© Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
SAN DIEGO – Few people will have expected the Giants to kick off the season with a series of rocket-propelled offensive displays. Still, the first two games of the 2019 season have featured a record-breakingly numb start by the team’s hitters.
By the sixth inning of tonight’s game, the Padres had secured their longest-ever scoreless start to a season. The 15-inning scoreless mark surpassed the previous record of 14-straight scoreless innings. Yet, even that mark continued to swell late into Friday night, as the Giants failed to tag a single run until the very last inning.
It was no surprise that Evan Longoria, who has so far appeared to be the Giants’ most power-prone hitter, was the one to break the dry spell. Leading off the ninth inning, with the Giants having secured just four hits (three of which, however, were doubles), Longoria torched a ball deep to left field for a solo home run.
It provided, if nothing else, a breath of offensive fresh air, and avoided what would have been an embarrassing first for a 137-year-old franchise, according to Andrew Baggarly.
Evan Longoria provides The First Run of the Season. And his homer saves the Giants from getting shut out in their first two games of a season for the first time in all-time franchise history.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) March 30, 2019
“It’s sad it took us 17 innings to do it,” Longoria said. “Sometimes you just need a little bit of a spark… We really haven’t pieced anything together yet, but we’re two games in.”
Longoria on the #SFGiants’ first run of the season: “It’s sad it took us 17 innings to do it:” pic.twitter.com/NHg8NNxd6P
— KNBR (@KNBR) March 30, 2019
There were other chances for the Giants to erase that potential blemish of opening day shutouts much earlier. The first came in the third inning, when Steven Duggar led off with a double placed into PETCO Park’s iconically convex right field corner. Just as soon as a chance seemed like it might be converted into that first, glorious run of the year, it was lost. Erik Kratz shot a grounder to Fernando Tatis Jr., who, in addition to nearly hitting his first career home run and tormenting the Giants offensively, has clear defensive intelligence.
Tatis Jr. scooped up the grounder, and Duggar, who took off toward third on a ball that was hit in front of him, was tagged out easily at the bag. The next-best chance came with two outs after rookie outfielders Connor Joe and Duggar both struck out. A walk by Kratz was followed by doink, chip-shot double to right field by a pinch-hitting Pablo Sandoval.
But, as the inning began with rookie outfielders striking out, it was only fitting that it ended in the same fashion. Michael Reed, who struck out in three of his first four at-bats with the Giants, added another K to the tally for his third strikeout of the game. He was relinquished for Brandon Belt in the eighth inning.
What was as clear as anything tonight, and which will come to no surprise to anyone who has followed the Giants’ offseason, is that the team is in desperate need of hitting. As of yet, that hitting has yet to arrive. And so far, there is little indication that it will come from within the current roster.
The Giants are without a 20-home run hitter or an 85-plus RBI man since 2015 when Brandon Crawford corked 21 home runs (84 RBIs) and Buster Posey had 95 RBIs (and 19 home runs). Needless to say (I will still say it), this team has not been able to drive in runs effectively over the last few seasons.
But for the stagnancy which defined most of tonight’s game, there was life in the end. Longoria’s solo home run sparked a genuine attempt at a rally, and the Padres immediately pulled Phil Maton for their preferred closer, Kirby Yates, who was far from clinical.
While he secured a groundout from Brandon Crawford as his first batter, the Giants jumped on him starting with a single up the gut by a pinch-hitting Joe Panik, who, in one at-bat, performed better offensively than his Joe counterpart, Connor Joe, who went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts tonight.
Duggar, who struck out twice and ruined a scoring opportunity with a baserunning error after his double in the third inning, drew a walk. Then Erik Kratz was nicked on the hand and trotted to first.
It set up a bases-loaded, one-out situation for Gerardo Parra, who took strike three looking on the outside corner. Brandon Belt met the same fate, this time with a high, central fastball and Madison Bumgarner waiting on deck (thanks to the Giants’ having just four bench players). Bumgarner had to be restrained by Bruce Bochy, and the Giants walked off the field 0-2 to start the season.
While Bochy was evidently frustrated with the call, describing it by saying, “They had the bat taken out of their hands,” the Giants needn’t have faced a 3-run desperation comeback situation if they had capitalized on any of the three doubles they accrued throughout the game.
Bochy on the ending: “They had the bat taken out of their hands… it was a tough way to go out.” pic.twitter.com/oeqt7CN2TK
— KNBR (@KNBR) March 30, 2019
It had the feeling of much of the 2018 campaign’s too little, too late unofficial mantra.
Derek Holland’s three earned run, four-inning pitching performance was far from exciting, and the bats stayed dormant for too long, or were negated by an inability to capitalize on chances, while the rookie outfielders combined for 7 strikeouts.
Still, the late-game offense provided a positive to take from game two in a season which is sure to feature a heavy helping of growing pains.