SF Giants Gameday: Where's the energy at Oracle Park?

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants' $10 million scoreboard was malfunctioning, but no one needed a hi-definition video board to see that left-hander Drew Pomeranz looked untouchable on Tuesday evening at Oracle Park. That's a trade-off the Giants would have taken in 2019, but the scoreboard was installed more than a year ago and Pomeranz now pitches for a different National League West team. Not exactly an ideal home opener. The Giants entered the bottom of the ninth inning in Tuesday's game against the San Diego Padres trailing by two runs, but stood no chance against Pomeranz, who struck out the side with ease. San Francisco traded Pomeranz to Milwaukee last summer for Mauricio Dubón, who started at second base and played center field in Tuesday's 5-3 loss. Dubón has the potential to be a solid contributor for the team's next core, but they'll need to find more players who can help the team close talent gaps with at least three of their NL West foes. Dubón brings energy to the park on a nightly basis, but energy is exactly what the Giants lacked in the first regular season game without fans in Oracle Park history. Veteran Jeff Samardzija's fastball velocity was down, the bats were quiet and the Giants didn't do themselves any favors with opportunities to cut into the Padres' lead in the seventh and eighth innings. The club will return to action Wednesday at Oracle Park, where Johnny Cueto will attempt to build off a strong Opening Night effort in Los Angeles against Chris Paddack, a young Padres right-hander who boats a similar confidence to former Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.