MLB fans are in awe over the absolutely filthy slider that San Francisco Giants pitcher Tyler Rogers had on display in Friday’s afternoon tilt against the San Diego Padres.
The San Francisco Giants welcomed the rival Padres in their 2024 home opener at Oracle Park. And just how filthy was Rogers’ slider on third baseman Graham Pauley? So much so that he got Padres third baseman Graham Pauley to strike out swinging at a pitch that was close to hitting him up high.
Well, here’s the catch: As you can see in the slow motion video below, the ball wound up hitting Pauley right in the face after he made contact with it:
If you look closely, you’ll see that Pauley clearly made contact with the ball. The home plate umpire didn’t see it, however, so it was incorrectly ruled a third strike. Then again, you can still question why Pauley would chase a pitch way out of the strike zone.
Nonetheless, baseball fans had their jaws on the floor over Rogers’ absolutely nasty breaking ball that made Pauley look downright silly in front of thousands of fired up San Francisco Giants fans:
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Rogers pitched a scoreless inning following seven solid innings from starter Jordan Hicks. The Giants walked it off in the bottom of the ninth inning when Thairo Estrada doubled home Matt Chapman to secure a 3-2 win.
San Francisco Giants Could Be A Surprise Team
After missing the postseason for the second straight year, San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi wasted little time trying to rebuild the Giants into a winner.
For starters, Zaidi hired three-time Manager of the Year Bob Melvin following the latter’s two-year run with the Padres. Looking to strengthen the roster, the Giants signed KBO superstar Jung-hoo Lee to a six-year deal worth $113 million.
Zaidi acquired 2021 AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray in a trade with the Giants, before signing Hicks, another former Cy Young winner in Blake Snell and All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman.
The pieces are certainly in place for the Giants to end a three-year playoff drought. If it all comes together, they could emerge as a surprise playoff team in the National League.
