Giants give fans preview of good, bad
For the first seven innings of Thursday’s season-opener against the Mariners, the Giants gave fans a blueprint of exactly what they should expect this year.
The offense crushed Seattle starter Marco Gonzales as Evan Longoria, Buster Posey and Austin Slater all hit home runs. Righthander Kevin Gausman pitched like an ace, filling up the strike zone with his fastball and racking up six strikeouts while surrendering just two hits. Even the defense was sound, as Gausman made a sliding stop and throw on the third-base side of the mound while shortstop Brandon Crawford made a tough play
deep in the hole on the left side of the infield.
Unfortunately for Giants fans, the final three frames of a crushing 8-7, 10-inning loss were also a preview of what to expect, at least at the beginning of the 2021 season.
The Giants, who led 6-1 in the eighth inning, might have a great offense, but with a shaky bullpen, every game has the potential to turn into a nail-biter.
Fans who watched Thursday’s collapse unfold might already be out of fingernails left to chew on.
“Jarlín García, José Álvarez, (Matt) Wisler, these are guys that we’re going to count on to come into the game and throw strikes,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said postgame. None of them did. “The reason we can count on them is all three of them have done it in their careers,” Kapler said. “That’s why you bring veteran guys in to handle those guys.”
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and general manager Scott Harris revamped the team’s bullpen this offseason, adding Álvarez, Wisler and de facto closer Jake McGee on free agent contracts. Right-hander John Brebbia, a former high-leverage option for the Cardinals, is expected to join the bullpen as soon as June as he continues recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Prior to Thursday’s game, Kapler made a point of saying one of the reasons he’s optimistic about the Giants’ chances of competing for a playoff berth this season was the number of veteran arms now available in relief.
In the first game of the season, those arms failed the Giants.
“We need to do a better job of coming in and throwing strikes,” Kapler said. “But I want to keep this in perspective. These guys have a history of strikethrowing, and I trust that that’s who they’re going to be going forward.” There’s no way around it. The bullpen meltdown was ugly and rivaled the Giants’ 2017 opening day collapse, when high-profile free agent closer Mark Melancon set the tone for a catastrophic 98-loss season by blowing a save opportunity against the Diamondbacks.
According to Elias Sports, the Giants became the first team since the 2002 Florida Marlins to blow a five-run lead in the eighth inning or later and lose on Opening Day.
Can the Giants bounce back? With 161 games left to go, they don’t have much of a choice.
“It’s tough losing a game like that,” Gausman said. “It’s unfortunate it just happens to be the one game that we’ve played. I think it’s a little magnified because of that.”
Gausman’s perspective is valuable.
It’s easy to look at one of the worst opening night losses in franchise history and consider all the ways the Giants might fail this season.
The ugly nature of the defeat shouldn’t inspire hope, but it also shouldn’t take away from the foundation the Giants have built that will help them avoid the type of frustration they felt Thursday.
The Giants were one of two teams in the majors (Arizona Diamondbacks) to hit four home runs on Opening Day. They trounced a polished Mariners pitcher in Gonzales, watched as Gausman looked like the dominant starter the Giants think he can be and turned the game over to the bullpen.
Kapler’s club had a 98% win probability Thursday, and even if the bullpen falls well short of expectations, it will still protect a five-run cushion on most nights.
As far as early-season problems go, most baseball executives would likely rather have a bad bullpen than a light-hitting offense or a suspect rotation. Relief pitchers are easily interchangeable, and if Wisler, Álvarez, Garcia and others fail to throw strikes in the weeks ahead, the Giants have stockpiled depth at their alternate site or minor league camp.
It’s too soon to start talking about when Nick Tropeano, Zack Littell or Dominic Leone might make their Giants debut, but there’s a reason the organization has a slew of extra relievers waiting in the wings. The offense is built to compete and the rotation has upside, so the Giants won’t spend much time waiting around if Thursday’s bullpen problems persist.
For seven innings on Opening Night, the Giants gave fans a preview of what they might look like at their peak. For the final three innings, the Giants gave fans a tour of rock bottom.
Somewhere in between is where the Giants will likely settle in, and they can only hope that’s good enough to win more games than they lose.
Injury updates
• Jaylin Davis will be out four-to-six weeks while rehabbing from left knee tendinitis. Davis was not included on the team’s alternate site roster and has been dealing with a knee injury since the beginning of spring camp.
• Left-handed pitcher Alex Wood pitched in a simulated game Thursday at the Sacramento alternate site and the team says he is progressing “well” since undergoing an ablation for nerves in his lower back in mid-March.
• Right-handed pitchers Tyler Beede and John Brebbia, who are both on the 60day injured list, are throwing bullpens twice a week at the alternate site. Neither pitcher will be eligible to rejoin the Giants’ major league roster until June 1.