The Giants first road trip ends in Houston. Here are the game details:
• Monday, Jordan Hicks vs. RHP Ronel Blanco, 5:10
• Tuesday, Logan Webb (0-0) vs. RHP Hayden Wesneski, 5:10
• Wednesday, Landen Roupp vs. LHP Framber Valdez (1-0), 1:10
It is not clear why Webb goes before Roupp, but that’s what the scheduling shows. The Astros had Sunday off, after winning their series against the Mets 2-1.
Joe Espada is in his second year of managing, after taking over from Dusty Baker. Here are his starters, with 2024 RBI shown in parenthesis:
🔸 1B Christian Walker (84), 2B Brendan Rodgers (54), SS Jeremy Peña (70), 3B Isaac Paredes (25)
🔸 RF Cam Smith (0), CF Jake Meyers (61), LF Jose Altuve (65)
🔸 C Yainer Diaz (84), DH Yordan Alvarez (86)
🔸 rotation Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski
🔸 closer Josh Hader, setups Bryan Abreu and Tayler Scott
Mauricio Dubon remains on this team, as a IF/OF utility player. He had thumb surgery in December, and is playing on a $5M contract this year.
changes over the winter: Alex Bregman departed as a free agent, to Boston. Justin Verlander and Yusei Kikuchi left the pitching staff, as free agents. SS Grae Kessinger and RHP Ryan Pressley were traded elsewhere. In a huge deal, Kyle Tucker was traded to the Cubs for Isaac Peredes, Hayden Wesneski, and minor leaguer Cam Smith, all three are on the team. To replace the bats of Bregman and Tucker, the Astros signed Christian Walker to a 3/$60M deal, happily for us, weakening the Snakes. Brendan Rodgers was signed after the Rockies non-tendered him, and he made the team in camp. After this pretty major revamp, PECOTA thinks they will go 90-72 and still win the AL West.
Picture of the Post goes to Heliot Ramos. Wilmer Flores provided a dynamic three run homer in the first game of the season, but Ramos was “steady Eddie”. Besides more than one great fielding play, he went 4 for 12 in the series, with 4 RBI. That doesn’t do his plate skills justice, as those hits included a double and a homer. The two run homer on Wednesday capped an 11 pitch AB against Hunter Greene, got Greene out of the game soon after, and got the Giants close enough for the 9th inning heroics erasing a 3-2 deficit. A solo homer on Sunday got the Giants on the board first, and a single later in the game plated JHL with one of the insurance runs. Wilmer Flores also has two homers, and 4 RBI, but those are his only two hits, so his Weaver to win the opening game of the season gets nipped at the pole, in terms of Picture of the Post honors.
