San Francisco Giants Sneak Away with Win on Opening Night
The San Francisco Giants began their third World Series Championship defense in five years on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and in typical Giants’ fashion, it was not easy. Torture reigned supreme, as San Francisco was not comfortable with a nice-sized lead, and instead opted for the familiar brand of baseball.
The night started well enough, as Madison Bumgarner took the mound for the Giants, and he pitched very well, despite not having his best stuff. His curveball was off all night, as he struggled to locate it consistently, and couldn’t seem to get the right break.
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Besides that, Bumgarner fought hard, and ended throwing a strong seven innings, allowing just one run on six hits, one walk, and two hit batsmen. He battled through more than a couple jams, and left the game with a 5-1 lead after the seventh inning.
The eighth inning is where things got hairy. Javier Lopez was the first man out of the bullpen, but he allowed a leadoff single on a Baltimore chop up the middle to Ender Inciarte. Lopez was immediately pulled for Jean Machi, but he struggled as well. He walked Paul Goldschmidt, and after a flyball out from Mark Trumbo, allowed a hit to Aaron Hill that loaded the bases.
Sergio Romo was the next man up. The first batter he faced, top prospect Jake Lamb, smashed a bases-clearing double to center field, cutting that once comfortable lead to just a single run. Romo would strike out Tuffy Gosewisch for the second out, but walked Cliff Pennington to put the go-ahead run on base, and effectively ended his night there.
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Jeremy Affeldt came in, and just like in October, he came through when the team absolutely needed him. He faced just one batter, pinch-hitter David Peralta, and struck him out to end the threat, and maintain the one-run lead.
Closer Santiago Casilla was called upon for the ninth inning, and he retired the Diamondbacks top-of-the-order, all in a row. To end the game, he struck out Goldschmidt with an absolutely perfect fastball out of the strike zone, down and away, forcing Goldy to chase.
The top of the Giants’ order did exactly what it was supposed to do, setting the offense up for success. The first three hitters, Nori Aoki, Joe Panik, and Angel Pagan, combined to go 8-14, with four runs scored, two RBI, and three doubles. Pagan continued his string of success on Opening Day, as he went 3-4 to push his average to .433 (13-30) in the season’s opener, with six RBI and five doubles.
Casey McGehee, another new face for the Giants, had a strong showing in his debut, living up to his “Hits McGehee” nickname with two singles, as well as a walk. He also made a couple of nice plays at third base.
Brandon Crawford added a pair of hits, including a two-run double in the fifth, aided by poor outfield play by Mark Trumbo. Buster Posey had a sacrifice fly for an RBI, and Matt Duffy also singled on a high-chopper in his only plate appearance.
After a rough day leading up to the game, the Giants needed some good news. The team learned that Matt Cain is dealing with a flexor tendon strain, and while there is no ligament damage, he is expected to land on the disabled list, leaving his rotation spot in doubt for now. Jake Peavy is also dealing with a tight back, and he will miss his first start, putting more question marks on the rotation.
For this night, Bumgarner made us forget about those questions, and answered some of his own. There were concerns about how he would bounce back after throwing 52.2 innings in the postseason last year, but he put that to rest with a strong first outing.
The Giants began their title defense with a win, and while it wasn’t pretty, the team proved that they can score without the long ball, and that their ace is just that. There’s a long season ahead, but for one day, the Giants look ready to defend.