SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: SF is seeking a series victory with a win in today’s rubber match with the Yankees in the final game of this three-game series…since Interleague play began, the Giants have never won a series here at Yankee Stadium (this one or the previous one)…SF has lost each of its three prior series here (all three-game sets) two games to one (2002, 2013 and 2016).
SAYS HERE…: Since 2021 the Giants have been one of the better teams in Major League Baseball during March/April… SF is 31-18 (.633) in March/April since 2021, the second-best winning percentage in the Majors…furthermore the Giants have won 60% of their combined games in March and April in consecutive seasons for the third time since moving to San Francisco (1986-87, 1960-62)
LOOKING UP A STAT, CHECKING IT TWICE…: Yesterday, IF Brandon Crawford slugged his first homer of the year on a 3-0 pitch from Clarke Schmidt in the top of the 4th inning… interestingly enough, no Giant had a hit last year in a 3-0 count and the last Giant to have a hit on a 3-0 pitch was Crawford himself on September 30, 2021 vs. Arizona off former teammate Madison Bumgarner in the 4th inning at Oracle Park…even more strange, later in yesterday’s game OF Mike Yastrzemski doubled off Clay Holmes in a 3-0 count in the top of the 9th inning.
ALMOST THERE!: With his home run yesterday, IF Brandon Crawford has now homered against 26 of the 30 MLB teams during his 13-year career…the only teams he has yet to homer against in his career are the White Sox (where SF goes after this series), Royals (who the Giants play to open up the home slate after the White Sox series), Twins and Red Sox…he’s also now homered in 23 of the 30 active Major League ballparks and 25 different ballparks overall (this 25 total includes Turner Field and the Ballpark at Arlington).
FORE!: OF Joc Pederson’s homer yesterday came on a pitch that was 1.16′ above the ground…last season Pederson homered off a pitch that was 0.68′ off the ground on April 12 (off the Padres Wil Myers). (Sarah Langs/MLB.com) FYI…
WE ARE TEAM ROSS: RHP Ross Stripling will officially make his Giants debut this afternoon after signing a two-year contract w/SF during the offseason…the right hander is coming off a career year for Toronto that saw him go 10-4 with a 3.01 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 134.1 innings while walking only 20 batters…the Texas native set career highs last season in wins (10), starts (24), innings pitched (134.1), ERA (3.01) and WHIP (1.02)…in Spring Training this year Stripling posted a 7.43 ERA in six games (four starts) but he struck out 18 and walked just one in 23.0 spring innings.
THE ONE WHERE THE OTHER STARTER IS MAKING HIS MLB DEBUT AGAINST THE GIANTS: Yankees RHP Jhony Brito is making his MLB debut today against the Giants…according to Sports Info Solutions it’s the first time since 2019 that an opposing starter is making his MLB debut against the Giants… that year, Nick Margevicius (SD), Chris Paddack (SD) and Alex Young (ARI) all made their MLB debuts in starts against SF and ironically enough all posted the same general stat line (5.0 innings pitched and one run allowed)…SF lost two of those three games.
BUT WAIT…THERE’S MORE!: To take the debuts connections a bit further…today’s Giants starter Ross Stripling made his MLB debut in a start against SF on April 8, 2016 at Oracle Park…Stripling carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning before being removed from the game after walking Angel Pagan… New York’s Opening Day starter Gerrit Cole also made his MLB debut against SF in a starting capacity, doing so on June 11, 2013 at Pittsburgh…Cole twirled 6.1 innings of two-run ball and struck out two in a win as the Pirates defeated the Giants 8-2 (Sports Info Solutions).
SUN BUMS: Today’s game is the third in a stretch of nine straight day games for SF to open the season (all three games here in NYC, all three games in Chicago against the White Sox and the first three games of the club’s first homestand vs. Kansas City)…according to Elias, this is the first time in at least the last 30 years (as far back as their reliable data goes) that the Giants have opened up a season with nine straight day games…the last MLB team to do so were the 2019 White Sox, who opened the year with 11 straight day games.
LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN…: After today’s game the Giants will fly to Chicago to take on the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field for the first time since 2017 when they went 1-2 against the Southsiders…LHP Matt Moore picked up the only win of that series for SF and the only active of the current Giants that played in any of the three games there is IF Brandon Crawford…OF Austin Slater played in that series but
he is currently on the IL.
TODAY’S STARTER – ROSS STRIPLING RHP #48
2022 RECORD (W/TOR): 10-4, 3.01 ERA
ONE OF THE NEW GUYS: 33-year-old right-hander inked a two-year Major League contract with the Giants this past December… the deal included an opt-out following this season…in Stripling, the Giants added a versatile arm who’s had success in multiple roles.
LAST YEAR: Stripling completed his seventh big league campaign last season and set career highs in wins (10), starts (24), innings pitched (134.1), ERA (3.01) and WHIP (1.02)…he appeared in 32 games overall with the Blue Jays and posted a 9-4 record with a 2.92 ERA over 24 starts, while going 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA over eight relief appearances.
WINNING FORMULA: The Blue Jays were 15-4 last season in Stripling’s starts after he joined the starting rotation full time on June 6 after the Blue Jays lost LHP Hyun Jin Ryu to Tommy John surgery… they went 11-1 over his final 12 starts to end the regular season.
NICE COMPARISON: Manager Gabe Kapler when asked about Ross Stripling in early spring training told Giants reporters “Well, his command is really second to none…one guy we’ve faced a lot over the last couple of years is Merrill Kelly, and Merrill Kelly is not great because he blows dudes away with high-octane stuff, he’s great because he can throw the kitchen sink at you and throw any pitch at any time and he can put it where he wants to put it – and that’s Ross Stripling…Ross has a lot of those same characteristics.”
CAREER: Stripling is a familiar face for Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi, whose time as the Dodgers GM overlapped with Stripling’s time in LA. He was originally selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft… he spent nine years with the Dodgers organization before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline in 2020… Stripling was an All-Star with Los Angeles in 2018. He’s 38-38 with a 3.78 ERA in 204 career MLB games (104) starts.
NOTES ON LAST YEAR: Stripling’s 3.7% walk rate last year was the third-lowest mark of any pitcher to throw at least 100 innings…his 0.80 homer per 9.0 innings was a career-best.
2023 SPRING TRAINING: Missed four days of camp as he and his wife, Shelby, welcomed their second child on March 6, a baby boy named Brodie…overall, he went 1-2 with a 7.43 ERA in six games (four starts) this spring, logging 23.0 innings with 18 strikeouts and one walk allowed.
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees will play the final game of a season-opening three-game set today vs. the Giants (1-1 so far)…is part of a season-opening six-game homestand, with three games vs. Philadelphia from Mon.-Wed.…will embark on their first road trip on Thursday, with stops in Baltimore (3G from 3/6, 3/8-9) and Cleveland (4/10-12).
Are opening the season against a NL opponent for the second time in franchise history (also 2020 at Washington).
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees fell to the Giants, 7-5, on Saturday at Yankee Stadium…RHP Clarke Schmidt (3.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 1BB, 5K, 2HR) made his first start of the season and did not record a decision…SS Anthony Volpe (2-for-4, 1R, 1SB) recorded his first two career Major League hits…collected his first hit with a single off Alex Cobb in the second inning…CF Aaron Judge (3-for-5, 1R, 1RBI) recorded his second multi-hit
game and first three-hit game of the season…hit an RBI single in the ninth inning for his 500th career RBI…RF Giancarlo Stanton (1-for-5, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) and 3B Josh Donaldson (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 1RBI) each hit their first home runs of the season…1B Anthony Rizzo (1-for-3, 1 double, 1RBI, 2BB) collected an RBI double in the fifth inning…DH DJ LeMahieu (1-for-4, 1R, 1 double, 1BB) reached base twice…RHP Michael King (1.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, 1HP) recorded the loss after allowing 2ER in 1.2IP…LHP Wandy Peralta (1.0IP, 2K, 1HP) and RHP Albert Abreu (2.0IP, 1BB, 3K)
were both scoreless in relief…RHP Jimmy Cordero (0.1IP) made his Yankees debut and retired his only batter faced.
21 JUMP STREET: INF Anthony Volpe recorded his first two career Major League hits on Saturday…collected his first career Major League hit with a single off Alex Cobb in the second inning…at 21 years, 338 days old, was the youngest Yankee to record his first Major League hit since Gleyber Torres (21y, 131d) on 4/23/18 vs. Minnesota…recorded his second hit of the game with a single in the ninth inning…was the youngest
Yankee to record his first multi-hit game in the Majors since Torres on 4/24/18 vs. Minnesota (2H).
Stole his second career base in the second inning…with his stolen base on Opening Day, became just the second Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of his first two career Major League games (also Fritz Maisel – first three career games in 1913).
Became the eighth Yankee in franchise history to steal at least one base in each of the team’s first two games of a season, joining Tony Womack (2005), Rickey Henderson (1989), Roberto Kelly (1989), Mickey Rivers (1976), Bobby Murcer (1974), Bert Daniels (1913) and Jake Stahl (1908).
Was the 12th player in Yankees history to steal at least one base in each of the player’s first two games of a season, joining Tony Womack (2005), Luis Polonia (1995), Rickey Henderson (1989), Roberto Kelly (1989), Mickey Rivers (1976), Bobby Murcer (1974), George Whiteman (1913), Bert Daniels (1913), Red Kleinow (1910) and Jake Stahl (1908)… Roger Peckinpaugh was not included since his first game of the season in 1913 was with the Cleveland Naps.
STANTON ISLAND: OF Giancarlo Stanton hit his first HR of the season on Saturday with a solo HR in the third inning…the HR had an exit velocity of 112.3 mph.
Marked the fifth time in his career and his fourth time with the Yankees that he has homered in one of the first two games to start a season (also 2016 with Miami; 2018, 2020 and 2022 with the Yankees).
In 48 career games vs. the Giants, is batting .317/.397/.710 (58-for-183) with 32R, 16 doubles, 1 triple, 18HR, 37RBI and 21BB…has 5HR in his last 6G vs. the Giants, 6HR in his last 8G, 7HR in his last 12G and 10HR in his last 22G vs. San Francisco.
A BRONX TALE: The Yankees went 57-24 (.704) at Yankee Stadium in 2022, the best home record in the AL and tied for the best home record in the Majors (Los Angeles-NL: 57-24, .704)…marked their 31st straight winning season at home (since 1992)…according to Elias, is the Majors’ longest current streak and the longest streak by any team since a Major League-record 47-year streak for the Yankees from 1918-64… their 57 wins at home matched their most in a single season at the current Yankee Stadium (went 57-24 in 2009 and 2019).
THE SKIPPER, TOO: The 2023 season marks Manager Aaron Boone’s sixth season at the helm…in 2022, guided the team to a 99-63 record and sixth consecutive postseason berth…with the Yankees reaching the playoffs in each of his first five seasons as manager, he became the first manager in Baseball history to reach the postseason in each of his first five managerial seasons…is the third manager to make the playoffs in his first five seasons with the Yankees, joining Casey Stengel (first five from 1949-53) and Joe Torre (first 12 from 1996-2007).
His 428 career managerial wins rank eighth on the Yankees’ all-time list.
JHONY B GOODE: RHP Jhony Brito will start today and make his Major League debut vs. San Francisco…the 25-year-old was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday and made his first career Opening Day roster…will be the first Yankees pitcher to make his Major League debut this season.
Is the seventh Yankee to start at the current Yankee Stadium in his Major League debut, joining RHP Luis Gil (8/3/21), Deivi García (8/30/20-G2), RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (6/15/18), LHP Jordan Montgomery (4/12/17), RHP Luis Severino (8/5/15) and RHP Adam Warren (6/29/12).
Made four appearances (two starts) this past spring, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (13.0IP, 12H, 5R/3ER, 10K 1HR).
Split the 2022 season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to go 11-4 with a 2.96 ERA (112.2IP, 95H, 40R/37ER, 35BB, 91K, 9HR) in 26 games (23 starts)…allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 19 of his 23 starts… among Yankees farmhands, ranked second in wins, fifth in
starts and sixth in innings pitched…following the season, was named by Baseball America as having the “Best Control” among Yankees minor leaguers…was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on 11/10/22.
Over parts of five minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-22), has gone 26-21 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA (392.2IP, 375H, 196R/162ER, 81BB, 344K, 28HR) in 86 career appearances (70 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.
ALL RISE: OF Aaron Judge collected his second multi-hit game of the season and first three-hit game on Saturday…hit singles in the first and fifth inning, and an RBI single in the ninth…his RBI single in the ninth inning marked his 500th career RBI.
His 52 multi-hit games in 2022 were the sixth-most in the Majors and the fourth-most in the AL.
Signed a nine-year contract this offseason after hitting an AL-record 62HR in 2022…was named the team captain on 12/21/22, becoming the 16th player to receive the honor in franchise history, and just the second since 1996…joins Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Thurman Munson, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Roger Peckinpaugh, Rollie Zeider, Frank Chance, Hal Chase, Willie Keeler, Norman “Kid” Elberfeld and Clark Griffith.
THE SAN FRANCISCO TREAT: The Yankees’ current series vs. the Giants marks their first against San Francisco since 4/26- 28/19 at San Francisco…marks their first home series vs. the Giants since 7/22-24/16…are 11-6 all-time vs. the Giants during the regular season and 7-4 vs. the Giants at home.
INF DJ LeMahieu hit a leadoff double in the fifth inning on Saturday vs. San Francisco…has batted .336/.396/.445 (132- for-393) with 63R, 22 doubles, 3 triples, 5HR, 45RBI and 41BB in 111 career games vs. the Giants.
OH MY JOSH: INF Josh Donaldson hit his first HR of the season with a solo HR in the eighth inning on Saturday…also marked his 800th career run scored.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JHONY BRITO (MLB DEBUT)
RHP Jhony Brito will make his Major League debut today vs. San Francisco…the 25-year-old will pitch on extended six days’ rest… last pitched in his final spring appearance on 3/26 vs. Toronto, tossing 5.1 perfect innings (3K), earning the victory…was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday and made his first career Opening Day roster…will be the first Yankees pitcher to make his Major League debut this season…split the 2022 season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to go 11-4 with a 2.96 ERA (112.2IP, 95H, 40R/37ER, 35BB, 91K, 9HR) in 26 games (23 starts)…allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 19 of his 23 starts… among Yankees farmhands, ranked second in wins, fifth in starts and sixth in innings pitched…following the season, was named by Baseball America as having the “Best Control” among Yankees minor leaguers…was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on 11/10/22… over parts of five minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-22), has gone 26-21 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA (392.2IP, 375H, 196R/162ER, 81BB, 344K, 28HR) in 86 career appearances (70 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.
SPRING FLING: Made just four spring appearances (two starts), going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (13.0IP, 12H, 5R/3ER, 10K 1HR)…made his spring debut on 3/26 at Toronto, earning the win after tossing 2.0 scoreless innings (3H, 2K)…made his second appearance on 3/4 vs. Tampa Bay, allowing 4R/2ER over 2.2IP in relief…made his third spring appearance on 3/10 at Detroit, tossing 3.0 innings in relief (4H, 1ER, 3K, 1HR)…made his final spring outing on 3/26 vs. Toronto, tossing 5.1 perfect innings (3K), earning the victory.
HOME SWEET HOME: In 13 home games (12 starts) with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2022, went 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA (60.0IP, 13ER) and 42K.
INTO THE FIRE: Is the seventh Yankees pitcher to start against a National League opponent in his Major League debut, joining RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2 vs. New York-NL: ND, 6.0IP, 1R/0ER), RHP Chad Green (5/16/16 at Arizona: L, 4.0IP, 6R/4ER), RHP Chase Whitley (5/15/14 at New York-NL: ND, 4.2IP, 0ER), RHP Tyler Clippard (5/20/07 at New York-NL: W, 6.0IP, 1ER), LHP Brad Halsey (6/19/04 at Los Angeles-NL: W, 5.2IP, 2ER) and LHP Brandon Claussen (6/28/03-G2 at New York-NL: W, 6.1IP, 1ER).
Is the seventh Yankee to draw a start at the current Yankee Stadium in his Major League debut, joining, RHP Luis Gil (8/3/21), RHP Deivi García (8/30/20-G2), RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (6/15/18), LHP Jordan Montgomery (4/12/17), RHP Luis Severino (8/5/15) and RHP Adam Warren (6/29/12).
THIS IS 25: At 25 years, 44 days old, will be the seventh starter age 25-or-over to make his Major League debut for the Yankees since 1999, joining RHP Chien-Ming Wang (25y, 30d), RHP Masahiro Tanaka (25y, 154d), Christian Parker (25y, 277d), Alex Graman (26y, 155d), Matt DeSalvo (26y, 238d) and Kei Igawa (27y, 268d).
2022: Split the season with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining to go 11-4 with a 2.96 ERA (112.2IP, 95H, 40R/37ER, 35BB, 91K, 9HR) in 26 games (23 starts)…allowed 2ER-or-fewer in 19 of his 23 starts.
Among Yankees farmhands, ranked second in wins, fifth in starts and sixth in innings pitched.
Began the season with Double-A Somerset, going 5-2 with a 2.36 ERA (42.0IP, 36H, 14R/11ER, 11BB, 38K, 4HR) in eight starts…was named the Eastern League “Pitcher of the Week” for 4/25-5/1 after allowing just 1H over 7.0 scoreless innings on 5/1 vs. Portland (W, 1BB, 6K).
Was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on 6/1 and went 6-2 with a 3.31 ERA (70.2IP, 59H, 26ER, 24BB, 53K, 5HR) in 18 games (15 starts).
Following the season, was named by Baseball America as having the “Best Control” among Yankees minor leaguers.
Was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster on 11/10.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Over parts of five minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-22), has gone 26-21 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA (392.2IP, 375H, 196R/162ER, 81BB, 344K, 28HR) in 86 career appearances (70 starts).
Missed most of the 2017 minor league season and the entire 2018 season due to “Tommy John” surgery.
Was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.
