Giants Struggle in Season Opener Against Yankees

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants finally made it onto the scoreboard. But, the question remains—what about securing a win? They’ll need to focus on maintaining a lead to make that happen.

On Saturday, the Giants scored their inaugural run of the season, but they’ll need to do it consistently to avoid being swept by the Yankees in this opening series.

By the time Matt Chapman connected for a home run against Lee Jung-hoo in the third inning, the Yankees already had the advantage. The Giants ended up losing 3-1, marking their third consecutive defeat.

In the two preceding games, the Giants managed to out-hit their opponents (eight hits compared to four), yet Tyler Mahle’s outing came to an end in the fourth inning after 81 pitches, resulting in a loss of 2-1.

Lee Jung-hoo and Rafael Devers produced extra-base hits for San Francisco, but Aaron Judge contributed to the Yankees’ success with his third home run of the series, while Ben Rice hit more doubles in a single swing than the Giants had collectively managed in 27 innings.

As the game neared its end, Heriot Ramos and Willie Adames faced Yankees closer David Bednar in a bid to rally. Unfortunately, Harrison Bader struck out and Patrick Bailey grounded into a double play, sealing the game.

Although the Giants had 12 players reach base, they couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities, allowing the Yankees two crucial turnovers in the third inning.

What It Means

Tony Vitello now stands at 0-3 in his first stint as a major league manager, making it his roughest start since Danny Ozark in 1984. However, there’s some optimism surrounding the team’s 0-3 beginning.

The last time the Giants lost their first three games was back in 2012, which, interestingly, led to some positive outcomes later.

At least with their third-inning run, they avoided breaking a record for the longest stretch without scoring to begin a season—20 innings, tying the record set by the 1909 New York Giants.

Who Is Hot

Following the Giants’ score, which narrowed the gap to 2-1, Judge was ejected for the second time in the game, easing the pressure on the Yankees.

Judge’s second hit of the game came off Ryan Borucki in the top of the fifth, bringing the score to 3-1. Vitello had initially opted for left-handed pitchers to counter Austin Wells and Trent Grisham, which unintentionally set Judge against them as well.

Overall, the Giants limited Judge to just two hits in 13 at-bats, all of which were home runs.

Who Is Not?

Adames finally secured a hit against Bednar in the bottom of the ninth after struggling through 13 at-bats and racking up five strikeouts. Despite a runner on third and two outs, he struck out again in this series, but his single brought two runners on base with no outs late in the game, though nobody scored.

Looking Ahead

The Giants will take Sunday off before embarking on their first road trip of the season against the Padres, still searching for their first home run.

Logan Webb is slated for his second start on Tuesday, while Adrian Hauser will make his Giants debut in the first game on Monday, followed by Landen Loop for the final game on Wednesday.