CHICAGO -- The six-game trip through New York and Chicago was an odd one for the start of a season.
The Giants opened their 2023 campaign in New York for the first time since moving to San Francisco in 1958, and that was followed by the first trip to Guaranteed Rate Field in six years. All six games were day games, and the weather seemed to change by the hour.
It rained at some point every day but the last one, but the Giants didn't have any delays, despite having two off days built in by MLB for bad weather. There were days when you would see some players warming up in hoodies and beanies and others in t-shirts, with the difference simply being when they decided to leave the clubhouse.
It was a great trip for the foodies in the clubhouses, and nearly the entire team seemed to eat pizza somewhere downtown -- from Lou Malnati's to Bonci -- on the day off in Chicago. It was also a familiar one on the field.
Coming off a .500 season, the Giants went 3-3. They had 15 homers in the three wins and 11 hits in the three losses.
A six-game trip is an extremely small sample, but there were positives and negatives and trends that look like they might stick over a long season. Here are 10 observations from the first trip of the year:
Home Run Derby
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Two weeks ago, the man who put this roster together said it reminded him of the 2021 group that led the NL in homers.
"I just look at our lineup and you know, pretty much everybody one through nine in our lineup has the ability to hit 20 homers, if they haven't hit 20 homers in the past," president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said near the end of camp. "I just think the length of our lineup, having patience and power one through nine -- even though we're going to have a couple of different looks to our lineup -- I just think that's going to be a real strength of ours."
So far, so good.
The Giants got a firsthand look at the slugger who got away, and Aaron Judge hit a couple of homers during the series in New York. But then they flew to Chicago and made it look like Coors Field, hitting 13 homers, tied for their most ever in a three-game series. With 15 overall, they lead the Majors.
The Other Side of Those Big Swings
The Giants struck out 72 times over six games, which is second-most in the big leagues to a Miami Marlins lineup that has played one additional game. No, Gabe Kapler is not worried about it.
He said Thursday that the reality is this is a lineup that's going to strike out a lot, but as long as the at-bat quality is good and the home runs are there, that's not a huge deal. So far, it's been feast or famine.
"I think we're going to battle at-bats, as well," hitting coach Justin Viele said. "We've shown we can get on base via the walk, we've shown we can bunt ... I think we are going to hit some homers, though, for sure. I don't know if we're going to be dependent on it. Hopefully, we can do the other little things, too. Guys are running the bases well and they're running hard, so hopefully, we can spread it out in different ways."
An April Audition
The Giants gave up on Connor Joe quickly in 2019 and regretted it. The injuries in the outfield and to Joey Bart, along with six right-handed starters on the other side, allowed them to give Blake Sabol a long look on this trip. Sabol made four starts in left and two behind the plate, and on Thursday he finally showed the ability that was on display all spring.
Sabol was 1 for 12 through five games with four strikeouts and way too many grounders to the right side, but he hit a long homer in his first at-bat Thursday and then added two singles.
For all of the talk about his position, ultimately this will come down to something simple: Can Sabol hit at the big league level? If he can, the Giants will find a spot for him as they continue to churn the roster elsewhere, and Sabol does have a bit more time to prove he's ready.
Mitch Haniger (oblique) and Austin Slater (hamstring) are unlikely to be available on this upcoming six-game homestand.
Whatever Works
The funniest moment of the trip came from -- who else -- John Brebbia, who thanked gravity after he faced the top of the Yankees lineup on Saturday and gave up 1,049 feet worth of fly balls in a clean inning.
The coaching staff enjoyed it, and not just because of the faces Brebbia made as he walked off the mound.
He got Judge with a changeup, which wouldn't be notable except for the fact that Brebbia doesn't really throw a changeup. He has a changeup grip, of course, but he's only thrown 12 of them the previous two seasons and that's the only one on 50 pitches this year.
Brebbia said he was trying to mix it up against a player who otherwise crushed the Giants for three days.
"It's in the scouting report now," he said of the changeup, smiling.
Supposed to be a Strength
The roster is built around a deep starting staff, but it was a rough week for most in that group.
The rotation had a 4.40 ERA on the trip with just two appearances of more than five innings, and Anthony DeSclafani (six shutout innings) kept it from being way uglier. That ERA doesn't include Sean Manaea's relief appearance, either.
It's one turn through, but it's not hard to pinpoint the most disappointing aspect of the trip for the Giants.
A Different Kind of Platoon
Here's the rotation to start the year: Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, Ross Stripling, DeSclafani, Webb, Wood, Cobb, Manaea, DeSclafani.
With six healthy starters, the Giants are mixing and matching to try and find the right matchups. The Yankees and White Sox were heavily right-handed, so Manaea pitched out of the bullpen the first time through. But he'll slide back in this weekend and Ross Stripling got bumped back, which coincidentally keeps DeSclafani away from the Dodgers series.
In the weeks ahead, there will be times when the opponent is heavily left-handed, and the Giants may line Manaea and Alex Wood up for those series.
Kapler said they "want all of our guys to start a lot of games, so there has to be some flexibility," which will allow for extra rest at times and better matchups. This will continue as long as they're all healthy, with one exception.
"Webb is going to start every time through (the rotation) for us," Kapler said. "I wouldn't expect much to change in terms of how we deploy Logan."
Leadoff LaMonte
The Belt Wars are over, but the discussion will continue at first base. If you're still focused on batting average -- you shouldn't be -- you probably spent most of the last week grumbling about LaMonte Wade Jr. leading off. But he also drew seven walks and got hit three times, and he'll fly home with a .538 on-base percentage.
Wade made his reputation by hitting late-game homers in 2021, but the thing the Giants love most about him is his approach at the plate, and he did a very nice job of setting the tone the past six games. He also had a good trip defensively, showing the range that should make him an above-average option over there.
Win-Win
A few innings after Joc Pederson hit a 109 mph liner through a glove, the official scorekeeper -- having consulted the rulebook -- changed the call to an error. Even with that ruling and a homer that was pulled back over the wall by Luis Robert on Monday, Pederson finished the trip with a .830 OPS and three homers.
On a related note, the Giants' defense was solid throughout the trip. Defensive metrics aren't reliable in such small samples, but Giants outfielders passed the eye test for six games. Sabol looked fine in left and the Giants believe Michael Conforto will be above-average in right. Even with two outfielders down, they're more committed than ever to having Pederson just DH and try to bang.
"I think it's the right spot for him right now," Kapler said Thursday morning. "I'm really pleased with the way our outfield is playing. As a contrast to last year, where it was one of our biggest challenges, it's been -- in the early stages, through five games -- a real strength."
A True Long Man
When asked about having Jacob Junis in his 'pen, Kapler often refers to it as a luxury. That might be selling it short.
Junis twice took over when starters went short on the trip, including a dominant four-inning stint in place of Wood on Thursday. He ended up pretty much having a starter's line (and a good one) over two long relief appearances: 6 1/3 innings, five hits, one earned run, two walks, six strikeouts, 102 pitches.
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Kapler said repeatedly this spring that Junis had as good a winter as anyone. His sinker averaged 94.9 mph in his first appearance and 93 mph on Thursday, a big jump from last year's 91.9. His secondary pitches are up in velo, too.
There likely will be times this season when the Giants need Junis to start. For now, they have a true long man, and a pretty good one at that.
It's Working ...
The Giants played 2:33 on Opening Day, then went 3:12, 2:27, 2:36, 2:49 and 2:50.
They played 60 games last season that took more time to finish than the longest one on this trip. They went 2:50-or-under in five of their six games, something they did just 19 percent of the time last year.
Unless you're Tim Anderson, the pitch clock is a huge positive. If you're not on board already, it's time.