Category: San Francisco Giants

Samardzija shuts down Rox 1-0

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Photo credit: @sfgiants_fanly

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Looks like “Shark” has his bite back.

Giants starter Jeff Samardzija has been off to a fantastic start this season and he only accelerated that Thursday night. A guy who is known for going deep into games and eating up innings did not do that nearly enough in 2018, but he has seemed to reverse that trend this season, although it has only been two starts.

He threw seven shutout innings and gave up three hits in getting his first win of the year, struck out seven batters and walked only one. He allowed only one guy to get as far as second base all night, using up only 90 pitches in the process.

It has been a far cry from a 2018 campaign that saw him struggle with his command as well as dealing with assorted injuries that further damaged his effectiveness. He has shown no remnants of that for the first two weeks of this season, and Colorado found that out the hard way.

“He was on top of his game, which you have to do against that lineup,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He just did a beautiful job of pitching. It was fun to watch. He’s been throwing the ball well.”

“It was a long road that he had to come back from. He was a warrior through all that, trying to pitch, and we shouldn’t have had him out there a few times that we let him pitch. He was battling a lot of pain, probably more than what he was telling us. But he put in a lot of hard work this winter, and you can see.”

As locked in as Samardzija was, however, Colorado Jon Gray was just as good. The two hurlers traded zeroes for the first six innings, and it appeared that the Giants could not catch a break at the plate despite garnering some early momentum.

Kevin Pillar changed that with one swing of the bat in the seventh inning.

It’s said that the first pitch is the best one a batter will see during the entire at-bat, and Pillar took advantage of that. He led off the seventh by nailing the first pitch he saw from Gray, sending it over the Bank of America sign in center field to give the Giants a 1-0 lead and make Samardzija eligible for the win.

“It’s great to do your job and throw a quality start, but there’s nothing like getting a win,” Bochy said. “I was really happy that he got the win tonight, with the effort he gave us.

“We needed some help (in the outfield),” he said of Pillar. “We got not just an outfielder, but an elite center fielder, a guy with some pop. This park is more of a pitcher’s park, but he’s shown that if you square up on it, it will go out. On a cold night, that’s pretty impressive.”

The Giants had a couple of chances earlier against Gray but could not cash in. Second baseman Joe Panik lined a two-out double over left fielder Raimel Tapia’s head, but the rally was short-lived as Buster Posey – who otherwise had a very nice night at the plate with a single and a pair of walks – whiffed to end the inning.

They really had something going in the fourth, when Brandon Belt led off the inning with a double and Brandon Crawford advanced him over to third with a well-placed grounder to the right side of the infield.

However, Pablo Sandoval’s groundout back to the pitcher put a serious dent in the rally, which was officially put to death when Pillar grounded out to third.

The Giants had an opportunity to expand the lead in the eighth, after getting the first two batters on via the base on balls. With Belt up, a pitch got past Colorado catcher Tony Wolters and momentarily allowed both runners to advance with nobody out.

However, what TV replays clearly showed as a passed ball that bounced off Wolters’ mitt was actually ruled as a foul tip by home plate umpire C.B Bucknor, as he determined that the ball had struck Belt’s bat as he checked his swing. The play was non-reviewable, and both runners were forced to go back to first and second, respectively.

Belt ended up striking out, and the two ensuing batters, Sandoval and Crawford, each grounded out softly to first, one of which would have brought a runner home had the passed ball been correctly called.

Fortunately for the Giants, that did not become a turning point, as Will Smith came in and pitched a perfect ninth, thanks to a sparkling play by Panik to rob Charlie Blackmon of a hit.

The Giants next play the Rockies on Friday night at 7:15 pm.

Machado more than the Giants can handle in 3-1 loss to Padres

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Some days on the diamond are strictly for the superstars, with their big contracts, other worldly skills and myriad of ways they can affect the outcome of ballgames.

Manny Machado had his showcase Wednesday, making several nifty plays defensively along with hitting a tie-breaking home run in the sixth that helped send the Padres to a 3-1 win over the Giants.

Dereck Rodriguez delivered a fastball at the knees that didn’t initially appear to be a mistake, but Machado put a swing on it, and soon the whole park was focused on the ball’s path into the right field arcade.

“He made one mistake all day,” Machado said of the Rodriguez pitch. “I was able to take advantage.”

A home run hit to right by a right-handed hitter at Oracle Park? Yeah, that’s a rare feat with Machado becoming just the 22nd visiting hitter to do so since the park’s opening in 2000.

“I’ve hit a few balls that hit the top of that wall. I’m happy I got one over this time,” Machado said.

Machado didn’t start or stop there, throwing out a runner earlier after a bare-handed pickup, then surprising lead runner Erik Kratz at the plate with a throw across his body that catcher Francisco Mejia turned into an out with a high tag.

Then on the game’s final play Machado came up with a shoestring catch on Brandon Belt’s ball hit in front of him with a pair of runners on.

The final play typified the afternoon for the Giants: they got runners aboard, but in every case, left them stranded. Kratz should have gotten down with a slide, and other situations fizzled with poor, situational hitting.

The only Giants’ run? A fourth inning home run from Kevin Pillar.

The Giants’ expected run producers continued their struggles: Buster Posey, Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt combined to go 1 for 10, and Pillar–his home run withstanding–hasn’t quite settled in either as his batting average dropped to .140.

Rodriguez was good enough to win with any support, but instead fell to 1-2 despite allowing four hits in seven innings.

“The little things got us, that was the difference in the game,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

The Giants fell to 3-9 and haven’t captured any of their four series to date. They open a four-game set with the Rockies on Thursday at home. The Giants could see themselves out of the NL West cellar with some wins, that after they thank their lucky stars they haven’t already sunk too low.

“We’re not happy with where we’re at, but you’ve got to understand there’s other good teams that haven’t gotten off to a great start either,” Bochy said.

Jeff Samardzija looks to be part of the solution as Thursday’s starter, but he has six losses in 13 career starts against the Rockies. John Gray starts for the Rockies, he’s 0-2 heading into his third start.

 

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Virginia Tech Cavaliers shock the country; Will ankle problems plague Curry in postseason?; Sharks on ice for game one tonight; plus more

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photo from yahoosports.com: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) trips as New Orleans Pelicans guard Elfrid Payton (4) looks on during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

On the Headline Sports podcast with London Marq:

#1 The Virginia Cavaliers are the college basketball champs of the NCAA. How surprising, what expectations, were as surprised and a game which the Cavs won it in overtime?

#2 It’s the ankle again. The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry, who hurt his ankle before turned his ankle on Tuesday night in New Orleans in the Warriors’ 112-103 win over the Pelicans. Head coach Steve Kerr says Curry should be alright for game one of the playoffs.

#3 The San Jose Sharks are coming off three wins of their last five games. The Sharks’ Erik Karlsson returned from his injury and Evander Kane looks like he’s got that old spark again. How do the Sharks look going into game one of the playoffs on Wednesday night?

#4 StubHub has announced that tickets could be had for as low as $6 in the lower stands at Oracle Park. The Giants are assured that their attendance would not drop no lower than 26,000 because they have sold season tickets to guarantee that crowd number. The Giants drew 28,000 their smallest crowd in recent memory against the Padres on Monday night. Lastly, it should be noted the Giants didn’t lay an egg on Tuesday night, getting six runs in the bottom of the second and a large lead to get past the Padres to pull within four games of .500. The Giants dropped Wednesday’s game 3-1 and fell five games below .500 at 4-9.

#5 The San Jose Earthquakes were able to pull off a huge win in a 3-0 shutout over the Portland Timbers on Saturday at Avaya Stadium. It was the Quakes first win of 2019 and our very own London Marq was there.

London does the Headline Sports podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Holland and Pillar come up big in Giants’ 7-2 win over Padres

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — On back-to-back nights, the San Francisco Giants jumped out to a big lead on the lead; however, this time they won the game.

The first five Giants in the second inning got on base, and Evan Longoria drove in Buster Posey and Yangervis Solarte doubled in Brandon Crawford, Gerardo Parra then singled and after a Derek Holland strikeout, Kevin Pillar cleared the bases with a double, then newly acquired rounded out the scoring in the frame, as he singled in Pillar and the Giants would go on to defeat the San Diego Padres 7-2 before a crowd of just 28,506 at Oracle Park.

Holland took advantage of the run support, as he went seven innings, allowing one runs on five hits, walking two and striking out nine, as he won for the first time this season.

The nine strikeouts for Holland are his most since he struck out 11 for the Texas Rangers in a shutout against the Baltimore Orioles on August 30, 2015. The 11 strikeouts in that game tied a career high, Holland also struck out 11 on September 7, 2012 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

Despite allowing two singles and a walk in the top of the first inning, Holland received help from his defense.

Wil Myers singled with one out, but was thrown out trying to steal second base by Posey and then after a Manny Machado walk, Franmil Reyes singled off the left field wall; however, Brandon Belt made a perfect throw to Crawford, who threw to Solarte to end the inning and the Padres failed to score.

“You know, I was thinking about that when I was out there: I’m quickly becoming one of the best outfielders in the game,” said Belt.

Joey Lucchesi was shelled in his second start of the season against the Giants, as he went just four innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out four and lost for the first time this season after opening the season with two straight wins.

Pillar drove in his fourth run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Parra, who doubled to lead off the inning.

He is the first Giants player to have four runs batted in back-to-back games since Barry Bonds on April 2 and 3, 2002. During that two-game stretch, Bonds drove in nine runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Parra picked up hits in his first two at-bats, and scored both times before grounding out in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Padres finally got on the board in the top of the seventh inning, as Hunter Renfroe smashed a solo home run that landed approximately ¾ of the way into the left field bleachers and was measured at 423 feet.

Myers drove in the second run of the game for the Padres in the top of the eighth inning, as he hit a long double off of Trevor Gott to Greg Garcia.

The lone downfall to the game was the fact that the Giants in the first inning could not get it going, as they went down in order and are now 2-for-38 (.052) thru their first 12 games of the season in the opening frame.

NOTES: With the victory, the Giants have a chance to win the series on Wednesday. The last time the Giants lost their first four series of a season was in 1983, when they lost series to the Padres, the Philadelphia Phillies, at the Padres and the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite the no-decision on Monday night, Madison Bumgarner did move up on the all-time San Francisco Giants strikeout list, as he passed Gaylord Perry for fourth place on the San Francisco Giants list and is now seventh all-time in Giants history. In his career, Bumgarner has 1,607 strikeouts.

Posey tied Will Clark for fourth place on the San Francisco Giants list in doubles with 249 career doubles. He trails only Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.

The six run second inning by the Giants was their season high, and the most they have scored in an inning since also scoring six in the bottom of the eighth inning against the New York Mets on August 31, 2018.

UP NEXT: Dereck Rodriguez makes his second start of the homestand on Wednesday night, while Nick Margevicius takes the mound for the Padres.

Bummed Out: Padres get to Giants’ ace and their bullpen in 6-5 comeback win

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Two contrasting themes of the early 2019 baseball season were reinforced on Monday night: the Giants are starting the season with a whimper, while the Padres are finishing games with a bang.

Kevin Pillar’s grand slam gave the Giants a 5-0 lead in the fourth, the first slam by a Giant in nearly two seasons. But it didn’t hold up. The Padres responded with a homer in each of the next three innings, and the visitors shocked the home team with a 6-5, come-from-behind, series-opening win.

“With the offense we have, we’re never out of a game,” said Padres’ starter Eric Lauer, who allowed the Pillar grand slam, but was still the pitcher of record when San Diego capped their rally in the seventh. “You know they’re going to produce at some point.”

Fernando Tatis Jr. homered off Bumgarner ahead of Eric Hosmer’s leadoff walk in the fifth. Will Myers also connected off Bumgarner leading off the sixth. And with the Giants clinging to a 5-4 lead, pinch hitter Franmil Reyes hit a two-run shot off Reyes Moronta in the seventh.

“I was already hyped, because what my teammates were doing. I was ready for that moment,” Reyes said.

For the Giants, Pillar’s blast was exactly what the struggling club needed, until it wasn’t all they needed. The Giants scored just 25 runs in their first 10 games, their most tepid beginning on offense since they moved West in 1958. That painfully rough start to the season prompted several roster changes. Pillar was acquired from Toronto last week, and power-hitting first baseman Tyler Austin was acquired in a trade with the Twins Monday, and immediately plugged into the starting lineup.

While Pillar’s slam represented a turnaround, the Giants’ hit total (5, three singles, double, home run) was more of the same. Lauer escaped further damage, retiring seven of the final eight batters he faced. The San Diego bullpen followed suit, retiring nine of 11. After Buster Posey doubled leading off the eighth, Brandon Crawford struck out, Evan Longoria and Yangervis Solarte grounded out. Posey’s double stood as the Giants’ only hit over the final five frames.

Bumgarner’s presence in the mid-inning collapse made it that much tougher. The Giants’ ace has made three starts, but doesn’t have a win.

“You spot him five runs, it’s a real uphill climb. Our guys made that climb today,” Padres’ manager Andy Green said. “It was really special to come back against a guy like that.”

“I feel like we played a good game,” Bumgarner said. “There was a lot of home runs. Too many home runs.”

The Padres improved to 7-4 on the season, with four of those wins against the Giants, who fell to 3-8.

Derek Holland and San Diego’s Joey Luchessi get starting assignments in Tuesday’s newfangled 6:45pm start.

WINNING MANAGERS SOUND COOL AFTER THE GAME: Of course, Andy Green does it. The 41-year old Padres’ manager doesn’t stray from character in sounding cool amongst his players, who aren’t that much younger than him. 63-year old Bruce Bochy does it occasionally, which points to the retiring manager maintaining a keen ear inside his clubhouse.

Colorado’s Bud Black does it. Clint Hurdle and Bob Melvin too. And the silver-tongued Joe Maddon might be the all-time best.

All these loquacious big league managers can succinctly recap a ballgame in their postgame pressers, and keep it fresh by sprinkling in descriptions using the newest, hottest phrasings.

Green was gushing Monday in recounting his club’s come-from-behind win over the Giants. Firstly, he championed in his starter, Eric Lauer, who Green said had “everything coming out hot” with the exception of the pitches in his fourth inning hiccup.

But Green was just getting warmed up, saving his best for describing his never-say-die, Padres’ offense.

“It starts very subtly sometimes with a very grind walk from Hosmer before Tatis hits that home run. And the bench production we’re getting is borderline ridiculous right now,” Green said. “Everybody who comes off that bench realizes they’re being deployed as a weapon and they’re impacting baseballs in a profound way. … So just a really good team win.”

 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: Giants getting the pitching, but hitting stays quiet

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photo from sfgate.com: Tampa Bay Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier, center, scores a run past San Francisco Giants catcher Erik Kratz, left, as umpire Tripp Gibson, right, watches during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, April 7, 2019.

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Giants pitching have kept what some say the Giants in some games from being a blowout.

#2 Giants pitcher Derek Rodriguez gave up two home runs early in this last start. Was this a matter of just having a rough start or do you think the hitters have picked up on how to hit him?

#3 The Giants have lost seven of their last ten games this hasn’t been much of a surprise knowing their offense average would be down.

#4 Giants first baseman Brandon Belt says the offense hasn’t clicked yet, but it’s a good opportunity for the offense to click and to look forward to.

#5 Giants starter Drew Pomeranz gave up six hits, two runs, three walks, and five strikeouts in the 3-0 loss to Tampa Bay Sunday,

Morris does the Giants podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Chirinos and Diaz set tone in Rays’ 3-0 win over Giants

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Photo credit: @RaysBaseball

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Yandy Diaz must have liked coming to Oracle Park for the first time in his major-league career.

Diaz, who homered in the opener of the series, hit his second home run of the series in the top of the first inning and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-0 before a crowd of 31,574 at Oracle Park.

The Diaz home run was originally ruled a single; however, Rays manager Kevin Cash challenged the call and after a brief review, the call was reversed and Diaz picked up his third home run of the season and first career leadoff home run.

Yonny Chirinos went five innings, allowing two hits, walking just one and striking out five and he raised his record to 2-0 on the season.

This is the first time since the 2007 season in Bruce Bochys first season as manager that the Giants have lost their first three series in a season. That season, the Giants lost two out of three against the San Diego Padres, were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers and then lost two out of three against the Padres at Petco Park.

Chirinos did not give up a hit until Eric Kratz blooped a single just out of the reach of Rays second baseman Daniel Robertson.

Kratz was thrown out at second base attempting steal to end the bottom of the third for the Giants.

Tommy Pham did it again, as he reached base for the 42nd straight game, extending his own record. Pham singled in the top of the first inning, and then walked in the top of the third inning.

Evan Longoria singled off of Chirinos in the bottom of the fourth inning, and then Brandon Crawford walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth for the only Giants runners off of Chirinos in his five innings of work.

Drew Pomeranz went four innings in his Oracle Park debut for the Giants, as he gave up two runs on six hits, walking three and striking out five and lost for the first time this season.

Joe Panik barely missed a chance to reach in the bottom of the first inning, as he was originally called safe on a groundball hit to Willy Adames; however, Cash challenged the call and it was reversed after just 27 seconds.

The Rays pulled off some bizarre defensive shifts in the bottom of the seventh, as Adam Kolarek began the inning on the mound for what was to be his second inning; however, Cash moved to Diaz to third base and then Kolarek to first base and Chaz Roe went to the mound.

After a few batters, Kolarek went back to the mound, Diaz to first base and Brandon Lowe went to third base.

This was not the first time that the Rays have done this trick, as Cash and the Rays did twice last season.

Closer Jose Alvarado did it last season on June 26 against the Washington Nationals, and then former Giants closer Sergio Romo participated in the routine on July 25 against the New York Yankees. Both Alvarado and Romo moved to third base before returning to the mound.

In all, Kolarek went 1.1 innings, allowing two hits and striking out two, while Rowe went 0.1 innings, striking out one.

The Rays tacked on a run in the top of the eighth inning, as Kevin Kiermaier scored on a balk by Nick Vincent.

Kiermaier tripled to right field off Vincent with one out in the inning.

NOTES: Over the past nine seasons, the quartet of Brandon Belt, Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey have played for Bruce Bochy during that entire time.

According to STATS, LLC., this quartet is tied with the 1982-1990 Detroit Tigers (Sparky Anderson, Chet Lemon, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker) and the 1981-1989 Los Angeles Dodgers (Tommy Lasorda, Mike Marshall, Alejandro Pena, Mike Scioscia and Fernando Valenzuela).

These three teams are behind the 11 years together of the New York Yankees (Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams).

After going down in order in the bottom of the first inning, the Giants are now 1-for-31 (.032) with a hit by a pitch.

Crawford extended his hitting streak up to eight games, when he singled in the bottom of the seventh inning. During the streak, Crawford is 9-for-27 (.333).

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner makes his 2019 home debut on Monday night, as he looks for his first win of the season, while Eric Lauer looks for his second win of the season, as he takes the mound for the San Diego Padres.

Bergen gets first win and Joe gets first hit in Giants’ 6-4 win over Rays

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — With another loss looming on the horizon, Brandon Belt put a stop to that with one swing of the bat.

Belt hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, helping the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays before a crowd of 31,828 at Oracle Park.

In their first nine games this season, seven of the nine games have been decided two runs or less.

The big fifth inning made a winner out of Travis Bergen, who faced one batter in the top of the fifth inning.

It was the first major league victory for Bergen, in his fifth major league appearance out of the bullpen.

Not only did Belt make a big play with his bat, but he also made one with his glove in the top of the sixth inning, as he made diving stab on a Daniel Robertson hit ball that Belt snared and threw to Sam Dyson, who ran over to cover at first base.

That was the second best defensive play of the day, as Kevin Pillar made a diving catch in the top of the fifth inning that saved a run.

Joe Panik got the eventual game-winning rally started in the bottom of the fifth inning, then Connor Joe picked up his major league hit and then Steven Duggar hit a two-run double that gave the Giants the lead for good.

Following the Duggar double, Belt launched a two-run home run to the opposite field for his third home run of the season.

The Rays got on the board in the top of the first inning, as Ji-Man Choi doubled in Tommy Pham, who walked with one out in the inning.

Duggar tied up the game in the bottom of the third inning , when he hit a sacrifice fly that scored Pillar and then Belt singled in Panik.

Giants starter Jeff Samardzija went 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits, walking just one and striking out four.

Rays opener Ryne Stanek went two innings, and striking out two before giving way to Jalen Beeks, who also pitched two innings.

Ryan Yarbrough pitched three innings, allowing four runs on four hits, walking one and striking two.

NOTES: This was the smallest crowd to see a Giants game at home since September 1, 2010, when the Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies 2-1 before just 31,186.

Also, it was the smallest crowd at a Giants game in the month of April since April 27, 2010 against the Philadelphia Phillies, a game that the Giants won 6-2 in front of 31,792.

The Giants are now 8-6 all-time versus the Rays, and 3-2 at Oracle Park. This is the Rays first trip to San Francisco since the 2002 season, when the Giants swept the Rays.

As for the Rays, this was the 1,700th road game in team history, and they are now 718-982 all-time away from Tropicana Field since the team was founded in 1998.

UP NEXT: Drew Pomeranz makes his Giants debut as a starter at Oracle Park on Sunday afternoon, while the Rays will send Yonny Chirinos to the bump in the series finale.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Exhausted, old, and living in the past, the Giants better get used to last place

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photo from nbcbayareasports.com: San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy doffs his cap to the fans at the introduction of the Giants at the home opener at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Friday afternoon vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

There is no guarantee sellout at SBC, Pac Bell, AT&T or Oracle Park anymore for San Francisco Giants fans and the dream of another World Series trophy in the near future is just that — a dream.

Looking at the National League West, there is little doubt that even the Padres have much more life, youth and talent than the aging Giants. You want a good surgeon,with lots of experience to operate on you, but in today’s baseball, youth is what is driving the game, not experience. Giants tried to sign Bryce Harper to a short two-year deal, but truth be said,why would he play in San Francisco, in a ballpark that is anything but a hitting paradise, when he could and did, wound up signing a lifelong contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, who play in a park that is truly a power-hitters dream.

Most teams are getting younger and younger, but the Giants obviously never got the memo, they live on days past,not on the present. Giants are anything but exciting. Their hitting is pathetic, they have no speed, and although their pitching is not bad, they feel a tremendous amount of pressure because when they are down early in a game, they can’t come back.

The most exciting player for the Giants is a guy who is getting paid by the Red Sox. Yes, Pablo Sandoval, who has been relegated to the most difficult job in the game, a pinch-hitter, and he seems to deliver, energize and excite the fans. Sandoval has all the passion that this team lacks.

The Giants made lots of mistakes giving huge contracts to players, whose best years were in the past: Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto Jeff Samardzija, and Evan Longoria. There lies most of the big money on their payroll. They did this to please their fanbase. Loyalty might be very important in politics, when when it comes to baseball? Winning three World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014 recruited thousands of new Giants fans, but this is the Bay Area, and unless you are the Warriors, who just win, there comes a time where you cannot please your fans.

The Giants have a great propaganda machine in the Bay Area. When the Oakland A’s were winning titles and the Giants were not, the Giants were the favorite team to cover for the media, but I also remember when I could not give away free tickets for the Giants at Candlestick Park.

I was there to call the first ever game at what is today Oracle Park, back in the year 2000. The park was the talk of town, people were going to see the beautiful new facility, and even people that have never seen a baseball game, I remember a tourist family in SF from Italy that I met as they were walking to the park, just to be there. 10 years later, the people were going to see a championship team. The park is already 19 years old.

I looked at all the rosters in the NL West, and I just could not find a team inferior to the Giants starting this 2019 season.

It is early, yes, and although it might seem like a pessimistic look at these Giants, I am truly a realist, I like to look at the half of the glass that is full, rather than the half that is empty, but at this time, the Giants are empty. The Dodgers will win the division again, and it should not be even close, but the most interesting team in the NL West are the Padres, not only they signed Manny Machado, but Fernando Tatis Jr., the youngest player in the MLB, is truly an exciting player with great talent, an All-Star shortstop in the making. The Padres have lots of young and up and coming players, and I do not think they are a last place team anymore.

The Giants better get used to last place.

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Rays spoil Giants’ home opener with 5-2 win

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Photo credit: @RaysBaseball

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — After all the pomp and circumstances of Opening Day went away, there was a game to be played and it did not take long for the Tampa Bay Rays to get on the board.

Ji-Man Choi doubled, and then Brandon Lowe drove in Choi with a double of his own for the only run that the Rays would need on their way to a 5-2 over the San Francisco before a sellout crowd of 41,067 at Oracle Park.

Following the Lowe double, the Rays began to show their muscles, as Yandy Diaz hit a two-run home run that broke his bat and then Kevin Kiermaier launched a solo home run into the center field bleachers.

After that rough first inning, Dereck Rodriguez settled down, as he went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking no one and striking out five, as his record fell to 1-1 on the young season.

Buster Posey singled to lead off the second inning, went to second, when Choi was unable to make the throw on a ball hit by Brandon Crawford, then after Rays starter Tyler Glasnow retired the next two, Joe Panik walked to load the bases; however, the attempt at a rally ended, when grounded to first to end the inning.

Glasnow went six innings, giving up zero runs on just three hits, walking just and striking out six, as he won for the second time in as many starts to begin the season.

The Rays stretched their up to 5-0 in the top of the seventh inning, as Michael Perez doubled and then after a throwing error by reliever Nick Vincent, Austin Meadows doubled in Perez.

Pablo Sandoval got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Pablo Sandoval doubled down the left field line off of Rays reliever Wilmer Font, who gave up a single to Kevin Pillar. It was the first hit as a member of the Giants for Pillar.

Steven Duggar then cut the Rays lead down to three, as he doubled to the left-center field gap to score Sandoval and put an end to Fonts afternoon.

Despite getting the tying run to the plate in bottom of the ninth inning, Brandon Belt struck out and then former Rays third baseman Evan Longoria flew out to Guillermo Heredia.

NOTES: Prior to the game, and during the game, the Giants paid tribute to beloved members of the Giants family who passed away during the off-season, including Hank Greenwald, Frank Robinson, Peter Magowan and Willie McCovey.

The team also honored the first responders of the California wildfires that destroyed many different parts of California this past fall and also remembered the people who perished in those fires.

This is the second year in a row that the Giants have opened the home slate against an American League team, as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Giants 6-4 to open the 2018 home season.

With the loss in the home opener, the Giants have lost back-to-back home openers for the first time since the 2007 and 2008 season, when they lost to the San Diego Padres 7-0 and then 8-4 the following season.

UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija takes the mound on Saturday for the Giants, while the Rays starter is yet to be determined.