The first opener of the season.
Happy Tuesday, San Francisco Giants fans. In case you missed it, Alex Cobb pitched a complete game shutout last night, leading the Giants to a 4-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, and a three-game winning streak.
And as they seek to make it a four-game streak, the Giants will turn to John Brebbia, who will be the opener for the Giants.
Openers were the flavor of the day for a little while, but they’ve lost popularity over the last two or so years. This is the first time they’ve used an opener this season, after using one 17 times last year.
The reasoning seems to be fairly simple. Against a Cardinals team that crushes left-handed pitchers, the Giants wanted to give the bulk of their pitches to long man Jakob Junis, rather than starter Sean Manaea. But they’ll let Brebbia cut through the top of the order, then Junis can slide into the game more naturally.
Brebbia, who spent his first three seasons with the Cardinals, has looked very good this year, even though his ERA sits at 5.63. The Giants used him as an opener 11 times last year, and with good results: he pitched an inning in each of those outings, and only gave up one run. Let’s hope it goes as well this time around, too.
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants host the Cardinals tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT in the second game of their four-game series.