HOUSTON — On Aug. 10, 2024, the Giants beat the Detroit Tigers and improved to 61-58. That was the best their record would look. They spent most of last season wading around the .500 mark, never being more than three games over par.
Before playing their home opener, the Giants stand four games above even. Wilmer Flores continued his comeback campaign, Landen Roupp struck out a career-high eight batters and Luis Matos and LaMonte Wade Jr. contribute homers as San Francisco completed its sweep of the Houston Astros (2-4) with a 6-3 win on Wednesday afternoon at Daikin Park. Entering Friday’s home opener, the Giants are 5-1. Buster Posey’s group excelled in just about every department during spring training, and they’re continuing to do so in games that count.
Flores set the tone for this entire road trip on Opening Day, hitting a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning to propel San Francisco to its first victory of the year. The 33-year-old didn’t wait until winning time to bring the boom on Wednesday, launching a first-inning, two-run shot over the Crawford Boxes — his fourth of the early season — to give the Giants a lead they’d never lose. Flores only hit four home runs over 71 games last season due to a lingering right knee issue, but six games into this year, he’s already matched last year’s total.
The only Giant to keep pace with Flores so far is Heliot Ramos, who continued his own torrid start with a two-run double. With that two-bagger, Ramos joined Felipe Alou (1963) as the only other Giant in franchise history to record an extra-base hit in six straight games to open a season.
That five-run lead proved invaluable for Roupp, who allowed three runs (two earned) over four-plus innings with a career-high eight strikeouts. Roupp cruised through the first four innings but couldn’t record a single out in the fifth, walking two batters and allowing a “single” on a pop up that should’ve been caught. Manager Bob Melvin summoned Randy Rodríguez to face Yordan Alvarez with no outs and the bases loaded, a dangerous proposition given the Giants were hanging onto a 5-1 lead, but Rodríguez limited the damage to two runs. Casey Schmitt, making his first professional start at first base, was harshly dinged for an error on an in-between hop off the bat of Alvarez — the ruling was later changed to a hit — but Rodríguez retired the next three batters and kept San Francisco’s lead intact.
Hayden Birdsong, with his kick change in tow, followed Rodríguez and made his season debut — and first major-league relief appearance — pitching two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Tyler Rogers recorded a hold in the eighth inning, and Camilo Doval recorded his second save of the season with Ryan Walker unavailable after pitching back-to-back games.
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Source: Paradise Post
