Vitello gets first win as SF Giants' manager behind Roupp's gem

Justice delos Santos, The Mercury News on Mar 31, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — For the first time in the Tony Vitello era, the Giants have a win.

Behind Landen Roupp’s six brilliant shutout innings and production from the bottom of the order, the Giants defeated the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Monday evening at Petco Park.

For Roupp, who struck out seven batters, Monday marked his first start since Aug. 20, 2025, the evening when he suffered a nasty bone bruise and had to be carted off the field. This start marked the fifth time in Roupp’s career that he pitched at least six innings and allowed no runs.

Roupp allowed a one-out single to Fernando Tatis Jr. with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and with the left-handed hitting Jackson Merrill looming two batters later, Roupp likely would’ve been pulled in favor of the left-hander Matt Gage. Instead, Roupp induced an inning-ending 1-4-3 double play, clenching his body and unleashing a cathartic yell before walking off the field.

Following Roupp’s departure, Vitello deployed his bullpen to protect a lead for the first time in his managerial career. In his fourth game, the rookie manager punched all the right buttons.

Gage handled the seventh inning without issue, retiring the side in order. Right-hander Keaton Winn one-upped Gage in the eighth inning by striking out the side (two swinging). That left the bottom of the ninth for the crossfiring right-hander Ryan Walker.

Walker began his evening by walking Jake Cronenworth on four non-competitive pitches, adding a tinge of anxiety to the air. Walker responded by striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. swinging, then got Manny Machado to ground out softly. With the Padres down to their last strike, Jackson Merrill hit a two-run shot that sliced the Giants’ lead to 3-2.

Following a mound visit by pitching coach Justin Meccage, Walker composed himself and got Xander Bogaerts to ground out, securing Vitello’s first win as major league manager.

Vitello shook up the top of his lineup for Monday’s game, inserting Willy Adames into the leadoff spot for just the third time in his career and selecting former Padre Luis Arraez as his cleanup hitter. It was the bottom third, though, that did early damage.

Harrison Bader, batting seventh, hit the first home run by any Giant this season in the top of the third inning, a solo shot that gave San Francisco a 1-0 lead — its first lead of the season. San Francisco tacked on two more runs in the fourth on a pair of RBI singles by Bailey and Casey Schmitt, the eighth and ninth hitters.

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