesque downtown San Diego backdrop.
The park behind Petco Park was swarmed with a sea of Padres fans looking down on the newly cut grass, hoping to catch a glimpse of their newly-acquired $300 million man and their first potentially competitive team since the start of the decade.
Giants fans are right to feel frustrated that the Bay Area equivalent of this did not take place on the grass of the newly named Oracle Park. Opening Day in San Francisco is a feat which has not taken place in a decade, the longest such streak in the majors. Sure, it might have been awkward with only two functioning thirds of a new scoreboard, but the point remains that the Giants haven’t started a season at home since the year before they embarked on their three-in-five year World Series run:
The #SFGiants have not started the year in San Francisco since 2009 #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/i9uphOL9mo
— KNBR (@KNBR) March 28, 2019
Still, it was baseball on a sunny day, which is something to be grateful for. While the Giants lost, today provided glimpses of the new acquisitions and proved that there’s much left in the tank for the old guard. Here are five observations from the Giants’ 2-0 Opening Day loss to the San Diego Padres.
A healthy Spring Training brought a glimpse of vintage Bumgarner
Last season was surely far from what Madison Bumgarner would have hoped for. The hand fracture he sustained in Spring Training pushed his entire season back, and he struggled for command at times in ways that he never had.
Today, Bumgarner came out firing. He struck out three of the Padres’ first four batters in the first inning, relinquishing a walk to Wil Myers (I’ll get to him later). It was evident that a healthy spring left Bumgarner as confident as ever, and while he finished with the loss, there’s no way to blame him for the result. He Struck out a batter in every single inning but the sixth and finished with 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs 1 walk and 9 strikeouts on 92 pitches, 66 of which were strikes.
After the game, he acknowledged the value that a clean Spring Training provides.
“It’s tough coming back from injuries, especially if you rush back,” Bumgarner said. “Everybody wants to be out there. Not that you can’t be effective like that too, but it is certainly nice to not have to deal with that and get all of your work in before the season starts and before you get out there.”
Wil Myers was a gloveless menace
One of two Padres players who caused Bumgarner consistent trouble in an otherwise fantastic first outing was Wil Myers. He drew a first inning walk, which he followed up with a 456-foot missile of a home run to the previously mentioned sloping park behind Petco Park. According to The Athletic’s Grant Brisbee, Myers has hit more home runs than any other player against the Giants over the last two years.
Wil Myers has more home runs during Giants games over the last two seasons than any other player.
— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) March 28, 2019
Myers followed up that solo shot by driving in the only other run for the Padres in the 6th inning, after a leadoff double by Ian Kinsler. He was also there defensively, throwing a rope to second base after Evan Longoria’s hit ricocheted hard off the low left field fence and into Myers’ hands.
Newbies, newbies everywhere
This section will serve as a very brief first impressions of all the new players the Giants acquired and played today. Keep in mind, Bochy said that he said he’s going to mix up the lineup tomorrow, and there’s every indication that the corner outfield spots are up for grabs.
Bochy said he plans to mix up the lineup tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ZT7itcfugh
— KNBR (@KNBR) March 28, 2019
Connor Joe: Looked poised at the plate, which shouldn’t be surprising given his .408 OBP in the minors, but was nonetheless impressive in his first MLB appearance. He worked a 3-2 count and drew a walk in his first at bat, and grounded out to second in his second before being relinquished for Gerardo Parra. He looked fairly solid in left field except for one ball that went over his head and off the left field wall. However, the experienced Wil Myers missed a fly ball later in the game, discernibly from the sun, so it’s hard to read too much into a ball that would have likely been a hit regardless of Joe’s reaction.
Michael Reed: Struck out and flew out before being subbed for Yangervis Solarte. He made a couple of tough catches in right field, but otherwise had a day devoid of anything noteworthy.
Solarte: He grounded out to second base and was otherwise uninvolved.
Gerardo Parra: Hit a weird dribbling ball off the glove of Aaron Loup that resulted in the unique 1-4-3 non double play. He made a couple catches in left field with relative ease.
Nick Vincent: While he allowed a single to Austin Hedges to open the inning, he recovered well, securing a fly ball from Franchy Cordero before getting Ian Kinsler to ground into a double play. That sort of poise to secure a clean inning after allowing a leadoff hit, while not something to get overly excited about on day one of the season, was nice to see.
Fernando Tatis Jr. secures first Major League hits
The other Padres player who was menacing for much of the game was Fernando Tatis Jr., who, at age 20, left no doubt as to why he is MLB’s second-ranked prospect and why the Padres chose to start him on Opening Day, rather than trying to keep greater control over his contract and service time by calling him up later in the season.
Tatis Jr. smoked a single through the left side of the infield in his first at bat, and the next time he came up, he pulled a move that displayed speed reminiscient of a prime Jose Reyes. Tatis Jr. laid down a bunt toward third base, and despite a hard-charging Evan Longoria, who made a quick, athletic bare-handed play to whip the ball over to first, Tatis Jr. was safe at first easily.
His youth was evident in more ways than one, when he was picked off by Bumgarner after reaching on the bunt. Even with Bumgarner catching Tatis Jr. stealing with a great pickoff, Tatis Jr. came surprisingly close to making it to second. If he has a healthy career, we will be a very annoying player to face the Giants for the foreseeable future.
The $300 million man went 0-for
This will be brief, but seems necessary considering the incredible amount of (rightful) attention on Manny Machado and Bryce Harper this offseason. After securing a 10-year, $300 million contract, Machado had a poor game one for the Padres. Again, this means literally nothing. It’s the first game of the season.
But, seeing him bobble this routine grounder in warmups, strike out twice to Bumgarner, and ground into a double play was impossible not to take not of:
The $300 million man#FriarFaithful| #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/vVqfAiKtWN
— KNBR (@KNBR) March 28, 2019
