LOS ANGELES -- Bruce Bochy met with the media a couple of hours before Wednesday's game, and when a reporter brought up Shaun Anderson's first-inning issues, the manager smiled and politely cut the question off.
"His issues?" Bochy said. "The team's, but go ahead ..."
Yes, it is indeed the team. Bochy keeps hoping something will change, but his starting pitchers seem incapable of flipping that switch. The Giants were allowing a 1.058 OPS to opposing hitters in the first inning -- that would rank fourth in the Majors for an individual hitter -- even before Drew Pomeranz gave up three runs in a very loud opening frame on Wednesday.
Pomeranz would be charged with seven runs and a whole lot more exit velocity in a 9-2 loss as the Giants failed to take advantage of forearm discomfort that knocked Dodgers starter Rich Hill out after just one inning.
This was, in every respect, more of the same. So let's change it up. Here are three things you can feel good about after a game like that:
--- Tyler Austin hit his sixth homer and played solid defense.
Austin took right-hander Yimi Garcia deep to right-center, hitting a homer that just kept carrying and carrying, catching Alex Verdugo and Cody Bellinger by surprise. The Giants don't hit a lot of homers like that. Austin had been in a 1-for-20 skid coming into the game, but he's slugging .447 and has started to look much more comfortable in left field. Perhaps he's someone who can be a useful piece for the future.
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The most important part of that will be his ability to play left field, and after a slow start because of elbow soreness and bad weather that kept him from doing outfield drills, Austin has looked much better. The last two games have been his two best defensively since coming over from Minnesota.
"It's just working in practice. That's the big thing," Austin said of the change. "I feel like it's coming along and getting better every day. I'm starting to feel pretty good out there. Hopefully we can keep that going."
Tyler Austin doing a little bit of everything tonight. pic.twitter.com/HQLuWSYjyL— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 20, 2019
Bochy has always believed Austin -- a DH/1B type in the American League -- has a chance to play out there.
"He's getting better and better out there," the manager said. "He can run, he's got range, there's no reason why he shouldn't be a good left fielder."
--- Speaking of left field, Mike Yastrzemski has been much better than the other former River Cats and minor leaguers the Giants have run through this season. Yaz was a last-minute replacement for Steven Duggar, who has a tight lower back, and hit a solo blast off lefty Caleb Ferguson in the sixth.
Overall, Yastrzemski has a .250/.316/.426 slash line while playing good defense wherever Bochy puts him. It's early, but he looks capable of being part of the outfield mix next year. Like Austin, he should get plenty of starts in the second half as Farhan Zaidi and Co. try to evaluate what they really have.
--- I could not get to a third positive thing. Sorry. Here is a video of me eating a hot dog with bologna on it and immediately regretting some life choices.
