It’s already been 20 years since Kirk Rueter threw the first pitch at Oracle Park on April 11, 2000. Twenty different Opening Days have come and gone and the 21st is yet to be determined. Today, April 3, 2020, was supposed to be the 21st, but instead, we’re all hunkered down in self quarantine. Basically the opposite of baseball. I was supposed to be at the yard today for a 1:35p first pitch and am instead in my little loft office as roofers pound away on our new roof right above my head. This is not pleasant.
So let’s talk about pleasant things! Let’s rank the 10 best home openers at Oracle Park! The Giants have been really good in the home opener going 14-6 and outscoring opponents 94-76! In two different stretches they won 6 in a row: 2001-2006 and 2009-2014. There’s been 3 walkoffs and even a 1 hitter thrown into the mix. Let’s count them down.
#10
April 6, 2006 – Braves – Noah Lowry vs. Jorge Sosa
Noah Lowry was forced to end his start early after only 1.2 innings due to an oblique strain and the Giants were forced to bring in reliever Jeff Fassero. In the 3rd inning the bottom of the Braves lineup tagged him for back to back homers from catcher Brian McCann and pitcher Jorge Sosa to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead.
Sosa must have not been able to stop thinking about his home run because in the next inning he would give up 6 ER. Second baseman Ray Durham notched a 2 run single and Pedro Feliz cleared the bases with a 3 run double. Giants relievers Fassero, Tyler Walker, Scott Munter, and Tim Worrell would combine to throw 7.1 innings and give up only 3 ER for a 6-4 win.
Forever Giant Edgar Renteria had 2 hits and HOF Chipper Jones was 1-4. Barry Bonds was 0-2 with 2 walks.
Giants win 6-4 – WP: Jeff Fassero – LP: Tim Worrell
#9
April 5, 2002 – Padres – Kirk Rueter vs. Brett Tomko
After sweeping the Dodgers in LA, the Giants were 3-0 as they played the first game at home of the 2002 season. The Giants jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a 2nd inning big fly from Reggie Sanders. Kirk Rueter was dealing until the 4th inning when opposing pitcher Tomko hit a 2 out RBI single to tie it at 1.
That was the score of this game until the bottom of the 10th when should be HOF Barry Bonds hit a walk off 2 run bomb off Alan Embree for the win.
Woody went 7 innings only giving up the 1 run. The overly hyped Tsuyoshi Shinjo was 0-5. Pedro Feliz went 3-4.
Giants win 3-1 – WP: Tim Worrell – LP: Steve Reed
#8
April 7, 2009 – Brewers – Tim Lincecum vs. Jeff Suppan
The Giants jumped all over Suppan in the 1st inning as Travis Ishikawa hit a bases loaded triple with 2 outs to give Timmy a 3 run lead.
Lincecum, making his first Opening Day start, was shaky though. After giving up back to back doubles in the 2nd and an RBI single in the 3rd he was at 78 pitches. Reliver Joe Martinez took over and promptly gave up RBI singles to Corey Hart and Prince Fielder in the 4th but Aaron Rowand’s 2 run homer in the bottom half tied it back up at 6-6. In the 7th, Bengie Molina lead off with a solo homer, and Rowand followed with an RBI double to make it 8-5 Giants. A Randy Winn solo shot in the 9th sealed it.
Ishikawa and Rowand both had 3 RBI. Pablo Sandoval had 2 hits. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder had 2 hits. Mike Cameron walked 4 times.
Giants win 10-6 – WP: Joe Martinez – LP: Jeff Suppan
#7
April 12, 2004 – Brewers – Jerome Williams vs. Matt Kinney
Current Brewers manager Craig Counsell singled and scored in the first inning off 22 year old Jerome Williams. The Giants got that run right back after Ray Durham lead off with a 4 pitch walk and scored on a J.T. Snow double.
In the 3rd inning, Geoff Jenkins‘ RBI infield single scores 2 on the throwing error by Snow giving Milwaukee a 3-1 lead. But in the bottom half, Durham and Snow set the stage again as Barry Bonds’ 3 run home run with 2 outs put the Giants up 5-4 and they never looked back.
Counsell was a pest going 3-4 with 2 runs. Junior Spivey and Jenkins had 2 RBI each. Brewers stole 3 bases. Bonds was 3-3 with 2 runs and 4 RBI. Durham scored 3 runs and walked twice.
Giants win 7-5 – WP: Jerome Williams – LP: Matt Kinney – SV: Matt Herges
#6
April 7, 2003 – Padres – Jason Schmidt vs. Oliver Perez
Pacific Bell Park was known as Home Run City today. Giants right fielder Jose Cruz got the scoring going early with a solo shot in the first off Oliver Perez. Then in the bottom of the 3rd, he and Rich Aurilia went back to back on consecutive pitches for a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Jason Schmidt was battling. He didn’t allow a run until the 6th when the very dangerous Wiki Gonzalez hit an RBI single. Schmidt’s final line was 5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 7 K, on 109 pitches.
In the 8th, Wiki struck again by hitting a 2 run double off Felix Rodriguez. Later in the inning, Mark Loretta tied the game with a 2 out RBI double off Tim Worrell and it was a whole new ballgame.
The 2002 Giants were resiliant and Aurilia lead off the bottom of the 8th with his 2nd home run of the game to give the Giants a 5-4 lead. Two batters later, third baseman Edgardo Alfonso hit a 2 run homer on a 7 pitch at bat, the 5th homer of the game for the Giants, giving them a 3 run lead.
Cruz and Aurilia combined to go 5-8 with 4 runs and 5 RBI. Wiki drove in 3 for San Diego. Lou Merloni was 3-3.
Giants win 7-4 – WP: Tim Worrell – LP: Mike Bynum
#5
April 8, 2014 – D’Backs – Tim Hudson vs. Trevor Cahill
Shortly after Batkid saved the city and threw out the first pitch, the Giants jumped on Trevor Cahill. Angel Pagan lead off the bottom of the 1st with a 7 pitch walk setting up a Brandon Belt homer and it was 2-0 Giants before anybody was out. Then in the 3rd, Cahill gave up 3 more runs on an RBI single from Buster Posey and a 2 run rap from big old Mike Morse.
Brandon Crawford added a 2 run single of his own in the 5th making it 7-2 Giants. D’Backs had RBIs from Miguel Montero and Gerardo Parra, but this one was all San Francisco.
Tim Hudson scattered 7 hits over 8 innings only allowing 2 ER on 101 pitches. Four different Giants had 2 hits and three different Giants had 2 RBI. Martin Prado was 3-4 for Arizona. Surprisingly, Paul Goldschmidt was only 1-4. Aaron Hill struck out 3 times.
Giants win 7-3 – WP: Tim Hudson – LP: Trevor Cahill
#4
April 7, 2016 – Dodgers – Jake Peavy vs. Alex Wood
After outscoring the Milwaukee Brewers 17-8 and taking 2 games out of 3, the Giants came back home to the shores of McCovey Cove to open at home against LA. The 35 year old Peavy was taking on the 25 year old Wood. The Dodgers got to Peavy early. Adrian Gonzalez lead off the 2nd with a double and later scored on a Kike Hernandez single. Then Alex Wood would help himself put hitting into an RBI groundout and the Dodgers were up 2-0.
However, down by 4 in the bottom of the 5th, Crawford and Kelby Tomlinson got things going. With B Craw on 3rd, Span grounded out to 2nd to drive him in. Then Joe Panik tripled into right field! On the very next pitch Posey doubled to left to drive him in and it was now 4-3!
The Giants would add 4 more in the bottom of the 6th after Pagan 2 run single. Then Panik and Posey did it again with back to back RBI singles and it was 7-4 Giants. The Dodgers made it interesting in the 8th after a Joc Pederson 2 run homer made it 7-6 Giants.
The most memorable moment came in the bottom of the 8th with the bases loaded. Panik had just driven in his 3rd run of the game. Pedro Baez came in and struck out Posey but Hunter Pence electrified the crowd with a grand slam sending all Dodgers fans to the exits.
Peavy gave up 10 hits in 5 innings. Adrian Gonzalez was 3-4 with 2 doubles. Panik and Posey combined to go 6-10, 3 runs, 5 RBI. There were 30 hits in this game.
Giants win 12-6 – WP: Chris Heston – LP: Alex Wood
#3
April 13, 2012 – Pirates – Matt Cain vs. James McDonald
2012 was the year of Matt Cain. All Giants fans will remember his June 12 perfect game but he almost threw another one that year. On Opening Day. The offense gave him a quick 2-0 lead with a Posey RBI double and an Aubrey Huff single.
The Giants added a run in the 6th and in the 8th Huff hit a 2 out 2 run homer making it 5-0 San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Matt Cain is mowing through the Pirates order and doesn’t give up a hit until the 6th off the bat of Pirates pitcher James McDonald! He will go down as the only Pirates baserunner all game and Cain’s final line looks like this: 9 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO, on 109 pitches.
Melky Cabrera, Huff, and Nate Schierholtz each had 2 hits. Huff had 3 RBI. For the Pirates, Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez each struck out 3 times.
Giants win 5-0 – WP: Matt Cain – LP: James McDonald
#2
April 8, 2011 – Cardinals – Jonathan Sanchez vs. Jake Westbrook
The 2011 home opener was the first home game for the Giants since Game 2 of the 2010 World Series when Matt Cain dominated the Texas Rangers. Some of that 2010 magic must have still been lingering at the yard because the Giants refused to lose this game.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Tyler Greene RBI single to score future World Series hero David Freese. Then in the bottom of the 3rd, newly acquired third baseman Miguel Tejada homered on the first pitch he saw in his first at bat! Later in the 6th, Pat Burrell homered to make it 3-1 Giants.
The usually dominant Giant bullpen would collapse in the 8th as Sergio Romo gave up an RBI single to Albert Pujols, cutting the Giants’ lead to one. In the 9th inning, Brian Wilson got the first 2 outs, but after a walk, a single, and a hit by pitch the bases were loaded for future Giant Ryan Theriot. On the 12th pitch of the at bat Theriot singled to left to drive in Bengie Molina and Daniel Descalso to give the Cards the lead 4-3! What a disaster!
But then some of that 2010 magic fell on Pablo Sandoval. With 2 outs and Aaron Rowand on 2nd as the tying run, Panda singled to right to tie the game! Unbelievable! In the 12 inning with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Rowand lined the 2nd pitch he saw off the base of the left center field wall just out of reach of Colby Rasmus and the Giants walked it off 5-4! Their 2nd walk off win in consecutive years. Speaking of that first walk off…
Giants win 5-4 – WP: Dan Runzler – LP: Brain Tallet
#1
April 9, 2010 – Braves – Jonathan Sanchez vs. Tim Hudson
For the first 6 innings it really didn’t feel like this was shaping up to be the best home opener in Oracle Park history. The Braves scored 2 in the top of the 3rd on back to back singles by Troy Glaus and Matt Diaz. Then in the 5th, Diaz struck again with a 1 out single to drive in Martin Prado for a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco fans had nothing much to cheer about until the bottom of the 7th, when, who else but Aaron Rowand started it with a single. Then future World Series hero Edgar Renteria doubled and the Giants were in business. Sandoval and Huff would both follow with RBI groundouts and the Braves’ lead was down to one.
In the 8th, sloppy pitching from wild Waldis Joaquin and Dan Runzler gave the Braves a 4-2 lead on a bases loaded walk to David Ross. But then the 2010 magic was born.
Should be Hall of Famer Billy Wagner enters the game to close it for the Braves. But he’s about to face the very dangerous Eugenio Velez. Velez jumps all over the Wagner heater and smokes the first pitch into the left-center gap for a lead off double. Two batters later, Edgar Renteria would hit an off speed pitch for a game tying home run! Wags had 2 strikes on him and tried to come inside but Edgar was all over him. Because of this we will play for another hour!
In the 13th inning with 1 out and Rowand at the plate, Juan Uribe steals 2nd base and Brian McCann’s throw goes into centerfield! Uribe takes 3rd easily on the play while McCann argues that Rowand’s bat got tangled up with him. Replays show he’s right but the call stands. On the very next pitch, Rowand hits a roller deep into the hole at short, Yunel Escobar snags it and makes a long desperation throw to first base. Rowand sprinting up the line dives head first into the bag, beating the throw in a cloud of dust! Safe! Uribe scores and the Giants have won it! An unbelievable win on Opening Day!
This game sparked an incredible year for the Giants and as it turned out, was the first home win of the dynasty years. They also beat the team they would later knock out in the NLDS. Solid win all around and why this game ranks as the #1 home opener at Oracle Park.
Giants in 5-4 – WP: Jeremy Affeldt – LP: Kris Medlen
Those are my Top 10. How do they line up with yours?
Ten. Twelve. Fourteen. 
Thanks for this! How I wish we were at the Yard today! But Waldis Joaquin ???
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