SAN DIEGO -- The first win for the Giants' new manager came because of contributions from a lot of new players.
Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee and Jorge Soler combined for six hits, six RBI, five runs and two homers, with Chapman's two-run homer setting the tone right away. Rookie left-hander Kyle Harrison did the rest, throwing six strong innings in an 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres that was Bob Melvin's first for the team he has always hoped to manage.
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The Giants shook off a blown lead on Opening Day, jumping ahead early and never looking back Friday at Petco Park. Six different Giants reached base in the three-run first, with Chapman providing the big blow. He also provided the last flurry, hitting a 111-mph rocket off the third deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.
While the Giants try to figure out how to get rid of those opt-outs in his contract, here are three things to know from the first win of 2024:
Happy Kyle Harrison Day
San Francisco Giants
Long before they signed Blake Snell or realized Alex Cobb was weeks ahead of schedule in his rehab, the Giants lined up Harrison to start the second game of the season. With the way he threw Friday night, he might not pitch any lower than that for years to come.
Harrison allowed just two runs over six innings, both coming on solo homers. He struck out five, and for the first time in eight big league starts, he didn't issue a walk. Harrison has the raw stuff to dominate whenever he fills the zone, and 54 of his 76 pitches were strikes.
The fastball is Harrison's bread and butter, and he used it 72 percent of the time on Friday night. All five of Harrison's strikeouts came on the pitch, with the top four in the lineup -- Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado -- all going down.
Harrison made just two mistakes, but they were poorly timed. He hung a breaking ball to Machado and a changeup to Tatis, and San Diego's two best hitters made him pay, hitting a pair of loud solo homers.
Double The Fun
In his fifth at-bat as a Giant, Chapman jumped on a 93-mph fastball from Joe Musgrove and smoked a two-run shot to dead center. Padres center fielder Jose Azocar had a shot at robbing Chapman in front of the short wall in center, but he mistimed his jump and the ball ended up hitting a fan on the shoulder.
Chapman added a huge insurance run in the seventh, lining a double into the gap in left to bring Soler home from second. Soler had gotten on with a double to right-center, his first hit as a Giant. The two weren't done.
Soler walked in the ninth and was standing on third when Chapman crushed a changeup from Pedro Avila. The homer was the loudest on a night when both sides filled up the exit velocity column.
Roupp There It Is
The Giants tossed Landen Roupp right into the deep end, having him pitch the seventh inning after Harrison departed. Harrison's spring roommate entered with a four-run lead, but it was just two when he started warming up, a sign of how much Melvin and the staff already trust the young right-hander.
Roupp made just four appearances during the spring but showed such dominant stuff that the Giants bumped him up to their big league bullpen after 15 starts in Double-A and no appearances in Triple-A. He pitched a scoreless seventh, giving up a single but getting a pop-up and two fly balls.
Pitching out of the bullpen, Roupp should be able to survive on just his two plus pitches. He threw his curveball 10 times and got seven strikes, and also threw six sinkers.
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