The Giants are off to their best start since 2003.
Given that the Cincinnati Reds have been the only team to beat them in 2025, this is probably the last team the San Francisco Giants want to see during their best start to a season since 2003.
After all, it was just 8 to 10 days ago that the Giants ruined Opening Day for the Reds and annoyed in the rubber match of the series to take two of three in Cincinnati. In particular, they might have it in for Heliot Ramos, whose chest-thumping after his Opening Day home run annoyed the likes of former Reds GM Jim Bowden (he lamented Ramos’s “behavior” during a segment on SiriusXM’s Power Alley the next morning) and no doubt many Reds fans. He also had the key hit in the final game of the series. That one had started as a pitchers’ duel before unraveling for both sides.
The Giants are undefeated since leaving Cincinnati, while the Reds are 2-5. They lost 3 out of 4 to a Milwaukee Brewers squad that looks poised to carry a 5+ team ERA all season long. It gets a little worse for them, too. Apparently, the Reds haven’t won a series in which they’ve lost the first game of it since mid-2023. Now, with Hunter Greene starting in game one of this series, they could storm out of the gates and put themselves in a great position. The Giants were handcuffed by Greene. It took getting to the bullpen for them to salvage that Opening Day (thank you, Wilmer Flores).
You can see a similar situation to yesterday’s game taking shape, where Bryan Woo stifled the Giants the first time through the order while the Mariners’ lineup pecked away at Giants pitching to build a lead. The difference is that the second time through the order might not be enough to help out the Giants against Greene, who looks to be getting better every start.
It’s unwise to play The Expectation Game so early in the season, but it’s interesting how quickly fortunes change. The Reds had to have been excited by the change in leadership — Hall of Fame-bound Terry Francona being their new manager — bringing along a cache of young talent to grab the NL Central crown, which looks extremely grabbable. The vibes are a little sour for them right now, though. The Giants, meanwhile, kinda coasted into this season with a “We’ll see” shrug, but they’ve played so well that they’re stoking grander ambitions — potentially.
If Buster Posey has truly brought back the franchise’s championship era mindset (and possibly even their luck), then superstitiously, we might expect that the Reds could be energized by playing at Oracle Park. Am I the only one who remembers who much of a thrashing Cincinnati would give the Giants in San Francisco? Okay, sure, they’re 40-43 overall at Oracle (regular season), but it feels like a tricky matchup.
And the Reds still have Elly De La Cruz, an all-world player. Again, it goes without saying that he’s the player to watch as he’s almost certainly the best player on the field. He’s flanked by some intriguing supporting players with a couple of potential stars among them, but the De La Cruz-Greene combo is a formidable pair of opponents in their own right.
Familiarity breeds contempt, of course, and the Reds might be hungry to jump the Giants who are certainly coasting on some supremely positive vibes lately. Their desperation could be just the fuel they need to shake up a Giants team that’s building something special.
Then again, the Giants are playing at their peak heading into this series and have a homefield advantage that’s the envy of most teams. Surprising the baseball world by waking up this morning in first place of the NL West — even this early in the season — might be that extra 2% of confidence the team needs to fend off an angsty Reds team.
Series overview
Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds
Where: Oracle Park | San Francisco, California
When: Monday & Tuesday at 6:45pm PT, Wednesday at 12:45pm PT
National broadcasts: None.
Projected starters
Monday: Hunter Greene (RHP, 0-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. Logan Webb (RHP, 1-0, 3.00 ERA)
Tuesday: Nick Lodolo (LHP, 1-1, 1.42 ERA) vs. Landen Roupp (RHP, 0-0, 6.75 ERA)
Wednesday: Nick Martinez (RHP, 0-2, 5.91 ERA) vs. Justin Verlander (RHP, 0-0, 6.14 ERA)
Where they stand
Reds, 3-7 (4th in NL Central), 39 RS / 38 RA | Projected W-L: 76-86
Giants, 8-1 (1st in NL West), 49 RS / 30 RA | Projected W-L: 86-76
Reds to watch
Besides Elly De La Cruz, who is the obvious choice…
Matt McLain: He’s the guy after Elly that the Reds need to keep other teams honest. Hitters who are 30+% better than the league average aren’t common, and if McLain can stay healthy that’s basically what he is — but, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He’s missed the past few games with hamstring soreness, one of those injuries that puts him in a gray area when it comes to IL placement. If he’s in the lineup, expect him to rake. At the same time, this will be his first time hitting at Oracle Park. He has 3 career home runs against the Giants, but maybe the Mays Field dimensions are a neutralizer?
Hunter Greene: It’s not just the strikeouts, it’s the lack of walks. He throws so hard that he doesn’t need to tease or trick. He’s made one start at Oracle Park before. Back in 2023, he got the win after striking out 6 in 5.1 IP. That was at the end of August and was one of the games where it had crystallized that Gabe Kapler wasn’t going to survive the season.
Emilio Pagan and/or Tony Santillan: These are the arms tasked with being the committee of closers manager Terry Francona will use until injured closer Alexis Diaz returns from what looks like will be an extended rehab assignment. If the Giants’ walk-off magic is to continue, one or both of these pitchers might be a factor.
Giants to watch
Jung Hoo Lee: Is he about to get on a roll? Is he on a roll? He’s started off the season hitting .344/.400/.531 (11-for-32) and has just 6 strikeouts in 35 PA (17%). He’s yet to homer, but that’s okay. He has 6 doubles. He is exactly what the lineup has needed and a great change of pace for opposing pitchers when you’ve got strikeout-power mashers like Adames, Chapman, and Ramos surrounding him.
The second baseman: Tyler Fitzgerald is 4-for-24 to start the season. Might there be an opportunity for Christian Koss to steal some playing time in this series? Or could Casey Schmitt’s small sample size against Hunter Greene give him a little more run than just occasionally playing first base? It’s so early in the season that none of this is dire, but it’s a part of the lineup to watch.
Landen Roupp: I declare that his first start in Houston was, though shaky, a really solid start for the guy. That he’s got Hayden Birdsong breathing down his neck is besides the point — for now. Because he doesn’t throw 95+ he’s a guy who can’t be Jordan Hicks or Hayden Birdsong. He’s got to pitch more. Setup hitters. Execute pitches at a higher rate. I’m not suggesting you watch to see if he gives way to Birdsong, I’m saying his worth keeping an eye on for the development portion of our rooting interests.
Prediction time