Every road trip is important, but some inherently carry just a bit more weight than others. This current six game trip against two very good teams could tip the scales in what has been a painfully average campaign thus far. It started off splendidly with a Monday night victory in Atlanta, but the 2024 Giants have shown us consistently that when presented with a golden opportunity to get to or above .500, they’ll shut their mouth and squirm from side to side like a toddler being fed its mush.
Four cautiously optimistic thoughts on the Orange and Black as the break is nearly upon us.
The case for Hayden Birdsong
Young players making their Major League debut and having immediate success is far from a rarity. There’s not a detailed book on them yet, opposing hitters or pitchers are essentially doing homework as they go. Oftentimes, that lack of knowledge coupled with a player’s usually good performance in the minor leagues immediately before their call up leads to quick success. It’s hard to decipher the difference between this “beginner’s luck” and the indicators of sustained success.
The case for Giants’ rookie right-hander Hayden Birdsong can be made on either side of this conundrum. First, Cubs and Braves hitters had little to no experience facing Birdsong, thus his stuff and general patterns of attack were a complete mystery to them. On the other hand, Birdsong undeniably is working with big league stuff. His high-90s heater is complemented by a sick slider and a knee-buckling change up. Austin Riley and Sean Murphy weren’t fooled, but the rest of the Braves lineup was helpless. Let’s be optimistic, the stuff will play before and after the National League has taken his flier. As hitters adjust, so will he.
Soler Power (Finally)
I’ve said all season long that I’d love to give Jorge Soler his flowers, and that as soon as he gave me reason to, I’d show up on his front lawn with a bouquet and an acoustic guitar. Well, here we are. The better at bats have morphed into better results. We no longer dread or cringe when Soler comes up to the dish. Now, it’s excitement. It’s what we hoped we’d feel when the perennial slugger steps up to the plate. Soler’s miserable numbers through the first two months of the season have slowly crept towards his season averages. His batting average is up to .229. His RBI total, previously equally laughable and disgusting, is now at a respectable 32 and climbing. Here’s to July getting him all the way there.
Bob Melvin definitely deserves his credit for this turnaround. Like a mad scientist in his lab, Melvin placed the struggling Soler at the top of the batting order, in an unfamiliar leadoff spot that left many fans (myself included) head-scratching. It has paid off, and now it’s a mainstay.
Ramos representing
It’s hard to explain just how refreshing and much needed the success of Heliot Ramos has been for Giants fans. An organization and fanbase starved for homegrown position player success perhaps more than any other in Major League Baseball now proudly watches as Ramos thwarts opposing pitchers on what seems like a nightly basis. Part of me feels like I should approach the TV with my phone out, filming his at bats landscape style for a proud Facebook post that the extended family will swoon over.
Ramos is arguably the Giants’ best hitter as the All-Star break approaches. He’s hitting just under .300 and has driven in 38 runs in far fewer at bats than his contemporaries. His OPS sits at .897. This is a kid that Giants fans have been excited about for the better part of seven years, then spent a year or two accepting the fact he may never meaningfully contribute, and are now finally enjoying. Do just that, enjoy it.
Skip in their step
Sometimes, it’s all about the intangibles. Not all wins are equal, and the two out of three the Giants took from the Dodgers this past weekend mean more than just two tallies in the win column. It shows fans, and the clubhouse, that when the Giants play their best they are absolutely capable of rattling off meaningful wins against the league’s best. Although the matchups with the Braves and Guardians don’t carry nearly as much venom, these next five provide an opportunity to further that statement. It’s one that probably needs to be made internally just as much as externally.