Susac records three hits in first career start as SF Giants' overpower Mets

Justice delos Santos, The Mercury News on Apr 3, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SAN FRANCISCO — Tony Vitello isn’t the only rookie checking off some firsts.

Rookie catcher Daniel Susac made his first start in the majors after making his debut on Wednesday as a defensive replacement, leaving his imprint all over the San Francisco Giants’ 7-2 win over the New York Mets on Thursday evening. At the plate, he collected his first hit, his second hit, his third hit, and his first walk. Behind the plate, he successfully challenged a ball and flipped the result to a strikeout.

Along with Susac, infielder Casey Schmitt rebounded from a forgettable, tense Wednesday afternoon by delivering an excellent Thursday night. Schmitt not only matched Susac with three singles and a walk, but he made a leaping snag in the top of the eight inning to kickstart an unassisted double play.

Right-hander Blade Tidwell, called up on Thursday to replace the injured José Buttó, made his first appearance as a Giant and recorded a three-inning save against his old team. Robbie Ray picked up his first win of the season, allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts.

Susac, the younger brother of former Giant Andrew Susac, nearly took his first at-bat in the top of the ninth inning on Wednesday against All-Star reliever Mason Miller, but the rookie ended up stranded in the on-deck circle as Miller finished off the San Diego Padres’ 7-1 win. In retrospect, it was for the best.

Instead of facing the game’s best closer, Susac’s first at-bat came in the bottom of the second against the Mets’ David Peterson. Peterson started Susac with a first-pitch curveball, an offering that Susac flipped into right field for the first hit of his career. The Susac family, seated in the lower bowl, instantly erupted in jubilation.

Peterson tried a different gambit in his second meeting with Susac, starting the rookie off with a first-pitch four-seam fastball. Different pitch, same result. Susac pulled the heater into left field past a diving Francisco Lindor, and he had his second hit of the night.

Susac didn’t record another hit in his third plate appearance of the night, but that’s because former Giant Sean Manaea walked him on four straight balls. Manaea got ahead in the count, 1-2, when the two met in the bottom of the seventh, but Susac turned a middle-middle fastball into his third hit of the night.

In recording three hits and a walk, Susac became the first Giant to reach base four times in his first career game (with a plate appearance) since Kevin Frandsen in 2006.

Susac’s effect wasn’t limited to the offensive side of the game. In the top of the sixth, Ryan Walker, making a surprising appearance in the middle innings, fired a 3-2 sinker low-and-away to the Mets’ Luis Robert Jr. that was called a ball. Susac challenged the call, and Oracle Park’s scoreboard provided the good news: a strike by mere inches.

The Mets struck first in the top of the first on an RBI double by Bo Bichette, but the Giants immediately responded in the bottom half of the frame with a three-spot.

Luis Arraez drove in Heliot Ramos with a triple, then Arraez scored on a double by Matt Chapman. Jung Hoo Lee hit what should’ve been an inning-ending 3-1 groundout, but Mets starting pitcher Peterson dropped the ball and allowed Chapman to score, instead giving San Francisco a 3-1 lead.

The Mets cut into the Giants’ lead on a solo homer by first baseman Mark Vientos in the top of the second, then nearly scored another run in the third when Bichette sent a deep drive to center field. Harrison Bader slowly drifted back, felt the wall, hopped about a foot, extended his arms and made the grab. Bader, yes, robbed Bichette of a home run, but the center fielder didn’t exactly pull off a dazzling display of athleticism to do so.

Bader and Lee extended San Francisco’s lead with back-to-back sacrifice flies in the bottom of the third, then Schmitt tacked on another run with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.