Can the San Francisco Giants Bounce Back In First NL West Series?

Starting the season getting swept is not what the Giants were expecting coming into the 2026 season. They have new management, new players, and yet, they look like the same old Giants. They are hoping to bounce back against the Padres in their first division series of 2026.

They will face three pitchers they are familiar with, including two ex-NL West foes, Walker Buehler and German Marquez. Both veteran pitchers made the Padres roster coming out of spring training and are hoping to hold the Giants to no runs, just like the Yankees did twice.

Giant Offensive Struggles

The Giants have struggled mightily at the plate in 2026. Even though they finally scored their first run of 2026 on Saturday, they are last in every statistical hitting category. Just to reiterate, the Giants are dead last in average, on-base percentage, slugging, hits, and RBIs.

Not to mention, they are the only team in Major League Baseball without a home run. While pitching has kept the Giants in the game, they haven’t been able to give their pitchers any run support. The Giants are also second in the MLB with four double plays against them already.

Positives

While there aren’t many great things about the Giants’ hitting right now, I have a couple of things to suggest they could be better going forward. The one stat that suggests they are better than the other stats suggest is that the Giants have the lowest batting average on balls in play (BABIP). BABIP tells us how unlucky a team is when they are hitting. This can be due to factors like weak contact, slow players, and elite defense. When the scales balance, the Giants should be a better-hitting team.

Jung Hoo Lee, leading off for the Giants on Saturday, also had a positive impact. I think if they keep him there, at least against righties, it will keep some speed at the top of the lineup as well as a little pop.

Backend Starters

Through the first three games of the season, the starters are a combined 0-3 with an allowed 19 hits and 10 runs in just over 14 innings. They did, however, have 16 Ks and only two walks in the same number of innings. If Adrian Houser and Landon Roupp can come in and limit hits, especially with runners on, it could stabilize this team for Logan Webb to take back over in game three against the Padres.

Houser has been a middle-rotation starter in his career thus far and arguably had one of his best seasons last year. He had a 3.31 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP. He brought his sinker up from sitting around 92 MPH to sitting at 94 regularly. This led to more groundballs and weak contact. When Houser did get hit last year, though, it was very loud. His hard-hit rate was very high at 47.6%, and the average exit velocity was 90 MPH. This, coupled with his lack of strikeout stuff, limits his ceiling.

Roupp had one big flaw last year. He could not stop walking batters. He has limited runs generally, but with a 1.48 WHIP, I expect there to be traffic on the bases when he is on the mound. He does have decent strikeout stuff with a curveball and changeup that had a batting average against of less than .200. Roupp also dealt with injuries last year, calling his availability into question.

If these two guys can eat innings and limit runs, the Giants will have a shot if the offense can step up.

Padres

The Padres have struggled this season as well. They salvaged the series against Detroit on Sunday after dropping the first two, where they faced reigning Cy Young recipient, Tarik Skubal, and Framber Valdez.

Like the Giants, the Padres struggled greatly against lefties last year, but with additions like Ramon Laureano at the 2025 trade deadline and 2026 FA signee Miguel Andujar, they should be able to turn it around.

At the Plate

The Padres have also not been great at the dish so far this year, ranking in the bottom third of the league in every hitting category. While this is the case, this team will prove to be difficult to handle with veteran hitters up and down the lineup and Fernando Tatis Jr. headlining.

On the Bump

Padres pitching has been in the middle of the pack in all the major stat categories, but Marquez and Buehler will have to knock some dust off, hopefully allowing Giants hitters to knock the ball over the fence. It has been two different stories for these pitchers historically against the Giants.

Buehler has been great against the Giants. In his 12 starts against them, Buehler has a 7-2 record with a sub-three ERA and more strikeouts than innings pitched.

However, Marquez has an over seven ERA in 20 appearances against the Giants. Even accounting for him pitching in Colorado, the Giants are historically great against him.

Webb vs Pivetta

Both of these guys had nightmare starts to 2026. Logan Webb had a bad outing on opening night against the Yankees, but the runs he allowed mostly came in one inning. Webb allowed five hits, five runs, and a walk in the second inning to forget. I think he will bounce back as long as he keeps his first pitch out of the middle of the zone. The Yankees jumped him in the second inning, but Webb made it deep into the game after and had a solid recovery.

Pivetta, on the other hand, had a really bad Opening Day. He allowed three walks in his three innings and totally lost command on the rubber. After that, Detroit capitalized on those free baserunners with hits and runs. With how good Pivetta was last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if he bounced back, but his command was a huge issue and could result in more bad outings if they continue.

The Bullpen

Both bullpens have been mediocre so far. The Giants’ bullpen has been good, but it has been in no high-leverage situations. The Padres have had two high-leverage situations and dropped one in game two against the Tigers, where Jeremiah Estrada crumbled in the eighth inning. Mason Miller came in and shut the doors on the Tigers on Saturday at Petco Park.

Bottom Line

Both teams come in struggling. Whichever team decides they want to come in and hit the ball will win. Pitching-wise, I think the Giants have the advantage, but will lose if the poor hitting continues. Padres pitching needs to lead the way, especially with a lackluster performance from Giants hitters so far.