The San Francisco Giants have generally struggled out of the gates, although they've had their moments. Several veteran players have yet to hit their stride at the plate, and multiple pitchers, including staff ace Logan Webb, haven't found their normal performance yet.

Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater are often brought up as candidates to come off the team in order to make room for younger players like Luis Matos and/or Heliot Ramos. How long is the leash for a struggling Yaz/Slater? And what about Nick Ahmed vs. Marco Luciano?

Speaking of players not playing to their full potential, what's going on with Giants catcher Patrick Bailey? His throws have been wildly inaccurate in the early season. Is he still and elite defender?

Finally, with SF Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks successfully transitioning to the rotation thus far, what will the Giants' pitching staff look like once/if everyone is fully healthy?

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

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#SFGiants #FirstListen

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The San Francisco Giants continued to inexplicably struggle against the Washington Nationals in their latest series, losing two out of three at home. However, if you're going to win one game in a series, it's best to make it the last one—especially with a day off coming up.

Jordan Hicks continued his red-hot start to the season, and his seamless transition to a starters' role. The SF Giants have won all three of Hicks' starts, and he's pitched six, seven, and six innings, respectively, in his outings. Hicks has been exceptionally efficient in those outings as well.

And importantly, the Giants' offense broke out in the finale against the Nationals. Nick Ahmed and Tyler Fitzgerald were six for six from the bottom of the lineup, and the SF Giants also stole their first bases of the year in the game. This was in stark contrast to the Giants' recent offensive struggles, which came to a head with San Francisco failing to capitalized on a bases-loaded, no out situation in the bottom of the ninth in a two-run loss to the Nats on Tuesday night.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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Blake Snell's San Francisco Giants debut didn't go as planned. Snell himself was not at his best, although his strikeout and walk rates were roughly in line with what Giants fans should expect. But Snell threw far too many pitches and only lasted three innings, while the Nationals' pesky offense, which has haunted the Giants in recent seasons, put hits and runs on the board. Blake Snell's Giants debut is discussed in detail with Locked On Giants POSTCAST host Erik Engle and Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick.

Afterwards, the SF Giants' rough 4-7 start is discussed. The Giants' offense has been MLB's worst by wRC+ ever since their series in Los Angeles started about a week ago. On the season, the San Francisco Giants haven't really pitched or hit well. There are a few exceptions, such as Jordan Hicks, Ryan Walker, Michael Conforto, and some others, but all-in-all the Giants rank near the bottom in most pitching and hitting categories. It is a small sample but one the SF Giants should be able to fix against a team like the Nationals, but it hasn't worked out that way ... for years.

The Nationals have been a different team vs. the Giants than they have been vs. everyone else since the start of the 2022 season. Most notably, the Nats have better than a .350 average on balls in play vs. the Giants since 2022, whereas it's .291 vs. the rest of the league. As such, Washington has a 120 wRC+ vs. the Giants since '22 and a 91 wRC+ vs. every other team. It's an inexplicable trend that seems more fluky than anything. The beauty of baseball, especially early in the season, is that every day is a new opportunity to get back on track. The Giants could still win this series and come away feeling good if they can put together a couple of wins to close out this homestand.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

It absolutely was not pretty, but the San Francisco Giants took two out of three from the Padres and ended up going 4-6 through a tough opening stretch to start the 2024 season. The Giants went 4-3 against the Padres and 0-3 against the Dodgers to start the year. In this series, despite winning two of three, the Giants made mistakes in every series that could've cost them the game.

Michael Conforto got overly aggressive on the bases (again) and took the SF Giants out of a rally in the series opener. Jordan Hicks, who was otherwise brilliant over seven innings, threw a ball into center field on what should've been an inning-ending double play but instead led to a run. Jung Hoo Lee started off the middle game of the series by letting a routine fly ball drop in front of him as he lost it in the sun.

But the Giants rallied for a walk-off win in the home opener, courtesy of a struggling Thairo Estrada, and they pieced together an ugly but effective rally in the bottom of the eighth in the finale. Wilmer Flores had a huge pinch-hit single (what else is new?), Tyler Fitzgerald went first to third on a bloop hit to right by Jorge Soler, testing the cannon of Fernando Tatis Jr., and Fitzgerald scored on the second costly error of the game by Ha-Seong Kim on what should've been a rally-killing, inning-ending double play.

Overall the SF Giants' offense has struggled to start the season, but track records and things like a low team batting average on balls in play suggest that better results will come soon enough. After facing two really tough teams in their first 10 games, the Giants now welcome the lowly Washington Nationals into town. Hopefully the Giants are able to take advantage, and it certainly helps that they start the series with Blake Snell making his San Francisco Giants debut on Monday night.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

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🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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The San Francisco Giants had a nice opening series against the Padres, splitting the four-game set while exhibiting strong offense and starting pitching performances (outside of the blowout finale). Now, the Giants and Padres are set to meet again as the SF Giants kick off their home schedule. Locked On Giants and Locked On Padres recap the series that was and the series that's to come.

What have we learned about these two teams so far? The Giants were swept in LA following their solid series in San Diego, so things aren't looking as rosy as they enter their home opener with an unsightly 2-5 record. But, as discussed on yesterday's episode, there's no reason to panic and the Giants only figure to get strong as the season goes along, with Blake Snell returning Monday, Alex Cobb likely shortly after that, and Robbie Ray lurking around the All-Star break.

What will happen when these two teams square off in San Francisco for the second time in three series (before not meeting again until September)? Jordan Hicks, Keaton Winn, and Logan Webb will face off against the back three in the Padres' rotation, and the SF Giants, playing in front of their home fans for the first time, should have the edge in the series and both hosts predict San Francisco taking two out of three. This on the heels of Locked On Padres host Javier Reyes boldly and completely incorrectly predicting the Padres would sweep the Giants in the opening series.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

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🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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The San Francisco Giants' 2024 season started out promisingly with the Giants winning two of their first three games. The Giants were then blown out in the series finale in San Diego, and ultimately swept in LA by the absolutely loaded Dodgers. The SF Giants lost three winnable games on this trip: Opening Day (when they took a lead into the bottom of the seventh) and the final two games in LA, both 5-4 losses.

So far in the young season, the SF Giants pitching staff is pitching at unsustainably poor levels. Part of that simply is a byproduct of facing two potent offenses on the road. Part of it is just randomness. One this is certain, though: a 2-5 road trip is not ideal, but it's not cause for alarm or panic. The Giants' offense was steady and solid, scoring four runs or more in all but one of their first seven games. However, the pitching allowed 6.6 runs a game on average, and that's going to make things tough no matter what.

Down on the farm, Marco Luciano and Luis Matos have started out the season hot, which is a great sign. Both Luciano and Matos are potentially huge parts of the San Francisco Giants' future (and perhaps present sooner rather than later), so it's good to see them start their respective seasons on the right foot.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

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🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

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A role reversal in Los Angeles added up to the San Francisco Giants' third straight loss on this season-opening Southern California road trip. Logan Webb was touched up by the Dodgers' potent lineup, and this time it was the SF Giants' bullpen that pitched well. The Giants needed a better start from Webb in order to win, but it was a good sign to see the likes of Landen Roupp perform well against LA's loaded lineup.

Once again the San Francisco Giants couldn't get the big hit despite having several chances. The Dodgers defense, to their credit, made some big plays in some big moments. Jorge Soler homered and the Giants scored four runs, but they haven't been able to break through over these past few losses. All in all, the SF Giants have lost two winnable games so far, so they could easily be 4-2 or 3-3 instead of 2-4. No need to panic—at all—with just six games in the books.

The Joey Bart era is officially, officially over in San Francisco. The Pirates jumped the waiver wire by agreeing to trade 2023 draftee Austin Strickland to the Giants in exchange for Bart, the 2018 No. 2 overall pick. Bart's struggles aren't this front office's fault, as some have suggested. There's certainly no guarantee he would have been their choice at No. 2 overall, and so many top draft picks don't pan out. Even looking at that draft specifically, it's basically been bust after bust after bust so far with a few gems sprinkled in. All the best to Bart in Pittsburgh, where he'll get a shot at more playing time.