Takeaways from Giants' impressive 17-game early season stretch

Takeaways from Giants' impressive 17-game early season stretch originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — There was a hell of a reward waiting for the Giants after they finished a stretch of 17 games in 17 days. They flew to San Diego on Sunday evening instead of Monday, giving players, coaches and former Padres manager Bob Melvin a full off day in one of this country’s best cities. 

“They’ve really earned it with the way they’ve played baseball during this stretch,” Mike Krukow said on the broadcast Sunday. 

As grueling as this stretch was, it’s actually kind of normal for MLB teams this season. The Giants are one of 12 to have a stretch of 17 consecutive games this season, although only them and the Kansas City Royals have had to do it in April. While that would seem to be more difficult given how much time it takes to fully build up starters these days, the Giants actually might have benefited from the timing.

They left camp remarkably healthy, and they have lost just one player — backup infielder Casey Schmitt — to the IL this season. They made their first roster move during the stretch of 17 consecutive games, but that’s still the only one they’ve needed all year. 

At some point, the injuries will hit. They always do. But at the moment, the Giants are healthy, happy, and ready to find some good tacos in San Diego. As they head for a well-deserved day off, here are 17 notes from the impressive 17-day stretch, which ended with a 10-7 record and the Giants in first place: 

RBI Guy

Wilmer Flores went 4-for-35 on the road trip, but still managed to drive in nine runs in 10 games. The overall production was much better once he returned home, and with a bases-loaded walk Sunday, he finished with 14 RBI over the 17 games. Flores, who missed much of last year with a knee injury, also appeared in every game.

“It’s amazing, especially after last year,” Melvin said of the run production. “It shows you, it doesn’t take ultimate bat speed, it doesn’t take 110 (mph) off the bat to impact the game. His track record of being up there in big situations kind of speaks for itself.”

Flores heads into the off day leading the majors with 28 RBI. He’s one ahead of some guy named Aaron Judge and two ahead of Pete Alonso. 

The Little Things

The biggest difference for the Giants early on might be the fact that they’re finally — after years of talking about it — playing fundamentally-sound baseball. They’re ranked seventh in FanGraphs’ all-encompassing baserunning metric and they have made just 10 errors all year, tied for the least in baseball. 

The advanced metrics haven’t been as kind, with Outs Above Average ranking them 27th and Defensive Runs Saved also having them in the bottom third, a lot of which is because of a slow start at short. Willy Adames has been worth negative six DRS and negative five OAA. 

But overall, the Giants aren’t kicking the ball around nearly as often as they did in previous seasons, and that’s a big step in the right direction. They’re reminded of that every time they watch a team do what the Rangers did Sunday. 

2021 Vibes

For 162 games — and 107 wins — four years ago, just about everything went right. It’s hard not to feel like some of that magic has returned. Here’s Exhibit A:

Lineup Holes

There have been a lot of positives early on, but there are also a few key Giants who can’t wait for the calendar to turn to May. 

Adames is hitting .202 and has one homer a year after crushing 32 of them. Patrick Bailey is hitting .164, slugging .247, and still looking for his first homer. Somehow, neither has the lowest OPS of the regulars; LaMonte Wade Jr. is at .460. There are struggles on the bench, too, most notably with Luis Matos, who has two hits in his last 28 at-bats and was 1-for-21 with no walks in six starts during this 17-game stretch.

The Giants are hopeful the off day will clear some heads, and they need it to happen. Winning games with late walk-offs is fun, but at some point the lack of production from key spots is going to catch up to them. 

Who’s On First?

With the bases loaded in the first inning Sunday, Wade jumped on a sinker and hit one into the arcade — but it was foul by about 20 feet. Three pitches later, he missed a two-run double by a few feet. Two pitches after that, he smoked a 107 mph liner — right at second baseman Marcus Semien. 

When you’re cold, you’re cold, and nobody has had a rougher month than Wade, who lost the leadoff job and is hitting just .110. The Giants will stick with him, in part because there’s simply been a lot of bad luck. Wade’s walk rate is in line with previous years and he has struck out just once in his last eight games after some early concerns. He’s sitting on a .135 BABIP, about 140 points below his career average. 

The Giants also will be patient because there are no clear solutions. Schmitt is on the IL, joining Jerar Encarnacion, who will start taking swings this week but isn’t eligible to return until May 23. Veteran Jake Lamb is struggling in Triple-A. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge hit a homer in his first at-bat of the year, but then missed two games with an illness. He’s 2-for-13 so far in Double-A and the Giants plan to be extremely patient with his development. 

The starts will continue to be there for Wade, who could use a little luck as he tries to come out of this. 

Stressful Job

In New York, two-time All-Star Devin Williams has temporarily been removed from the closer role. In Cleveland, Emmanuel Clase — who finished third in Cy Young voting last year — has a 7.15 ERA. 

It’s extremely difficult to find a closer who churns out one strong season after the next, and when those guys falter, there’s no safety net. It often costs you a game, and Ryan Walker lived that at the end of the road trip. Walker gave up four runs in Anaheim and then was pulled after nearly blowing another save against the Brewers, but he looked much better over the weekend, and the Giants are hopeful this will just be a two-game blip. 

“I know it’s been a few rough outings in a row but the stuff has been there all year,” Bailey said Saturday. “It happens, it happens to the best of them — and he is one of the best of them.”

Walker’s fastball velocity is right in line with 2024 and his slider has been just about as effective, but hitters are batting .348 against his fastball. He made some mechanical adjustments last week and felt his command got much better, and it seems the Giants avoided any additional questions about their closer.

A Helping Hand

The Giants have the luxury of having a former All-Star closer who wants to return to the ninth at some point, and he shined when Walker needed some backup. Camilo Doval had three saves in the series against the Brewers and picked up the win on Sunday after a clean ninth. 

During the 17-game stretch, Doval threw 7 2/3 shutout innings over eight appearances, allowing just one hit with two walks and eight strikeouts. Prior to that, he had allowed runs in three straight appearances. 

Walk This Way

Matt Chapman has reached base in 25 of 29 games, including 16 of 17 during this stretch. He drew 18 walks in the 17 games and is tied for the lead in the Majors with Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna with 26. 

This is all somewhat new for Chapman, who is 32 and in his ninth big-league season. He is just about doubling his previous best walk rate in the majors and he’s more than double last year’s rate of 9.9 percent. 

A Red Flag

The 2025 Giants have a .311 on-base percentage and are slugging .377. The 2024 Giants had a .305 OBP and slugged .396. The 2023 Giants had a .312 OBP and slugged .383. 

The Giants averaged 4.6 runs over the 17 games, but their OPS actually was lower than their season-ending mark in each of their last two campaigns. In a lot of ways, this offense isn’t any better than the one that was an issue under the previous regime, but they’ve been good with runners in scoring position and their bullpen has been outstanding, which allowed them to win five one-run games over the past 17 days. 

Right now, this is a top-heavy lineup that is leaning very, very heavily on Jung Hoo Lee, Mike Yastrzemski, Chapman and Flores’ ability to drive in runs in key spots. If there’s anything that keeps team officials up at night, even at 19-10, it’s probably this. They’re one or two injuries to key starters away from having one of the worst offenses in the league. 

The Long Man

The Giants haven’t made a single move with their pitching staff this season, which is remarkable given how the previous five years looked. Buster Posey wants continuity, and it certainly helped that several starters — especially in Philadelphia — avoided blowups that would have led to a fresh arm being added. 

It also helped that Spencer Bivens took on such a heavy workload over these 17 games. The right-hander threw 8 1/3 innings over five outings, and on three occasions he gave Melvin at least six outs. After allowing a run in each of his first three appearances this season, Bivens has given up just two hits over his last five, all of which have been scoreless. 

Birds Flying High

While he waits for a rotation spot to open up, Hayden Birdsong is helping to win a lot of games as a high-leverage reliever who is giving Melvin length. Birdsong pitched twice on the homestand, throwing three shutout innings each time and striking out nine. He has 18 strikeouts in 16 innings this year and is sitting on a 1.13 ERA. 

As a reliever, Birdsong is averaging 96.5 mph with his fastball and holding opposing hitters to a .130 average. They’re even worse (.111) against his new changeup. 

Eventually, Birdsong will return to starting, likely for good, but right now he’s a heck of a weapon in close games. He entered in the sixth or seventh inning four times during this 17-game stretch and helped the Giants close out three wins. 

Keeping The Door Closed

When a Giants starter struggles, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that Birdsong is literally right there. Thus far, the Giants haven’t seemed at all close to making a move, including with Jordan Hicks, who pitched four times during the 17 days and allowed 20 runs. Just two of those came Sunday, though, and it looks like Hicks might have found something. 

Hicks’ velocity was down across the board Sunday, including 3.4 mph on his sinker, which was sitting at 99 mph on the road trip. But he changed it up Sunday and went slider-heavy, getting eight swinging strikes on the pitch. There are some within the organization who also believe it wouldn’t be the worst thing if he dialed it back on the velocity; he found a lot of success early last season while focusing on having good command and getting plenty of movement on his sinker. 

Sunday seemed to be a step in the right direction for Hicks, who needed the break in the schedule as much as anybody. 

No Production Loss With Koss

Christian Koss stepped in over the weekend after Tyler Fitzgerald bruised his chest on a dive and the rookie contributed in both of his starts. His single on Sunday tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, and he had a hit in all five starts during the 17 games. One of the reasons the Giants put him on their bench was their belief that his simple swing and approach would allow him to contribute even if he had to sit four or five days in a row, and that’s been the case. 

“I’m just trying to have consistent, quality at-bats and put good swings on balls,” Koss said Sunday. 

Koss also became the first position player to take the mound for the Giants this year and threw a scoreless inning. He joined Brandon Crawford and Pablo Sandoval atop the franchise’s ERA leaderboard. 

Rising Randy

Randy Rodriguez went a week without pitching recently, but it had nothing to do with his performance or any minor ailment. Melvin wants to use him as the bullpen’s “fireman” and Rodriguez got up several times, only to see a starting pitcher get himself out of a jam. 

This is similar to the role Walker had before getting elevated to the ninth, and Rodriguez looks capable of following that path down the road. He has started his season with 11 straight appearances without allowing a run or a walk, the longest season-opening streak ever by a Giants pitcher. Rodriguez is the first MLB pitcher to do it since Baltimore’s Yennier Cano in 2023. Cano went 17 straight scoreless/walkless appearances to start that year and ended up making the All-Star team. 

Hey Now, You’re … 

Speaking of All-Stars, if the team were picked today, Tyler Rogers would have one of the strongest cases in the clubhouse. His 0.63 ERA is the best among pitchers with at least 14 innings pitched this season and he has held the opponent scoreless in 14 of 15 outings. 

Rogers pitched eight times over the 17 games and is tied for the National League lead in appearances. Opponents are hitting just .156 against his fastball, which averages 82.7 mph. 

Playoffs? Playoffs?

Per FanGraphs, the Giants’ odds of making the postseason currently are 58.6 percent, although that’s not a monumental jump from their last off day. After winning nine of their first 12 games, they were at 48.9 percent. The lack of major movement is in part because they’re in a division with four teams that are currently above the 40 percent mark. 

The NL West is where the Giants have seen some real changes, though. They entered the year with a 2.3 percent chance of winning the division and were at 6.1 percent on their last off day. Currently, they’re at 10 percent, which is well ahead of what anyone projected during the spring, but also still well behind the Dodgers’ 75.7 percent. 

The NL Best

Before you finish this, take a moment and send some kind thoughts Colorado’s way. The Rockies are 4-23, and they have five more months to go in the best division in baseball. 

The Giants are 19-10, and they would be smart to keep pushing while some of their division rivals are trying to get right. The Padres have been one of the best teams in baseball all year, but they have 11 players on the IL, including Jackson Merrill, Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth, and that started to show in recent days. They’ve lost seven of nine as the Giants come to town. 

Since the start of this 17-game stretch for the Giants, the Dodgers have gone 8-6. Both Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are dealing with shoulder discomfort, and the heavy, heavy favorites certainly look more vulnerable than anyone expected. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are without star Ketel Marte and their vaunted rotation is underperforming. They’re 15-13 and in fourth place. 

The West is very likely to be the best division in baseball for 162 games, but last week was a rough one. As the Giants start seeing some division rivals, this is the time to keep banking wins. 

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