SAN DIEGO — The signs are there, particularly with Mike Yastrzemski, who played the two games at Petco Park with stubble on his chin. The next time Yastrzemski and the Giants take the field, it will be Mustache May, and some in the lineup are desperate for the calendar to turn.
April was a good month for the Giants, a surprise contender early on, but it wasn’t kind to everyone.
The Giants essentially have nine regulars in their lineup, and they all have been healthy. But not many of them can say they’re happy about where they’re currently at. Jung Hoo Lee is turning into a star and Yastrzemski has turned back the clock. But as the Giants head home after a two-game sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres, they’re the only starters with an OPS over .800
At times, manager Bob Melvin has seen a third or fourth join the party, and that was the case in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss, but too often, the load is not evenly distributed.
Heliot Ramos hit a loud homer Wednesday, but it was his first in 26 games. Three of the other four hits came from Lee and Yastrzemski, who hit his fifth bomb of the season. The Giants can’t match the star power of a Tatis, Machado, Merrill trio, but they anticipated having a strong one-through-nine attack this season. It hasn’t shown up often, though.
Willy Adames looked like his old self in San Diego, but finished April with a .592 OPS. That still puts him well clear of LaMonte Wade Jr. and Patrick Bailey, who are under .500.
“It is what it is. I think the at-bats are better [lately] with some of the guys, certainly LaMonte,” Melvin said. “We have faith that they’re going to get going.”
Wade has been moved down in the order and now is seventh, one spot ahead of Bailey. But on Wednesday it was the heart of the order that faltered. Matt Chapman twice came up as the tying run in the late innings and struck out twice on elevated fastballs. He’s among the league leaders in walks but is 5-for-39 over his past dozen games.
“They were probably both not strikes and [he’s] maybe trying to do a little bit too much,” Melvin said of the strikeouts. “I think both of those were up out of the zone. He’s obviously trying to get something up and drive one, but maybe too far out of the zone.”
For the last three weeks, the key right-handed hitter who had been expanding was Ramos. He said he was over-thinking, but some loud contact Tuesday snapped him back into place.
“It…