San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Interleague Split at Home

3 DOWNS

1 – Bad Luck Blach

After stymieing the Dodgers through five innings on Opening Day, Ty Blach couldn’t match those results in the home opener. Four runs had crossed home plate before an out was recorded, and even that out wasn’t recorded by Blach (McCutchen threw a runner out at second after a big turn). Blach eventually allowed six total runs on 10 hits and two walks over 4.1 innings, and the Giants’ offense couldn’t make up the entire deficit.

Blach didn’t give up a ton of hard contact, but the Mariners’ lineup followed Willie Keeler’s advice and “hit ‘em where they ain’t”. When the hard contact did come, it was usually with runners on base. Those things will happen against a guy like Blach, who puts so many balls in play. It worked last Thursday, but didn’t on Tuesday. As long as two of the Giants’ marquee starting pitchers remain on the disabled list, they’ll need more results like they got on Opening day from Blach.

2 – McCutchen’s Struggles

The Giants’ new right fielder Andrew McCutchen is still struggling to find his way at the plate. He went 1-8 in the quick, two-game series, and despite shooting a couple line drives around the field, he just wasn’t able to find grass. Over his first six games as a Giant, McCutchen is hitting .083/.120/.125.

The good news is that McCutchen isn’t taking his offensive slump into the field with him. He looked fantastic in right field against the Mariners, collecting an outfield assist and making a couple great catches. Eventually, all this hard contact will pay off.

3 – The Injury Bugs Keeps Trying

The Giants didn’t suffer any significant injuries during this series, but the injury bug is still around and still trying to take bites out of the Giants’ roster. Hunter Pence was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup after spraining his right thumb, but was able to come off the bench to pinch-hit late in the blowout win.

Cueto nearly got bit as well when he stumbled a bit in the third inning while trying to field a Dee Gordon bunt. His ankle jammed in the turf and he needed a bit of time to collect himself, but stayed in the game and went on to throw six solid innings to earn a win.

Next: 3 Up, 3 Down: Season-Opening Split

Neither injury turned out to be serious, but after the way things went in the final week of Spring Training, it is an extra scary sight to see any of these guys needing extra time to shake anything off.