Monday BP: Weekend round up

Good morning, baseball fans!

If someone had told me on Thursday that the following highlights would come to define this opening weekend of Giants baseball, I might have a hard time believing them. But here they are nonetheless.

Captain Belt’s boat entrance

I wasn’t even able to see this live, but when I saw it getting discussed on Twitter I lost my mind. I guess I’ve become so used to Brandon Belt kind of being the overlooked franchise player that I didn’t expect the organization to latch on to this wild and silly Captain bit. But I am 100% here for it and enjoying being pandered to.

Also, you know, Belt had a pretty great game between the bunt and the home run. On KNBR after the game, he said something to the effect of: “I did get a little nervous, you can’t get towed out on a boat and strike out four times.”

Never change, sir. /salutes computer

“Ruf is on the move!”

Listen, I knew that Darin Ruf could hit. But I wasn’t expecting this 6’2”, 232lb man to come barreling around from first to score the game winning run. Neither was Belt, who added on with another postgame gem: “Guys like us, we can’t be running like that. It takes us two innings to catch our breath.”

Also, the call by Duane Kuiper was an instant classic. Let’s go ahead and watch it again.

Carlos Rodón strikes out 12 in debut

Carlos Rodón was unreal on Saturday, striking out 12 in five innings of work. It was a rare bright spot in an otherwise forgettable loss. But that bright spot is massive. If Saturday was any indication of the kind of pitching we can expect from Rodón, Giants fans should be feeling pretty darn good about the front end of the rotation right now.

(Honorable mention for this list goes to Logan Webb, who had a great game on Friday as well, but that was a little less unexpected, given how great he’s been and continues to be. But I felt like he deserved a bit of a hat tip as well.)

And finally...

Ramos Mania!

Ah, there’s nothing quite like wrapping up a Twitch stream at 11pm only to realize there’s an absolute 5-alarm fire worthy bit of breaking news and everyone else is asleep. That’s where I found myself on Saturday night. Because there was absolutely no way to have known that Heliot Ramos was going to be called up so soon.

Sadly, the move was made because John Brebbia had to be placed on the bereavement list. We wish the best to him and his family.

But regardless of circumstances, it’s always great to see a top tier prospect get their call. And Ramos did not disappoint. He had hits in his first two major league plate appearances, scoring a run in his first. It just gives you chills to watch and I couldn’t be happier for him.

The man does not want to spend this summer in Sacramento, and as a fellow resident of the Sacramento Valley, I cannot fault him for that. Keep making it hard for them to send you back, my dude.

What time do the Giants play today?

The San Francisco Giants will welcome division rivals, the San Diego Padres, to Oracle Park tonight at 6:45pm PT!