Giants’ bats awaken, but not enough to avoid sweep vs. Yankees

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants are officially on the scoreboard. Now, how about the win column? One step at time: They can try holding a lead first.

The Giants pushed across their first run of the season Saturday. They needed to do it at least three more times to avoid being swept by the Yankees in their opening series of the season.

The Yankees were already leading when Matt Chapman singled home Jung Hoo Lee in the third inning, and the Giants wouldn’t claw any closer in a 3-1 loss that dropped them to 0-3.

The Giants doubled their hits (eight) from their total through two games (four), but Tyler Mahle’s team debut was over after four innings. He exhausted 81 pitches and exited down 2-1.

San Francisco got extra-base hits from Jung Hoo Lee and Rafael Devers, but Aaron Judge slugged the Yankees’ third home run of the series and Ben Rice doubled home more runs in one swing than the Giants mustered in 27 innings.

Heliot Ramos and Willy Adames reached to start the bottom of the ninth against Yankees closer David Bednar, allowing the Giants to bring the potential winning run to the plate. But Harrison Bader struck out on a foul tip and Patrick Bailey grounded into a game-ending double play.

The Giants put 12 men on base but failed to take advantage, allowing the Yankees to turn two three times.

What it means

Tony Vitello fell to 0-3 as a major-league manager, the worst start for a Giants skipper since Danny Ozark in 1984. The team’s 0-3 start at least comes with more encouraging history.

The last time the Giants failed to win any of their first three games? 2012. That turned out OK.

By getting on the board in the third, the Giants avoided setting a franchise record for their longest scoring drought to start a season. It took them 20 innings to finally score a run, the same number of frames as the 1909 New York Giants.

Who’s hot

Judge left the yard for the second time in as many games to give the Yankees’ lead some cushion after the Giants cut the margin to 2-1 with their first run of the season.

Judge punished the second pitch he saw from Ryan Borucki for a solo shot that made the score 3-1 in the top of the fifth. Vitello called on the left-hander to get the platoon advantage against Austin Wells and Trent Grisham, but it meant Judge got to face the lefty.

The Giants held Judge to two hits in 13 at-bats, but both were home runs.

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Vitello said he planned to shake up the Giants’ lineup after they were blanked in both their first two games, and he looked smart for moving Jung Hoo Lee into the leadoff spot.

Lee scored the Giants’ first run of the season after leading off the third with a double down the right field line. Matt Chapman singled him home a batter later.

Chapman was the only Giant to reach base in all three games of the series. Lee, Devers, Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos all reached base multiple times in Saturday’s loss.

Who’s not

Adames finally notched a hit off Bednar in the bottom of the ninth, but the notoriously slow-starting shortstop had gone hitless in 13 at-bats to start the season with five strikeouts. 

Adames struck out with a runner on third and less than two outs for the second time this series, eventually stranding Devers on third in the sixth inning. His single in the ninth gave the Giants runners on first and second with nobody out, but the rally didn’t result in any runs.

Up next

The Giants are off Sunday before heading out for their first road trip of the season against the Padres. They hit the road still in search of their first home run.

Logan Webb is lined up to make his second start of the season on Tuesday. Adrian Houser will make his Giants debut in the first game on Monday, and Landen Roupp will start the series finale on Wednesday.

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