The San Francisco Giants played baseball on Thursday. REAL baseball, not goofy, 21-6 spring training baseball. When Lamont Wade Jr. stepped to the plate against Reds starter Hunter Greene to start the 2025 season (more on that later) it represented the beginning of our first chance to see what the Under New Baseball Management Giants would look like in games that mattered for the regular season standings. This time, it counts!
The results of opening day rarely portend to what the rest of a baseball season will hold for a team, but it does present a chance to start a season off on a positive note and put a pep in one's step. Such peps have been few and far between for the Giants of late. Thursday's win was just the 4th opening day win for the Giants in their last 10. If you are someone who takes a lot away from a first impression, then opening day is a big day for you to react to some first impressions. Here are a few of the first impressions that stood out to me in the Giants' 6-4 win over the Reds on Thursday afternoon.
Another Solid Opening Day From Logan Webb
Webb made his fourth straight opening day start for the Giants, and like the other three, it was not awful (okay the 2023 one at Yankee Stadium was rough) but it did not end with him getting a win either. Webb battled in the first and third innings, and was once again having issues with the changeup. But he showcased his penchant for getting those clutch ground balls in the 4th inning when, with runners on first and second and one out, he got centerfielder TJ Friedl to hit a sinker to Tyler Fitzgerald at second base to start a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the jam and keep the score 3-2.
In four opening day starts now, Webb has an ERA of 3.91. If history is any indication though, Webb will be just fine. In the last three seasons, Webb has a 3.20 ERA in starts that took place after opening day.
Days We Have Been Impressed With Lamont Wade Jr Leading Off: 0
I have made it clear where I feel LaMont Wade Jr. should be hitting in the Giants lineup. Game 1 did little to change my stance. Wade Jr. went 0-4 with a strikeout while hitting in the lead-off spot on Thursday. That said, he did have the hardest-hit ball of the day. His last at-bat ended with a 107 MPH lineout that right fielder Jake Fraley made an incredible jumping snag to end the 8th. Statcast gave that a .650 expected batting average based on the contact.
The Giants seem intent on running with this experiment for the time being to start the season. Lineups and team construction change throughout the season. All baseball fans know this. If May rolls around and Wade Jr is still in the lead-off spot, then that would mean that either A) the experiment is working and is on its way to becoming a rousing success or B) the experiment has failed and the Giants are dragging their feet on a lineup change.
Incredible At Bats From A Trio Of Giants
Heliot Ramos had one of the better at-bats of the day in the top of the 4th. Down 3-0 and getting nothing going against Greene, who was pumping 100 mph fastballs by the Giants like they were nothing, Ramos worked an 11-pitch master class of an at-bat before putting the Giants on the board with an opposite-field two-run homer.
It was about as good as you could ask for in a two-strike approach against a very good, young pitcher in Hunter Greene and the kind of at-bat that lights a spark in a dugout looking for its first spark of the season.
Later, still down 3-2 in the top of the 9th inning, Jung Hoo Lee battled back from down 0-2 to work an eight-pitch walk with one out against Reds closer of the day Tony Santillan. It was Lee’s second walk of the game, the first coming before Heliot Ramos went deep. Like the first walk, the second would result in a run too, as Lee’s patience at the plate proved to be just as effective as the bat-to-ball skills the Giants are hopeful will carry their young centerfielder to success this season.
Patrick Bailey kept the training going. After Ramos was caught looking by a nasty Santillan sweeper, Bailey got around on a fastball over the plate on a 3-1 count to tie the game.
Three huge at bats that were orchestrated perfectly in a situation where they were sorely needed. One can only hope that such at bats are the start of a trend for the 2025 Giants.
This Is Why Matt Chapman Is Here
Chapman posted a 7.7 WAR last year not just because of his dominant defense. He swings a good stick too. In that same 9th inning, with Lee on first, Chapman, with a 1-0 count, got around on an inside fastball and went the other way with it to right field, allowing Lee to use his speed and move from first to third. It was the kind of professional, clutch situational hitting that has been missing from the Giants for the last few years and was truly a welcome sight to see for fans yesterday.
At that moment, a game that felt like it was going to be a loss (which if this was last year, that might be the case) started to feel like a game that the Giants would come back and win. And comeback and win they most certainly did. That is the impact that a team leader like Matt Chapman can bring.
The Bullpens Quiet Outing
When it comes to the bullpen, quiet is good. The Giants bullpen could be one of the best in baseball this season, and this group is wasting no time in proving that to be true. Randy Rodriguez, Erik Miller (the lone wolf of bullpen lefties) and Tyler Rogers combined for 1 hit allowed over three innings of work, striking out three and allowing a walk. Just business as usual.
Ryan Walker The Closer
I have been a big fan of Walker since day one when he debuted in 2023. He showed a penchant for getting big outs anywhere in the lineup, regardless of the inning. He was the Giants' primary 7th inning man last year before Camilo Doval lost the closer's job and ceded it to Walker, who up and ran away with the job.
He did nothing to suggest the job should be taken away from him during spring training, but now with real games being played, one has to wonder how long he will hold on to the closer's role. Walker was not perfect in his first outing of 2025. It was a wild start, almost hitting first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand to lead off the inning. Alas, he managed to retire Encarnacion-Strand and Fraley before hitting pinch hitter Jacob Hurtubise. TJ Friedl then lined a single to center field that brought Hurtubise around the score. Walker then retired shortstop Matt McClain on a long, loud and DEEP fly ball that died just feet from the left field wall. Or maybe it was inches from the wall. Who knows really, but it was way too close for comfort.
Walker is a great reliever and will be a great part of the Giants' bullpen this season. But if the rumors of Camilo Doval finding his form are true, one has to wonder how long the 9th inning will belong to Walker.
Doubt Wilmer Flores At Your Own Risk
I know I still do. And every time he proves me wrong, it feels so good. Flores was one of the Giants' best hitters in 2022 and 2023, which is really cool until you look at those lineups and realize how low of a bar that is.
But after three plate appearances that already left us feeling exasperated about Flores being in the lineup (keep in mind, Jerar Encarnacion is probably the designated hitter today if he is healthy) the man they called Flo reminded us just how integral to the lineup's success he can be with a three-run jack out to the same area where Buster Posey (happy birthday to you by the way Buster!) once hit a big home run, turning a dull afternoon into an instant classic opening day win for Giants' fans.
Flores battled injuries last year that sapped his offensive production. Getting some (or all!) of the guy who won the 2023 Willie Mac Award would be a massive development for the 2025 Giants as they wait for Encarnacion to come back to the lineup.
Opening day is just one game in a field of 162, but I have always felt that certain games on the baseball schedule matter more, and opening day is one of those days. Starting the season off 1-0 is always a great feeling.