Giants Baseball Insider

SF Giants Rivals Recap, April 8 Edition

A look at what the Giants' rivals have been up to in the week that was
Sean Keane|
SF Giants Rivals Recap, April 8 Edition
SF Giants Rivals Recap, April 8 Edition

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San Francisco Giants

Welcome to the SF Giants Rivals Recap, where we look at what's been going on with other NL West teams, Giants playoff challengers, and former orange and black friends and enemies all around the league.

Our first Recap comes out on Easter Sunday, appropriate enough since the Giants bullpen is hunting for goose eggs, Heliot Ramos has ascended to the major leagues, and there's a lot of Peeps on the injured list. To the recap!

Arizona Diamondbacks: They're tied for the NL West lead with a 5-4 record, after splitting a series with the Padres and going 4-3 against the Dodgers. Yes, that's good enough for first place.

The Snakes have been led by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, who is hitting .455 in 11 at bats, with six runs and seven RBIs. Former Giant Evan Longoria has two home runs and two doubles in his 14 at bats, slugging 1.000. And 22-year-old super-prospect Corbin Carroll has two home runs and five stolen bases.

They still don't have a starting pitcher with a win, and they've been outscored by eight runs, but they've beaten the Dodgers three times, and we can't help but appreciate that.

San Diego Padres: The Dads are also tied for first with a 5-4 record. They split two series with the Rockies and Diamondbacks before taking the first two games from Atlanta behind the rejuvenated Michael Wacha, who is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA to start the season.

So far, the Padres offense hasn't done much outside of this winter's big signing, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who has slashed .333/.425/.697 in his first nine games as a Padre. They've gotten good work from Josh Hader, who has eight strikeouts and three saves in four appearances, but the pitching staff is mostly surviving with a six-man rotation and a mix-and-match seven-man bullpen.

They'll get a boost when Fernando Tatis Jr. returns April 20, and whenever Joe Musgrove returns after dropping a ketelbell on his toe a month ago.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Also 5-4 and tied for first in the West, the Dodgers have only played the D-Backs (3-4) and the Rockies (2-0) so far. Their run differential is +21 in their nine games, thanks to the team's National League-leading six runs per game.

So far, their veteran-laden lineup has produced, with 33-year-old Freddie Freeman hitting .429, 35-year-old J.D. Martinez slugging .500, and 32-year-old Trayce Thompson hitting three home runs and driving in eight runs in his first start of the season.

Julio Urias has had two good starts, former top prospect Dustin May has a nice 0.69 ERA and seems to be back from Tommy John surgery, and Noah Syndergaard had a good first start before getting shelled Saturday. Former Giant Shelby Miller has four strikeouts in three scoreless relief appearances, while former Giant Phil Bickford has a bunch of strikeouts but got lit up in one of his four relief stints.

Colorado Rockies: The Rockies are 3-6 and have been outscored by 15 runs. Their best win was probably a 1-0 defeat of the Washington Nationals, where former Giant Kris Bryant knocked in the lone Colorado run and former Giant Pierre Johnson got the save.

Bryant and Charlie Blackmon have been the team's best hitters so far, while C.J. Cron leads the team with three homers. Even with baseball's new baserunner-friendly rules, the Rockies have stolen two bases in nine games. Kyle Freeland is the only starter of note so far, going 2-0 while giving up only 7 hits and zero runs in 12.2 innings.

Old Giants: SF's old LF/1B/DH Darin Ruf was released by the Mets on April 2 before playin a game, and signed with the Giants on Saturday.

One of last year's dual aces, Carlos Rodon, has yet to pitch for the Yankees due to a forearm injury. Brandon Belt has just one hit in 23 at bats for the Blue Jays. Matt Duffy is hitting .500 for the Royals, and made a great defensive play Friday to stymie the Giants.

Meanwhile, the Giants' $11.5 million man, Tommy La Stella, has lost his designated hitter job for the Mariners already.

Catching the ball: The Giants' archenemy last year was catching the ball. They've now lost one game on a wild pitch, veteran catcher Roberto Perez is on the injured list, and Blake Sabol is probably a lot more comfortable in left field.

We'll have more on the Giants' wild card rivals as the season progresses, because right now, their competition is the entire league. Except the Washington Nationals. They're real bad.

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Sean Keane
SEAN KEANE

Sean Keane (he/him) is a writer, stand-up, and co-host of the Roundball Rock NBA podcast. He wrote for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” his work has appeared in McSweeney's, Audible.com, and Yardbarker, and he's performed at countless festivals, including SF Sketchfest, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, RIOT LA, and NoisePop. In 2014, the San Francisco Bay Guardian named Sean an “Outstanding Local Discovery,” and promptly went out of business.

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