San Francisco Giants hitter Buster Posey goes deep with a third inning home run against the Seattle Mariners at T Mobile Field on Fri Apr 2, 2021

By Jeremy Kahn

After a tough loss on Opening Night, the San Francisco Giants turned to their veteran right-hander in the second game of the season.

Johnny Cueto went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, while walking three and striking out seven; however, it was another veteran who came up big.

Evan Longoria went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in, as the Giants defeated the Seattle Mariners 6-3 at T-Mobile Park.

It was the second big game in a row for the veteran, as Longoria went 2-for-4 with a home run and a run batted in and is now hitting .571 on the season.

Another Giants veteran continues to have a hot start, and this one is surprise to anyone who is a part of the Giants organization.

Buster Posey, who opted out of last season to help his wife Kristen raise the twins that they adopted during the pandemic is also off to a hot start.

Posey went 1-for-4 in the opener, and that one hit was Poseys third career Opening Day home run.

Once again, Posey went 1-for-4 and like in the opener, that one hit was a home run, his second on the season.

Following seeing his bullpen blow a lead and lose in extra innings, Gabe Kapler turned to them after he pulled Cueto with two outs in the sixth inning and throwing 105 pitches.

The trio of Wandy Peralta, Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing one walk and striking out five on their way to evening their record on the season.

McGee, the new closer in 2021, pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to pick up his first save of the season.

Yusei Kikuchi went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out 10 in his season debut.

Kikuchi turned the ball to Drew Steckenrider, but the left-hander gave up three runs on two hits in just 0.2 innings of work and lost for the first time in the early season.

Donovan Solano went three-for-five with two runs scored and drove in two runs, and is hitting .500 in the first two games of the season.

NOTES: Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey each started their 10th Opener for the Giants on Thursday night, and tied Juan Marichal for the fifth-most Opening Day starts since the Giants moved to California in 1958.

The four home runs by the Giants in the Opener marked the fourth time that they hit four home runs, tying the second most in team history. Longoria, Posey, Austin Slater and Alex Dickerson. The Giants also hit four home runs on Opening Day in 1963, 1983 and 2016, just one shy of the team record of five, when they turned the trick in 1964, when Willie Mays (2), Orlando Cepeda, Jim Ray Hart and Tom Haller all hit home runs.

This is the 12th year in a row that the Giants have opened their season on the road that dates back to 2010, and is the third longest streak in the major leagues since 1961.

UP NEXT: Logan Webb will make his season debut, while the Mariners will send right-hander Chris Flexen to the mound.