The Yankees’ Aaron Judge connects for a two-run home run off Giants starter Robbie Ray in the sixth inning Friday. New York won 3-0, the second game in a row that San Francisco has been shut out.
Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
In theory, the San Francisco Giants’ lineup should be much more productive than last year’s, the runs coming a bit more easily.
In two games — not even a small sample size, just a blip — the bats aren’t clicking yet. Two Yankees starters, Max Fried on Wednesday and Cam Schlittler on Friday, have squelched San Francisco’s offense, the New York bullpen held just as firm and for the first time in franchise history, the Giants have opened the season on the wrong end of two shutouts, losing 3-0 Friday. Aaron Judge, held down until that point, blasted a two-run homer off Robbie Ray in the sixth and Giancarlo Stanton added a solo shot the same inning off José Buttó.
The Giants’ hit total Friday: one, a two-out double by Heliot Ramos in the second. The team’s only other baserunner was Matt Chapman, who walked to open the seventh. He didn’t move from first, with Tim Hill striking out Rafael Devers and Willy Adames and getting Jung Hoo Lee to ground out. Devers, the team’s most dangerous slugger, struck out three times Friday. Chapman also walked with two outs in the ninth, but David Bednar got Devers to ground out to second.
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San Francisco has been outscored 10-0 in the series and outhit 18-4 in two “openers,” Wednesday’s Netflix extravaganza and the more traditional “Opening Day” on Friday, which featured still more pregame ceremonies. Per the Associated Press, the Giants are the first team to score zero runs and have five or fewer hits combined in the first two games of a season.
“We just have to be better,” Ramos said. “That’s it. I just think it’s two games to start the season. We’ve just got to get going.”
New York
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
34
3
8
3
3
7
Goldschmidt 1b
5
1
1
0
0
0
.200
Judge rf
4
1
1
2
0
2
.111
Bellinger cf-lf
3
0
1
0
1
0
.250
Stanton dh
4
1
2
1
0
1
.500
Rosario 3b
2
0
0
0
0
0
.000
a-McMahon ph-3b
1
0
0
0
1
1
.250
Chisholm 2b
4
0
1
0
0
2
.286
Caballero ss
4
0
2
0
0
0
.375
Grichuk lf
2
0
0
0
0
0
.000
b-Grisham ph-cf
1
0
0
0
1
0
.167
Wells c
4
0
0
0
0
1
.286
San Francisco
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
28
0
1
0
2
13
Arraez 2b
4
0
0
0
0
0
.143
Chapman 3b
2
0
0
0
2
1
.000
Devers dh
4
0
0
0
0
3
.125
Adames ss
3
0
0
0
0
3
.000
Lee rf
3
0
0
0
0
1
.000
Ramos lf
3
0
1
0
0
2
.286
Schmitt 1b
3
0
0
0
0
1
.000
Bailey c
3
0
0
0
0
1
.000
Bader cf
3
0
0
0
0
1
.000
New York
000
003
000_3
8
0
San Francisco
000
000
000_0
1
0
a-struck out for Rosario in the 6th. b-grounded out for Grichuk in the 7th.
LOB_New York 7, San Francisco 3. 2B_Goldschmidt (1), Ramos (1). HR_Judge (1), off Ray; Stanton (1), off Buttó. RBIs_Judge 2 (2), Stanton (2). SB_Caballero (1).
Runners left in scoring position_New York 4 (Grichuk, Chisholm, Caballero 2); San Francisco 2 (Schmitt, Devers). RISP_New York 1 for 7; San Francisco 0 for 2.
Runners moved up_Rosario, Grisham. GIDP_Wells.
DP_San Francisco 1 (Arraez, Adames, Schmitt).
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
5
1
0
0
0
8
68
0.00
0
0
0
1
0
10
0.00
1
0
0
0
0
2
12
0.00
1
0
0
0
0
3
12
0.00
1
0
0
0
1
0
19
0.00
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
5
5
2
2
0
4
89
3.38
2
1
1
0
2
17
13.50
1
0
0
0
0
0
10
0.00
1
0
0
1
1
12
0.00
0
0
0
1
0
12
0.00
1
0
0
0
1
0
14
0.00
Inherited runners-scored_Hill 1-0, Miller 1-0, Borucki 2-0.
Umpires_Home, Chad Fairchild; First, Chad Whitson; Second, Brian Walsh; Third, Bill Miller.
T_2:37. A_40,273 (41,915).
New manager Tony Vitello tried to shoulder the blame for the silent offense, saying it might be related to an address he gave the team a few days before the season started.
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“I’d kind of put it on me a little bit, I got all fire and brimstone a few days ago, and I think some good words were shared, but I also think as of right now, it’s a little emotional in there, and there’s definitely a lot of try-hard,” Vitello said. “Regardless of what the root of it is, there’s guys that are fully capable in there.
“There’s also a pressing need in there for some feel-good and also to want to perform for the fans,” he said, adding, “Maybe it’s time to do what I can to ease any tension in there so guys can be free and go out there and play.”
Ray didn’t believe Vitello’s speech had any ill effects, saying, “We’re all major-league players. I think that we can handle it, we can handle the ups and downs. It’s just one of those things that has happened the first two games. It’s not ideal, but we’ve got 160 games left.”
If there’s an overarching theme with the at-bats so far, Vitello said, “I would go with over-swinging … which will lend itself to chasing a little bit.
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“It’s never one thing. It depends what you want to pick apart. But I would say a few of those guys had some really short swings going on during spring and now it’s gotten a little bigger.”
Despite the blankings, for the first time in a decade or so, the Giants have the makings of an everyday lineup, something fans and managers alike prefer when it’s doable. In each of the first two games, San Francisco has used the same batting order. It’s a slog so far against New York’s pitching, but there’s little doubt the regulars will be exactly that, with fewer platoons than the previous six or seven seasons.
“Ideally, you would like to have guys come to the park every day knowing exactly where they’re at, position-wise, lineup-wise,” Vitello said before Friday’s game, “but I don’t see that occurring for quite some time — if there’s something drastic we see in a matchup, we’ll make an adjustment for now, looking for balance. … Baseball is a sport where guys are consistently evolving, whether it’s the opponent or us, so it’s kind of ebb and flow as we go a little bit.
“Our first six guys in the order … you could mix and match sitting at a bar with your buddies, You could come up with 72 different (workable) combinations with those six guys.”
The six we can deem everyday players: Luis Arráez, Chapman, Devers, Adames, Lee and Ramos, and Patrick Bailey and Harrison Bader will certainly get the bulk of time at catcher and center field, respectively.
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“It’s eight dudes that should play every day,” Chapman said earlier in the week. “I fully expect us to be a very successful team when you can plug that many guys in a lineup in a row and that many days in a row, you know, that’s when things start to click.”
After the game, Vitello said there is a good chance some lineup changes were to come Saturday in the series finale.
So far, not so good, but two games are not a trend in a sport with a 162-game season. There are a few question marks, though, even with a pretty solid group of starters. Devers hasn’t played first in a game since incurring some hamstring tightness early in the spring, but he has been working out there daily. He told the Chronicle on Tuesday he wants to be in the field, and Vitello has said that he doesn’t expect it will be too long before Devers is out there, but the team is being a little cautious.
“We’re just making sure we set him up for success down the road,” Vitello said.
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With Devers serving as DH, Vitello is using Casey Schmitt at first base because he is a better fielder than Jerar Encarnacion. Once Devers is in the field, Encarnacion is likely to DH.
“The best thing about Jerar is I think he’s got an extra sense of motivation to improve at” first, Vitello said. “Casey is probably a little ahead of him defensively, but with (Encarnacion’s) work and how big of a target he is, he’s certainly an added weapon at that position, and he swung the bat well in spring training. I think everybody’s anxious to see his first crack at it whenever we feel the time is right up at the plate.”