{"id":282298,"date":"2026-04-23T17:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/282298\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:15:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:15:55","slug":"the-san-francisco-giants-have-yet-to-reach-their-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/282298\/","title":{"rendered":"The San Francisco Giants have yet to reach their potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting swept in their opening series of 2026, the San Francisco Giants would\u2019ve hoped for a better start to their season. Those three straight losses to the visiting New York Yankees were followed up with a 2-1 series win over the San Diego Padres.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, by the time 11 games had been completed, the Giants were sitting at just 3-8 in a highly competitive National League West. Yet they did manage to recover a bit, sitting at 9-13 heading into a three-game home series against the back-to-back defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n

One Patrick Bailey three-run home run and impressive pitching performances have San Francisco up 2-0 in the series, with one more matchup scheduled for Thursday night. Dave Flemming, radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Giants, joined\u00a0The Drive Guys\u00a0to share his thoughts on what allowed them to secure some much-needed wins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stands out is the bullpen,\u201d Flemming said<\/a>. \u201cThe bullpen has done a really nice job, because they\u2019re not blowing anybody out in these games. The bullpen\u2019s done a really nice job of stabilizing the late game situations and finding a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things are trending in the right direction,\u201d he continued. \u201cSome players are starting to swing the bats better, but it\u2019s still not perfect. And so in the meantime, while you wait for it to get the way it\u2019s supposed to look, you find a way to scrap and claw and win some of these games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI give them credit for doing that, because, you know, they are a long way from being the best version of themselves, but they\u2019ve stabilized the season. They\u2019re feeling like a more confident group, and they\u2019re surviving a really tough early-season schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flemming highlighted how, during San Francisco\u2019s dynasty run in the 2010\u2019s, their bullpen production was elite, but that\u2019s the outlier. Reserve arms can be extremely volatile and inconsistent year to year, as has been evident with the group in recent years.<\/p>\n

Of course, first-year manager Tony Vitello \u2014 the first to make the jump straight from collegiate sports to managing an MLB team \u2014 has been a hot-button topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, the early returns are really good, and I think you\u2019re seeing with some of those players,\u201d Flemming said of Vitello. \u201cYou watch him manage day to day, you watch him navigate situations. He\u2019s building confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

As is the nature of a new lead, especially in this unique scenario, there still seems to be a feeling-out process between the manager, his players, and staff.<\/p>\n

Still five games behing the NL West leading Padres, recovering from their 3-8 start to having a chance to sweep the Dodgers feels like promising progess for San Francisco.<\/p>\n

More MLB content from Sactown Sports<\/p>\n

Upcoming San Francisco Giants & MLB Offseason Schedule<\/p>\n

Tuesday, April 21st-Thursday, April 23rd \u2013\u00a0\u00a0vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
\nFriday, April 24th-Sunday, April 26th\u00a0\u2013 vs. Miami Marlins
\nTuesday, April 28th-Thursday, April 30th\u00a0\u2013 @ Philadelphia Phillies
\nFriday, May 1st \u2013 Sunday, May 3rd\u00a0\u2013 @ Tampa Bay Rays
\nMonday, May 4th \u2013 Wednesday, May 6th\u00a0\u2013 vs. San Diego Padres<\/p>\n

Thank you for reading\u00a0SactownSports.com<\/a>. Follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Google News<\/a>, and subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel<\/p>\n

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