San Francisco Giants Show Great Potential in Home Opener

I know there are still 161 regular season games left in the regular season, but I definitely liked what I saw in the San Francisco Giants' home opener. 

Coming into the game, no one would even think that Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum would only last three innings and the offense would put up a ten spot, but that is exactly what happened.

From the get go, Lincecum struggled with his command by walking three and was constantly in the stretch, but he found ways to get out of jams when he needed to by only giving up three runs.  

Luckily enough, the Giants came out with something to prove, where they put up a three spot in the first inning with a bases-clearing triple by Travis Ishikawa. The offense only got started there because clutch hitting and situational baseball helped them crank out seven more runs, giving the Giants an impressive 10-6 victory.

Other good signs for the Giants in this game were the four through seven hitters. Each player had two hits and combined for knocking in seven runs and two long balls. 

The most impressive of these hitters was second-year player Aaron Rowand, who had two hits and three RBI, including the game-winning two run home run in the fourth inning.

If Rowand can stay healthy, I definitely see the potential of him putting up the kind of numbers he did in Philadelphia.

Along with the great hitting, the pitching looked quite impressive as well. Aside from the struggles of Lincecum, the rest of the pitching staff showed some signs of great success. Although Joe Martinez gave up two runs in two innings, he showed the ability to throw the sinker and induce the double play when needed.

Also, the new members of the Giants staff, Brandon Medders, Jeremy Affeldt, and Bob Howry, shut down the potent lineup of the Brewers by throwing a combined three innings and only giving up two hits.

So, in lieu of the game's positives, I am definitely excited to see what this 2009 club can do this year.