Ty Blach named Opening Day starter.

Johnny Cueto won’t be the first pitcher out of the gate for the Giants this season for a good reason: the team had set their rotation before Jeff Samardzija and Madison Bumgarner went down with injuries, meaning the starters were already into their throwing routines . Rather than disrupt that schedule and risk additional injuries to and effectiveness of the remaining pitchers, the Giants have opted to go with Ty Blach as their counterargument to Clayton Kershaw this coming Thursday.

It’s not the best the Giants can do, but he’s practically the only option. It doesn’t make sense to risk injury or some other kind of weird disruption with the other pitchers when the season hasn’t even started. Besides, the last time Blach and Kershaw faced each other, it wound up being a competitive game.

Should we expect Ty Blach to rip a double off of Clayton Kershaw?

Maybe?

As much as it feels like the season is half over before it even begins, it’s important to remember that baseball is weird. Ty Blach should not be able to hit a double off of Clayton Kershaw, and yet he can, because as soon as a player steps between the white lines, weird stuff always seems to happen. Ty Blach’s brief MLB career demonstrates that he’s effective basically one time through a batting order. Might that one turn be enough to keep a revamped Giants lineup in the game?

We’ll all be watching on Thursday. Whether we want to or not.