Locked On Giants – Daily Podcast On The San Francisco Giants

It's hard to win a series when you allow 28 runs on 45 hits. That's over nine runs per game—yikes! The San Francisco Giants are dealing with a huge amount of injuries and a Covid outbreak, but that really wasn't why they got blown out by the Nationals over the weekend. Chalk the series loss up to uncharacteristically poor pitching.

Alex Wood and Alex Cobb failed to set the tone in each of their starts, putting the Giants in big early holes. Cobb was returning off the injured list after missing a couple of starts with a groin injury. But yes, the Giants look largely unfamiliar due to all of their injuries and the Covid outbreak. Mike Yastrzemski, Brandon Belt, Dom Leone, and Zack Littell have tested positive for Covid-19. LaMonte Wade Jr., Evan Longoria, Tommy La Stella, and Anthony DeSclafani remain on the injured list. They're missing about 10 guys from their active roster who would ordinarily be in there.

As a result, we're seeing a lot of the likes of Luis González (who's done a really nice job), Jason Krizan, Mike Ford (just acquired in a trade in response to all of the players on the IL), and Jason Vosler. Joc Pederson and Austin Slater are also banged up, but thankfully not on the IL. Despite it all, the Giants' hitting was not the problem this weekend, and hasn't been a problem all season. They're scoring the most runs per game in all of baseball (5.0), and scored six runs per game in this series. It was a weird one, but the Giants have no choice but to turn the page, try to get healthy, and get ready to face the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Athletic Greens

To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/MLBNETWORK

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joey Bart has struck out in exactly half of his plate appearances. What will the San Francisco Giants do at the catcher position if he continues to struggle? Curt Casali hasn't exactly lit the world on fire either, so will the Giants feel compelled to make a move at some point if they aren't getting any production out of that spot in the lineup?

It was always going to be a drop-off going from Buster Posey to Bart, but Bart's swing and miss issues have been a problem. Thankfully, he has made up for it somewhat with significantly improved plate discipline and some mixed-in power. But if the K's continue to pile up, his overall offensive line will keep dropping.

On today's Locked On Giants podcast, host Ben Kaspick answers questions from listeners about the state of the SF Giants. Among the questions asked and answered are:

It is obvious that Joey Bart is struggling at the plate with so many strikeouts. I know it is a small sample size, but do you anticipate the Giants making a move if his K’s continue to pile up over the next month?

What do you think a Willson Contreras or Sean Murphy deal would cost us?

Bart’s OPS is .646 and Curt Casali’s is .416, but Bart has much more upside. Why do you think they’re splitting time so much when other players who struggle like Darin Ruf stay in the lineup and continue to hit 3rd?

Do we think Farhan Zaidi will at any point go and get a big free agent bat or trade/extend? Missed out on Bryce Harper and Shohei Ohtani, obviously he won’t over pay for older declining players but at some point, why not to get an anchor 3 hole hitter that doesn’t need to be platooned?

Do you think the Rangers vs Giants off-season is a good case study of spending big vs spending smart?

With Ketel Marte and Jose Ramirez extended who is the biggest impact player that the giants could reasonably trade for by the deadline or this offseason?

What will happen with Thairo Estrada when Tommy La Stella is back? Estrada has been great.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Athletic Greens

To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/MLBNETWORK

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joc Pederson has been the San Francisco Giants' hottest hitter in 2022, and he may be headed for the injured list. The Giants have been banged up all year, but they've managed to overcome those obstacles. LaMonte Wade Jr. hasn't played all season. Mike Yastrzemski got Covid-19 right as his bat was heating up. Losing Pederson would be a blow, but one they could overcome with Yastrzemski and Wade likely to be back soon.

The Giants lost to the A's 1-0, and looked like a tired group in the process. They'll have a much-needed day off today. Jakob Junis, however, did not look tired. He pitched another five scoreless innings out of the bullpen after Sam Long pitched one inning to start the game. Junis has been a revelation for the SF Giants, and he's doing it with about 75% slow stuff (sliders and changeups). It's a very compelling pitch mix, and it's working beautifully. WIth Anthony DeSclafani likely to miss a few weeks and Alex Cobb still on the shelf, Junis is making a compelling case to join the starting rotation.

A's President Dave Kaval took to Twitter during this series in an attempt to be provocative and funny. He was trying to diss the Giants' attendance, but he came across looking foolish considering the Giants sold more than 30,000 tickets for both games against the A's, whereas the A's sold less than 20,000 tickets for their Opening Day game and have drawn under 5,000 in multiple other games this year. He even beefed with a parody seagull Twitter account. The A's continue to view the Giants as a huge rival, whereas the Giants barely even notice the A's. It's a sad dynamic from A's' perspective.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Athletic Greens

To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/MLBNETWORK

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The San Francisco Giants have won twice as many regular season games as they've lost since the start of the 2021 season. At 120-60, the Giants have the best record in baseball over that span. It's a remarkable achievement for a team that people expected to struggle in both 2021 and 2022. After leading the majors with 107 wins last year, the Giants trail only the Mets in winning percentage so far in 2022.

Last night, it was another dazzling performance by Carlos Rodón, who has been nothing short of dominant over his first four starts. He leads the majors in strikeout rate, and has allowed three or fewer hits and one or fewer runs while striking out eight or more in all four of his starts. Jacob deGrom is the only other pitcher in the to do that over any four-game span in the modern era. Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater each hit three-run homers as the SF Giants coasted to a victory and a 13-5 record. It was their third straight win, each in consecutive days and in a different time zone.

Zack Littell landed on the injured list prior to the game after testing positive for Covid-19. He joins Mike Yastrzemski on the Covid-IL. Kervin Castro was added to the roster as a replacement. Tonight, Sam Long will take the mound for the injured Anthony DeSclafani. Long has been fantastic, and Jakob Junis is likely to pitch after Long opens. Junis had a spectacular debut with the Giants in a bullpen game on Friday. Finally, the Giants' trade for Kevin Padlo is discussed.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Athletic Greens

To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/MLBNETWORK

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Those fans should think twice before heckling Joc Pederson again. Pederson clearly heard the intense heckling directed at him in the eighth inning, but he directed his focus on Trevor Gott's pitch and hammered a go-ahead two-run homer. Pederson has essentially been baseball's best hitter so far this season, and Monday night's homer may have been the highlight of the season thus far.

Luis González also played hero after Jake McGee surrendered a game-tying homer in the bottom of the eighth. For González, who's filling in for an injured Steven Duggar, he sure picked a good time to hit his first career home run. What a gritty win this was for the San Francisco Giants, who had this one-game "series" in Milwaukee tacked on to the end of a 10-game road trip due to the delayed start to the season. This would've been a successful trip even with a loss on Monday night; the gritty, comeback win was pure icing on the cake. The Giants went with a bullpen game, and they were going up against reigning Cy Young award winner Corbin Burnes. The bullpen kept the game close until the Giants were able to get Burnes out of the game, and they pounced on a Brewers bullpen that was without Devin Williams and Josh Hader.

The SF Giants are 12-5 with a +39 run differential. It's been a great start to the season, even though they're far from full strength and they have yet to get some key cogs, like Darin Ruf, going at the plate. They had an 8-3 road trip, their best winning percentage on a trip of 10 or more games since 1994. Now they come home to face the Oakland A's, with Carlos Rodón back on the mound. The Giants are well positioned for another victory tonight, although the A's are playing better than people expected after trading away most of their best players this past offseason.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Athletic Greens

To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/MLBNETWORK

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Giants responded to criticism about their offense with a 24-run eruption in a sweep of the Washington Nationals. The Giants are 11-5 with the sport's second-best run differential. Doesn't matter that the Nats are an inferior opponent; doesn't matter that their runs have come in bunches. Runs are runs, and the Giants have played like one of the best teams in baseball so far in 2022.

Joc Pederson continues to look like a great free-agent signing. All he's done is hit, and he hit two more home runs and a double on Sunday. Compare his production to a similar player like Kyle Schwarber, who signed a four-year, $79 million deal with the Phillies this winter. Look at the below-average production so far from the likes of Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, and many others. Would it make fans feel better if the Giants were paying Pederson more money? It's not about what they're paid; it's about the production on the field. And so far, additions like Pederson and Rodón have played like some of the best free-agent additions in baseball.

The state of the roster is discussed. Mike Yastrzemski tested positive for Covid-19 and will be out for a while. Luis González was added to the 40-man as Steven Duggar went on the 60-day IL with an oblique injury. Jakob Junis was added and was brilliant in a bullpen game on Friday. LaMonte Wade Jr. started a rehab assignment on Saturday and is close to returning. Anthony DeSclafani was placed on the 10-day IL with right ankle inflammation.

There was another dumb unwritten rules controversey, with the Nationals ultimately looking like a bunch of babies. Thairo Estrada attempted to steal second with a six-run lead in the ninth inning, with the Nationals neglecting to hold him on, and they took offense. The Giants don't care about these ridiculous unwritten rules, and the sport will be better off for it.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Athletic Greens

To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/MLBNETWORK

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just a .210 average, .300 on-base, and .386 slugging. Seems like a team destined for trouble. Oh, wait, those are last year's San Francisco Giants numbers through 13 games. And yes, that's discounting pitchers.

The Giants' non-pitcher wRC+ is actually higher through 13 games this year than it was last year, and they've scored 13 more runs. So please, everyone panicking about the offense, take a deep breath. Mike Yastrzemski is showing signs of life. Brandon Belt and Joc Pederson have been hot all year. Darin Ruf and Brandon Crawford will be much better as the season goes on. You simply can't judge an offense in two weeks. Not to mention the fact that they're 8-5 and have one of the best run differentials in the league!

Steven Duggar's oblique injury is also discussed. He was already their second line of defense after the injury to LaMonte Wade Jr., who thankfully begins a rehab assignment soon. Luis González, a former third-round pick by the Chicago White Sox, is likely to be added to the 40-man and take Duggar's spot, at least until Wade Jr. is ready to return. Jakob Junis is expected to join González in Washington, DC, which could indicate that Tyler Beede's spot on the active roster and 40-man roster could be in jeopardy.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carlos Rodón for Cy Young? He sure has pitched that way through his first three starts with the San Francisco Giants. Rodón struggled with command at times in Wednesday's nice team win against the Mets, but when he was able to throw strikes, he was unhittable. He's struck out 29 batters in his first three starts, good for a ridiculous 44 K%, and it's the most strikeouts by a pitcher in their first three games with the Giants.

The offense set the tone early, with three quick runs against a good starter in Chris Bassitt. Brandon Belt got a hit for the first time in his career on his birthday, and it was a home run to boot. Mike Yastrzemski had a couple of much-needed knocks. Joey Bart had a critical caught stealing against Starling Marte, who had 47 steals in 52 attempts last year. Bart continues to have major strikeout issues at the plate, but his defense has been solid all year.

The bullpen closed it out with Rodón only being able to go five innings due to pitch inefficiency. But the 'pen stepped up, as they have so often in the past couple of years. They're an unheralded group. Jake McGee was a bit shaky with command in the 9th but got the job done. Tyler Rogers and John Brebbia gave up one run each, but they've been more than solid in the early season. Now, the Giants turn the page to Anthony DeSclafani vs. Carlos Carrasco in the series finale, with a chance for a split and a happy flight.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not exactly a good day of baseball for the San Francisco Giants. Not only were they swept in a doubleheader, but they also lost Alex Cobb to a groin injury, Logan Webb lost his first start in almost a year, and the bats were quiet once again.

To their credit, the Mets are playing like one of the best teams in baseball right now. And the Giants had them on the ropes in game one, taking an early 4-1 lead against Tylor Megill, who hadn't allowed a run in his first two starts. But then in a fateful 5th inning, the ball wasn't bouncing the SF Giants' way, and Alex Cobb came up limping after covering first base a couple of times on a cold afternoon. A couple of replay reviews also went against the Giants, and allowed the Mets to walk them off in the bottom of the 10th on a two-out hit by Francisco Lindor.

In the second game, Webb wasn't particularly sharp and Max Scherzer was. Overall, the offense managed to score just five runs in the two games, so it's not surprising that they lost them both. Mike Yastrzmeski hit a couple of balls very well yesterday and both were caught. One would've been a game-tying homer but it died on the warning track. Joc Pederson continues to swing the bat well. Thairo Estrada looks a tad exposed as an everyday player. Steven Duggar's spot in the lineup has been a black hole. Joey Bart continues to overperform some numbers that are definitely going to come down and potentially bring the rest of his production with them. Darin Ruf just hasn't been able to get it going. There are definitely some concerns, but there are reasons for optimism mixed in as well.

Find and follow Locked On Giants on your favorite podcast platforms:

🎧 Apple Podcasts http://apple.co/3ycRK3U

🎧 Spotify http://spoti.fi/3Bak0pN

🎧 Google Play https://bit.ly/3D356mr

🎧 Overcast https://bit.ly/3wqZsbg

🎧 Megaphone https://bit.ly/3wGGcXD

The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

#SFGiants #FirstListen

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

Rock Auto

Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.

Blue Nile

This Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Confused about all of the new stats in baseball? What's up with BABIP, HR/FB ratio, and Barrel%? WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely something.

With last night's San Francisco Giants game being rained out, today's episode is another lesson in Sabermetrics 101. Locked On Giants is data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all. These metrics may sound scary, but they're actually really important and not that difficult to comprehend. Their relevance is tied in with current Giants players.

Regarding WAR, it's actually just an attempt at combining all of the different things a player does on the field. It's simply a combination of offense, defense, and baserunning! It's important to understand that different websites (like Baseball Reference and FanGraphs) have different WAR calculations, so we must cite which one we're using. It's also important to note that different positions have different values, so don't be fooled by FanGraphs' "Def" metric, which is "Defensive Runs Above Average." For example, Brandon Belt has always put up negative numbers in this category, but it doesn't mean he's a "negative" defender. He's dinged for playing a less valuable position (than, say, shortstop), but he actually rates as one of the game's better defensive 1B.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

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