San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Happy Flight from New York

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Apr 2, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Mark Melacon against the Arizona Diamondbacks during opening day at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

3 DOWN

1 – Outfield Defense

With the constant shuffling of outfielders as the team tries to fill the void left by injuries and underperformance, the outfield has been subpar, to say the least. Defense has been a huge issue, and it was quite apparent against the Mets.

Jeff Samardzija was victimized badly on Tuesday, and Eduardo Nunez was painful to watch in left field. He misplayed two balls in the first inning alone, one turning a fairly routine flyball into a single and the other turning a single into a triple. Gorkys Hernandez also got turned around on a ball that should have been caught on Tuesday.

It’s easy to see that Nunez is just not comfortable in the outfield, especially after watching him play third base on Wednesday. He looked just fine handling the hot corner on Wednesday, including making a fantastic snare on a hot shot down the line.

Justin Ruggiano also had a hiccup on Wednesday, playing center field for the first time since being called up. He had a nice games overall, coming up with two hits and a sacrifice fly, but nearly had all of that erased in the ninth inning. He couldn’t make a leaping catch at the wall on a drive by Wilmer Flores, which allowed two runs to score. Luckily, Derek Law held on to the one-run lead and closed it out. Granted, it was a difficult play for Ruggiano, but he did everything right (good route to the ball, well-timed jump, put leather on the ball) except make the grab.

2 – The Bullpen

After a really nice stretch in April, the Giants’ bullpen has taken a few steps backward. On Monday, George Kontos let an inherited runner score (charged to Matt Moore‘s record), and was hung with a blown save in the sixth inning before Josh Osich‘s leadoff walk came around to score on a Neil Walker double off Hunter Strickland. On Wednesday, Derek Law nearly let a three-run advantage slip away in the ninth (Ruggiano’s aforementioned missed catch). He did get the last out after making everyone’s blood pressure rise just a bit higher.

Next: Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Cincinnati Debacle

3 – More Injuries

Welcome to the DL club, Mark Melancon. He was placed on the 10-day list before Tuesday’s game with a right pronator strain. It doesn’t sound like something that will keep him out longer than the required 10 days, but still, what the heck is going on?

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