By Jack Loder
The Giants took care of business this past week, going 4-2 on a homestand that featured the juggernaut Dodgers and the pesky Miami Marlins. As they hit the road for a six game trip in Philadelphia and Tampa, we know a lot more about this team than we did when it was 6-12.
Surging Schmitt
On Saturday afternoon around 3:00, Casey Schmitt was making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Giants’ utility infielder had just been picked off of second base for the second day in a row, this time overrunning the bag on what should have been a standup double. 24 hours and change later, he was being lauded as the hero of a Giants’ series win over the Marlins.
He blasted a go-ahead homer on Saturday in the bottom of the sixth, plating Matt Chapman with a two-run shot to give the Giants a 3-1 advantage they would not give back. A day later, he came up with two on and one out in another tie game in the bottom of the seventh.
Same result. And this tiebreaking blast was even more majestic. Schmitt followed up a textbook sacrifice bunt with a towering three run homer to left, again giving the Giants a lead that became final two innings later.
“Having a short memory, forgetting about things,” Schmitt answered a reporter following Sunday’s heroics. “I was just staying relaxed, just looking for something I could get into the outfield to get the run in. Nothing crazy.”
Schmitt’s relaxed demeanor with the media is consistent with the way he carries himself on the field. The San Diego native has always been a poster board of “SoCal chill” since his debut in 2023. Now, he’s carrying a power-starved Giants lineup in the home run department. With Rafael Devers playing well above expectations at first base in recent games, Schmitt seems to have the DH role locked up for the near future. Staying in rhythm without playing the field is a challenge he has come into his own with.
Volatile Mahle
Tyler Mahle starts for the Giants on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, and the club can only hope they get a Mahle that more closely resembles his start on Wednesday night last week than the one they saw in Cincinnati. He was shelled by the Reds a week before dominating the best lineup in Major League baseball. Having a No. 4 starter who can be elite but can also be awful is far from the worst thing.
Jung Hoo Lee
Jung Hoo Lee is the hottest hitter in this lineup, and maybe in all of baseball. His turnaround has been remarkable. Lee was hitting a miserable .141 on April 8 in what was a brutal first two weeks. 18 games later, he sports a .313 batting average and an .833 OPS. He’s just a point behind Luis Arraez for the team batting lead. All-star campaign in the works? Would be cathartic.
The Bullpen, holy cow
What has gotten into this bullpen. The MUCH maligned stable of Giants relievers has been ultra reliable of late, incoincidentally in lockstep with the Giants’ resurgence. SF now has a 2.93 team bullpen ERA, less than half of what it was when the club was 6-12. Keaton Winn, Erik Miller, and Ryan Walker have been stellar. Caleb Killian has been solid, and the unit has been a force in close, low scoring games. Time will tell if this bullpen can keep up the good work, but for now you should be very encouraged.
