4/7 Gamethread: Giants vs. Marlins

It’s Opening Day in the Bay Area today as the San Francisco Giants kick off the season by welcoming the Miami Marlins (and hopefully not the death fog that usually accompanies them) to Oracle Park!

Logan Webb will be facing off against Sandy Alcántara in this season opener that seems poised to be a pitchers’ duel.

When last we saw Logan Webb in a non-spring training game, he was holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to one run on four hits in seven innings of work during the 2021 NLDS. Debuting in the 2019 season, Webb had a breakout year in 2021, earning the honor of getting the Opening Day start today, and overall role of rotation ace. Webb had 3.9 bWAR in 2021, with a 3.03 ERA, 2.72 FIP, with 158 strikeouts to 36 walks in 148 innings pitched.

Sandy Alcántara also had a very successful 2021 season, earning himself a five-year extension worth $56 million. And it’s not too hard to see why. Like Webb, he also had a standout 2021 season, and a 3.9 bWAR. He ended the year with a 3.19 ERA, 3.42 FIP with 201 strikeouts to 50 walks in 205 innings pitched. The 26-year old right hander has a fastball that averages around 95-98 mph, occasionally hitting 100+, and he’ll mix in a sinker, slider and a recently developed changeup. Not hard to see why that strikeout number was so high in 2021.

Some lineup notes: Joey Bart will start today, ushering in a new homegrown battery era. Also, Joc Pederson joins the ranks of what I refer to as the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse: he’s now the 16th Opening Day left fielder in the last 16 years, since Barry Bonds “retired”.

Honestly, I think they’re doing it on purpose at this point, and I’m fine with that.

Also, this is just a great fact and it warms my heart. The absence of Buster Posey is going to be felt sharply for some time. But it’s really great to still get to see these two in the lineup.

Happy Opening Day!

Lineups

Giants

1. Mike Yastrzemski, RF
2. Brandon Belt, 1B
3. Darin Ruf, DH
4. Joc Pederson, LF
5. Brandon Crawford, SS
6. Wilmer Flores, 3B
7. Thairo Estrada, 2B
8. Steven Duggar, CF
9. Joey Bart, C

P: Logan Webb, RHP

Marlins

1. Jorge Soler, LF
2. Garrett Cooper, DH
3. Jesús Sánchez, CF
4. Jesús Aguilar, 1B
5. Avisaíl García, RF
6. Joey Wendle, 3B
7. Miguel Rojas, SS
8. Jacob Stallings, C
9. Jazz Chisholm, Jr., 2B

P: Sandy Alcántara, RHP

Game #1

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Miami Marlins

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 1:35 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM