The first calendar month of the 2018 baseball season if officially in the books and for the San Francisco Giants, it was a good one considering they would post their first plus .500 month since June 2016 with a 15-14 record. Despite opening the season without two of their five starting pitchers including ace Madison Bumgarner due to a fractured hand, as well as their expensive closer in Mark Melancon (elbow), the Giants would manage to stay afloat thanks to a resurgence from pitcher Johnny Cueto and a strong finish which included three consecutive series victories to close the book on April. And what better way to kickoff a season than with the game's greatest rivalry -- Giants and Dodgers.
While the Dodgers began the season at home with ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound, the reigning NL Champions entered the day tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the longest active winning streak on Opening Day with seven consecutive victories and seeking their eighth straight. However, Giants pitcher Ty Blach would have other plans as he out-dueled Kershaw for the second time in his career as San Francisco handed Los Angeles a 1-0 loss. Needing only one run of support, second baseman Joe Panik's solo home run off of Kershaw in the 5th inning would be the difference. Entering the game with a career record of 5-0 in seven Opening Day starts and an ERA of 0.99, the Giants would tag him for his first Opening Day defeat. With the win, the Giants who didn't spend a single day in first place in all of 2017, would sit tied for first place in the NL West for at least a day in 2018 and for the first time since August 20, 2016. Of Panik's 29 career home runs to begin the day, only two have come off of left-handed pitching, Kershaw becoming the third.
Oddly enough, Joe Panik and the Giants would repeat the process just a day later as Bruce Bochy's ball club once again handed the archrival Dodgers a 1-0 loss with Panik again supplying the lone run on a solo homer, this time in the 9th inning off of All-Star closer Kenley Jansen. Johnny Cueto would take a perfect game into the 7th inning before allowing a leadoff single, only to induce a double-play two pitches later as he logged 7 shutout frames while allowing just one base runner and facing the minimum in what would be the only Dodger hit of the ballgame. Panik's heroics would fuel only the fourth and fifth 1-0 road wins decided by solo shots by the Giants over the Dodgers. Hall of Famers Willie Mays in 1956 and Mel Ott in 1938 and 1935 supplied the others. With the win in Game 2, Joe Panik became the first player in MLB history to hit solo HR's in back-to-back 1-0 victories and doing so against arguably the two best pitchers at their respective positions to become only the second player in the MLB to homer off of both Kershaw and Jansen in the same season. San Francisco became only the second team in MLB history to win their first two games of the season by a score of 1-0, the 1943 Cincinnati Reds over the St. Louis Cardinals the other.
With the win in Game 2, skipper Bruce Bochy became the first visiting manager to win 100 career games at Dodger Stadium, while he witnessed his team log a pair of 1-0 wins in the first two games of the season. This after they failed to log a single 1-0 victory in all of 2017. But the positives in the opening series would stop there as the Dodgers pulled the good 'ol switcheroo in Games 3 and 4 by shutting out the Giants, 5-0 and 9-0, respectively. L.A. would allow the fewest runs through the first four games to start a season since 1914, yet only managed to split the four-game set as all four games would end in a shutout. The Giants would set a dubious feat by becoming the first team since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles to score two runs or fewer through the first four games of the season. Only the 1968 Dodgers (1) and 1937 Braves (1) scored fewer.
Getting the start in the Home Opener just like he did on Opening Day, Ty Blach wouldn't fair nearly as well in his first start at home as he did on the road as San Francisco hosted the visiting Seattle Mariners for the first of two games. After tossing five shutout frames in L.A., Blach was tagged for four runs in the first inning alone before suffering the loss as the Giants fell, 6-4. Panik would launch his third homer of the season in the fourth inning, snapping a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings by the Giants offense. It would mark only the second time in MLB history that the first three runs of the season were scored by one player. The Giants would get their revenge the following day as Johnny Cueto tossed another gem by allowing only 1 earned run in 6 innings and the Giants offense erupted for 10 runs, smacking a trio of home runs in the 5th inning, including back to back jacks by Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford. It would mark the first time SF struck for three HR's in an inning since June 2, 2016 at Atlanta.
Meeting with the Dodgers again in what was supposed to be a 3-game series in San Francisco, turned into a short 2-game set due to the first rain delay at AT&T Park since 2006 and only the sixth in the stadium's history. Making up for the postponed Game 1, one of the newest member of the Giants would introduce himself to the rivalry in a huge way as newcomer Andrew McCutchen logged his first five-hit game since 2010 before connecting for his sixth, a 3-run walk-off home run in what would be one of the best at-bats by a Giant in recent years. Fouling off pitch after pitch in the 14th inning, McCutchen deposited the 12th pitch of the at-bat into the left field bleachers for his first career six-hit ballgame and the seventh walk-off home run of his career as the Giants won in extras, 7-5. And in case you're wondering, the only other player in MLB history since 1900 to record six-hits and a walk-off HR would be Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers who did so on August 28, 1969 vs the Oakland A's. Taking the Dodgers to extra innings the following day, the Giants would once again fail to log a series victory as L.A. escaped with the 2-1 victory.
While welcoming the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks, the Giants would be forced to call up not one but two of their top pitching prospects as Cueto was placed on the 10-day disabled-list with a left ankle sprain suffered after pitching another 7 shutout innings. Tyler Beede, the Giants No. 4 propsect and 14th overall selection in the 2014 MLB Draft would make his Major League debut. Arizona would welcome the rookie pitcher by tagging him for two runs in the opening frame as walks proved to be an issue for the 24-year old. Though the two first inning runs would be all he'd allow, he would depart after only 4 innings of work. And while he wouldn't factor in the decision, the Giants would go on to win by a final of 4-3 thanks to another walk-off hit by McCutchen. Unfortunately, San Francisco would drop the series 2-games to 1 as pitcher Andrew Suarez made his MLB debut and was handed the loss. After retiring the first 10 batters he faced, Suarez ran into some trouble by surrendering the long ball as he was taken deep twice and eventually allowed four runs on 5 1/3 innings pitched.
The Giants wouldn't fair much better in their next two series' as San Francisco hit the road to face division rivals San Diego and then a trip to the desert to meet with the D-Backs. After a 7-0 victory over the Padres in which starter Chris Stratton threw 7 strong innings, the longest outing of his career, the Giants threw their second 1-hit shutout of the season, the only hit of the ballgame recorded by an opposing pitcher. The Friars would be sure avoid a repeat performance of Game 1 as they managed to take the next three games from the Giants who would then drop the series-opener against Arizona as San Francisco lost the fourth straight game. In a pitchers duel between Cueto and D-Backs hurler Patrick Corbin, both pitchers would be stingy in the hits column as Cueto allowed only two base runners in seven innings while striking out 11. But as good as he was, Corbin would do him one better as he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning before Brandon Belt's 2-out infield single prevented him from making history. It would be the Giants' only hit of the game as Corbin finished the complete-game shutout in Arizona's 1-0 victory. San Francisco would bounce back in Game 2 as Chris Stratton gave the Giants another solid performance, allowing only one run over 7 frames. Sadly, he would get a no-decision as closer Hunter Strickland blew the save in the 9th inning. The Giants would score two runs in the 10th on Brandon Belt's 100th career home run, a 2-run shot, before nearly blowing another lead as Corey Gearrin flirted with danger and gave up a run until finally sealing the 4-3 win. But Arizona would take the rubber-match in Game 3 with Zack Greinke on the mound, 3-1.
A trip to Anaheim to closeout the last of the Giants' 10-game road trip would appear to be the turning point as the G-Men finally claimed their first series victory of the young season. With a convincing 8-1 victory in Game 1 in what would be the 2018 debut of San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija who had spent the first three weeks of the season on the disabled-list with a right pectoral strain, the Giants would set the tone in the series. After losing a close one in Game 2 by a final of 4-3 which saw the Giants strikeout 17 times, their highest total in a nine inning game since facing Sandy Koufax in August of 1959, SF would take the rubber-match, 4-2, behind another stellar outing by Cueto who logged another 6 scoreless innings. But the talk of the series would belong to Giants first baseman Brandon Belt who set an MLB record with a 21-pitch at-bat against Angles rookie Jaime Barria in the first inning. Belt worked the count full and fouled off 16-pitches with two strikes before flying out to right. The at-bat broke the previous record of 20-pitches held by Ricky Gutierrez of the Astros who had a 20-pitch battle with then-Indians pitcher Bartolo Colon, set on June 26, 1998. The record-setting at-bat by Belt lasted 12 minutes and 45 seconds long and though he would record an out, he would go on to collect two hits in the game including a home run in the 5th, his fourth in as many games to help him celebrate his birthday week. In an effort to chase Barria early, the lengthy at-bat would prove to be effective as Barria threw 49-pitches in the first inning alone, despite not allowing a run in the frame. He would be chased after allowing two runs and throwing 77-pitches in only 2+ innings.
As for his counterpart on the mound, Johnny Cueto would continue to dazzle, tossing another 6 shutout frames and allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out seven to become the first Giants pitcher to string together four consecutive starts while allowing a run or fewer to being a season since Noah Lowry in 2004. Giants great Juan Marichal did it twice in 1965 and again in 1966 with five. Keeping it rolling, Cueto's ERA of 0.35 (1 earned run in 26 innings pitched) would be the lowest by a Giants pitcher through their first four starts since 1968. As for Belt, the Giants first baseman became the first Giant to log four homers in four games since Hunter Pence in 2013. Belt would continue to swing a hot bat in their next series against the Nationals. Belt's hot swinging would be joined by outfielder Mac Williamson. After some minor tweaks to his batting approach, a newfound swing would help Williamson tear through the Minors and receive a promotion to the big club as Hunter Pence was placed on the disabled-list with a thumb injury. In his first game with the Giants after being called up from Sacramento, Williamson cranked a home run against the Angels. He would continue to reinvent himself the very next day in front of the home fans by launching a 464-foot home run to the opposite field against Washington. The 464-foot shot would be the longest homer to the opposite field this season and the fourth longest of any kind this season.
Still seeking their first series victory of the year with less than a week remaining in the month of April, the Giants would get their wish with a win in Game 2 against the Nats. After suffering from food poisoning while in Anaheim and losing 9 lbs. over three days, Ty Blach helped pitch the Giants to their first three-game winning-streak of the season as the Giants edged Washington, 4-3 to take the first two games of the three game set. Though Blach would not factor in the win as he fell victim to a 3-run homer that would tie the game in the 4th inning, Williamson's opposite-field HR would be the deciding blow. While Max Scherzer would keep the Giants at bey in Game 3, preventing the sweep in a 15-2 drubbing, the Giants would take a step in the right direction before another go around with the Dodgers.
After taking Game 1 on Friday night, the Giants would host a double-header on Saturday to makeup the game rained out on April 6. And while the Dodgers would tee off on Chris Stratton in the first of two Saturday games to the tune of a 15-6 final, the Giants would bounce back in Game 2 by winning 8-3. They would complete the three-game sweep with a 4-2 win on Sunday to make it three straight series victories in a row. Continuing to be a thorn in the side of the Dodgers, Ty Blach would pitch the Giants to victory as he improved his numbers against L.A. to 4-2 and an ERA of 2.03 in 10 career appearances. More importantly, the Giants' streak of three consecutive series wins would be their first since May of 2017. Hoping to continue the trend into the month of May, San Francisco finished April by defeating the San Diego Padres in walk-off fashion thanks to a 3-run 9th inning that was capped off by former Padre Nick Hundley who's 2-out knock drove in the tying and winning runs. It would be the third walk-off win of the season for the G-Men and the third of Hundley's Giants career, second against his former ball club. The walk-off victory would lift the Giants over the .500 mark, somewhere they hadn't been since the end of the 2016 regular season as they closed out the month of April on a winning note, by winning 8 of their last 10 games.
But just when the Giants began playing good baseball and things were looking up regarding pitcher Madison Bumgarner who's hand is healing well according to team doctors and is expected to begin throwing from a bullpen mound this weekend, the team announced that Johnny Cueto would be placed on the 10-day disabled-list for the second time this season with right elbow inflammation. The news comes as a surprise given how well Cueto pitched in his last outing and comes just before the Giants prepare to hit the road for a 10-game road trip out east with stops in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Stops in May also include trips to Houston to take on the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros and 2016 champion Chicago Cubs. Boasting the best ERA in baseball among starters, Cueto is the third Giants starter to hit the DL this season and will be on the shelf sporting a 3-0 record and 0.84 earned run average in 5 starts this season. Joining Cueto on the DL will be second baseman Joe Panik who is expected to miss six weeks after undergoing thumb surgery which will create quite a task for the Giants in the month of May if they plan to stay float in the competitive NL West.
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Just three weeks into baseball's 2018 regular season schedule and we've already been treated us to our first no-hitter of the young MLB season. Last night in Oakland, California, Sean Manaea of the Oakland Athletics made history by twirling a no-hitter against the hottest team in all of baseball -- the Boston Red Sox, who entered the game with an MLB-best record of 17-2 and the highest-scoring offense in the league. As if no-hitters weren't already impressive, Manaea managed to throw his against a team that just days earlier became only the seventh ball club in the modern era (since 1900) to win at least 16 of their first 18 games to start a season. In fact, Boston's .895 winning percentage made them the best team in Major League history in a minimum of five games to be no-hit.
Having never logged a single complete-game in his third Major League season, the 26-year old Manaea who's been locked in this season to the tune of a 1.23 ERA thru 5 starts, made sure his first complete game was one for the record books. While the no-no snapped Boston's 8-game win-streak, the longest winning-streak snapped by a no-hitter in the Live-Ball era (since 1920), it snapped an even more impressive streak of 3,987 consecutive games without being no-hit. To find the last no-hitter recorded against the Red Sox, you'd have to go back to April 22, 1993 when Chris Bosio of the Seattle Mariners kept Boston hit-less at the Kingdome. Coincidentally, only the A's have gone longer without being no-hit at 4,242 consecutive games following Saturday.
With 227 no-hitters recorded in the Majors since 1908, Manaea's is just the 54th recorded by a left-hander during that span and the first since Cole Hamels of the Phillies did so against the Cubs on July 25, 2015, and the first Oakland A's pitcher to record a no-no since Dallas Braden's perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Mother's Day in 2010. As for the last no-hitter of any kind, Edinson Volquez of the Marlins was the last to accomplish the feat, no-hitting the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 3, 2017. Manaea's no-hitter is the 12th in A's franchise history and seventh since the team moved to Oakland in 1968. Though he walked two batters including the first batter of the game, Manaea recorded 10 K's in the outing to tie a career-high and stands behind only Catfish Hunter (11) and Dave Stewart (12) for the most strikeouts recorded by an Oakland Athletic during a no-hitter.
A pair of close plays nearly derailed Manaea's historic performance in consecutive innings in the 5th and 6th, but an error and a reversed call would preserve the no-no. With 2-outs in the 5th inning, A's shortstop Marcus Semien would commit an error on a fly-ball he would get under and eventually bobble which allowed Sandy Leone to get on base. Unaware that the play was ruled an error and not a hit, Manaea assumed it was ruled a hit and didn't realize until the 8th inning that his no-hitter was still in tact. But he and the A's would catch another break just an inning later in the 6th, when Andrew Benintendi hit a dribbler down the first base line that first baseman Matt Olson scooped up and attempted to put a tag on Benintendi who ran out of the baseline to elude the tag. After initially being called safe at first, the umpires would gather together for a meeting at the request of A's manager Bob Melvin, where the umpiring crew determined that the runner indeed ran out of the baseline and therefore was called out, much to the disappointment of Benintendi who had thought he bailed his team out with their first hit of the night. From there on, Manaea seemed almost destined to etch his name into the record books, and nine outs later he would do just that.
Semien would more than make up for his 5th inning error by scoring all three of Oakland's only runs, including a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th, providing more than enough offense in the Athletics' 3-0 victory. Since trading away last year's ace Sonny Gray at the trade deadline a year ago to the New York Yankees, Manaea, the former first round pick of the Kansas City Royals appears to be pitching his way to be the next man fit for the job as the A's Opening Day starter -- Kendall Graveman, has been shelled in all five of his starts this season, giving up 4 runs or more in all five outings and currently boasting an ERA of 10.07. Having already made history this season and appearing to find his groove, Manaea will be one of those guys worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses as the A's who currently sit even at 11-11 on the year, look to find their next go-to man on the mound. A pretty cool moment came after the game when Manaea was interviewed on the field by Dallas Braden who last threw a no-no for the A's before Manaea's magical night, before a few of his teammates crashed the party with a Gatorade bath, pie to the face and topped off with a shower of bubblegum, leaving Braden ducking for cover.
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As if the odds weren't already stacked against them in their respective divisions, the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies are two teams that could ill-afford the absence of a key cog in their pitching rotation. Unfortunately, Spring Training has been none too kind to either ball club as they prepare for the regular season without the services of two of the game's most premier pitchers.
After being shutdown for the last seven weeks of the 2014 season with mild inflammation in his right elbow, Rangers hurler Yu Darvish was expected to be good to go at the start of spring training this year. But after pitching only one inning in his spring debut on March 5, the 28-year old Japanese sensation was pulled from his outing when he experienced tightness in his triceps muscle. An MRI would spell even worse news, however, as damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in Darvish's right elbow was revealed, resulting in Tommy John surgery which would put an end to any chance of the 3-time All-Star pitching again in 2015. Already expected to be long shots fighting to stay afloat in the AL Western division with two American League powers in the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics as well as the much improved Seattle Mariners, the news of Darvish being on the shelf for the season is devastating for fans in Arlington. Texas finished with the worst record in the American League last year at 67-95 thanks in large part to the struggles and absence of first baseman Prince Fielder and though they should finish with a higher win total than they did a season ago, anywhere ahead of a fourth place finish in the division would be a surprise for a Rangers ball club that's only four seasons removed from back-to-back World Series appearances.
As for the Phillies, another ball club not expected to be contending for a title this year, the injury to left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee is as unfortunate as any. Not only because the 36-year old Lee is still among the best lefty's in the league when healthy, but because it ends any chances the Phils had of dealing the southpaw in return for a prospect or two to help speed up Philadelphia's rebuilding process. Since signing a 5-year, $120 Million deal with the Phillies in December of 2010 and taking less than he could have made elsewhere to return to play in Philadelphia where he helped lead the Phillies to their second consecutive World Series during in his first stint with the ball club after being acquired at the trade deadline in 2009, the franchise has been unable capture the success they achieved in Lee's first two seasons. For Lee, who last pitched on July 31 before being placed on the 60-day disabled-list after sustaining the same injury a season ago, it'll be the third attempt to rehab from a torn common flexor tendon in his left elbow while shaking off the idea of having surgery which would cause him to sit out the season.
With $37.5 Million remaining on his contract which includes a $12.5 Million club option to buyout in 2016, the former Cy Young winner hopes the third time will be a charm as his road to recovery figures to be a long one before we'll get to see if the 4-time All-Star can make a return to the mound in the city of Brotherly Love. Without Lee, the Phillies who finished last a season ago (73-89), will have their hands full in an NL Eastern division which homes a number of clubs that are expected to improve from last season as well as arguably the favorite to win it all this season in the Washington Nationals.
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Although the sport of Baseball is known as 'America's Favorite Pastime' and has been around since the 18th century, it's not rare hearing or reading about fans or critics and sometimes umpires *cough Joe West* complaining about the game's length. But now, the SEC (SouthEastern Conference in College sports) is doing its best to try and fix the problem. How? The conference is subject to experiment a pitch clock similar to Basketball's shot clock or Football's play clock. How does it work? The pitcher will have 20-seconds to pitch when the bases are empty. If the pitcher happens to take longer than the given 20-seconds, an automatic ball will be given by the umpire. But don't think these rules only apply to the pitcher. If a batter steps out of the batters box or calls for time in the last 5-seconds of the clock, an automatic strike will be given. Also, after a third out each team is expected to be back on the field, ready and in their positions within 108-seconds. A ball or strike will be given to whichever side violates the time period.I'm sure I'm not alone on this, but the unpredictable length of a baseball game is something I like best about the sport. Mainly because it separates the game of Baseball from just about every other sport out there. But at the same time there's a million others who are disinterested in the sport due to the game's length that can last anywhere from 1 hour to 8 hours. Something that seems to be the case with many of my peers. With college players playing by these rules, it's likely pitchers will grow accustom to the much quicker paced game and transcend it to the big leagues. And although it's been talked about for years, it's unlikely the MLB will adopt similar rulings according to Commissioner Bud Selig. And for the game's sake, I hope the MLB continues to blow off the idea of adding a pitch clock. You've seen them above the glass in the NBA and behind the end-zone in the NFL, but behind the backstop? No thank you...
