Click here if you are unable to view this gallery on a mobile device.
SAN DIEGO — When the Giants hired president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi away from the Los Angeles Dodgers in November, the franchise believed it would soon put a miserable two-year stretch in its rearview mirror.
The Giants took their first drive of the Zaidi era on Opening Day in San Diego on Thursday and if a 2-0 loss is any indication, the road to a more promising future is much steeper than anticipated.
A Giants team that entered the year with serious concerns about potential offensive production did little to quell the fears of a fan base in the season-opener. San Francisco didn’t have a runner reach scoring position until the top of the seventh and only mustered five hits in the defeat.
“We got shut down,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We played well we just couldn’t get these bats going.”
Ace Madison Bumgarner was impressive in seven innings against the Padres in his fifth career Opening Day start. The left-hander passed Tim Lincecum for the second-most Opening Day starts (Juan Marichal, 10) in the Giants’ San Francisco-era history, but Bumgarner could not will the team to victory on his own.
His 106-mile per hour lineout in the third inning off Padres starter Eric Lauer was the hardest hit ball by a Giant on the day, but it was not the highest exit velocity produced in Thursday’s game.
That achievement belonged to Padres left fielder Wil Myers, who blasted a 109-mile per hour, 456-foot solo shot onto the beach beyond the right-center field fence at Petco Park in the third. Myers added an RBI single in the sixth and turned in the defensive play of the day when he robbed Giants third baseman Evan Longoria of extra bases with a perfect strike on a throw to second base after Longoria smacked a line drive off the left field wall in the top of the sixth.
The Opening Day loss was a disappointment for Bochy, who began his 25th and final season as a major league manager against the first franchise he led. Bochy spent 12 years in San Diego before leaving for San Francisco and said before Thursday’s game he hasn’t had a chance to reflect on his last season because the Giants have been so busy determining their final roster.
Bochy said Thursday marked the first time in his career he opened a season filling out a lineup card that included two starters — Connor Joe and Michael Reed — who were acquired in the final week before games began.
Joe, a San Diego native, made his major league debut Thursday and became the 13th different Opening Day left fielder in the last 13 years for the Giants. Reed, who was picked up in a trade with the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, had appeared in 22 major league games before starting in right field Thursday.
“It’s been crazy, but a great crazy,” Joe said. “If you would have told me I would be in San Diego on Opening Day starting in the lineup for the Giants, I would have thought you were absolutely crazy.”
Neither Joe nor Reed recorded a hit against the Padres as the Giants’ offense did nothing to aid Bumgarner, who finished with nine strikeouts after posting a season-high of eight in 21 starts a year ago. Bumgarner needed just 92 pitches to make it through seven innings, but suffered the loss as the Giants’ offense couldn’t figure out Padres starter Lauer.
“I think me and everybody else on the staff would take that line every time out,” Bumgarner said. “I think if we did that, we’d be pretty successful. Just to give us a chance to win.”
Bochy said pregame that he would savor the chance to watch Bumgarner pitch on Opening Day, a luxury the Giants did not have a season ago when the lefty was struck by a line drive in his pitching hand during his final spring start. Bumgarner didn’t make his first appearance of the season until June 5 in 2018, but regained his status as the team’s No. 1 starter in his final year playing for Bochy and what could be his last ride as a Giant.
“I’d be lying to you if I said that stuff hasn’t crossed my mind,” Bumgarner said. “All of it.”
Will Smith named the closer
The Giants waited until two hours before first pitch but Bochy finally announced his team’s closer.
Incumbent Will Smith will open the season as the closer, but Bochy believes he has five relievers capable of pitching in save situations. Smith went 14-for-18 in save opportunities last year and threw six scoreless innings in spring training.
“We talked to the bullpen and we’re going to work it similar to how it worked at the back end of last season,” Bochy said. “Smitty will be the closer.”
If Smith is unavailable on a certain day, Bochy said Reyes Moronta is a top candidate to fill in for the left-hander. Relievers Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Mark Melancon also have experience closing games.
“We have some really good arms down there, a lot of guys who have closed down there before,” Smith said. “It’s a ‘one guy happens to the throw the ninth inning’ kind of mentality down there and you just pass it to the next guy.”
Posey ready to play Friday
The Giants haven’t revealed much about catcher Buster Posey’s health of late, but Posey said postgame Thursday he’ll be in the lineup for the second game of the series Friday.
Posey underwent hip surgery last August that left his status for Opening Day in question, but he played all nine innings of a game for the first time since putting on the shinguards at the beginning of spring training.
“The progression keeps getting better and better,” Posey said. “I felt really good today.”
Posey isn’t sure if he’ll play first base or catcher Friday as Bochy promised to mix up the lineup before the Giants were shut out.
