Clearly, we can extrapolate a lot from the first few games of a season. Remember last year when the Brewers started 0-4 with a minus-32 run differential, and then they…uhh, they did what, now?
Key takeaways
Quick scan — what you need to know:
- Clearly, we can extrapolate a lot from the first few games of a season.
- Remember last year when the Brewers started 0-4 with a minus-32 run differential, and then they…uhh, they did what, now?
- Led all of Major League Baseball in wins?
- Look, it’s deflating to start a season winless (as the Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Athletics and White Sox have), and it feels more exciting winning the first three games of the year (as the…
Background
What led here, in plain terms:
- But, as the Brewers example goes to show, it's best not to overreact or draw any sweeping conclusions over a single series.
- The Giants probably aren’t going to shatter the record for fewest runs scored in a season, and the NL East isn’t likely to end with the Marlins in first and the Phillies in last.
- If your favorite team got off to a slow start, don't let a couple bad games stifle your optimism.
- For now, all we can do is take what we’ve seen so far in a small sample, try to factor in what we know about the teams and expect moving forward, and do our best to provide a starting point for…
Why it matters
Why readers and decision-makers should care:
- Together, Gausman and Cease became the first duo to strike out at least 11 batters apiece in a team’s first two games in MLB’s modern era.
- Will Smith was back at it with another game-changing home run, this time providing a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning Saturday on his bobblehead night to finish off a sweep over the Diamondbacks.
- He also helped navigate a Dodgers bullpen that fired 11.2 scoreless innings on the weekend.