StaTuesday: Brewers' Gennett breaks out of lefty slump against Giants
Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett has never had much luck with left-handed pitchers.
Or, well, any luck at all.
The fourth-year pro out of Sarasota High School had just 14 hits against lefties in 113 career at-bats (.124) heading into Monday's season opener, a figure that held steady at .114 (4 for 35) last season.
Still, after lobbying manager Craig Counsell for a chance to face feared San Francisco Giants southpaw Madison Bumgarner, Gennett found himself batting seventh for the Brewers on opening day.
And on the fourth pitch of the second inning, Gennett took his shot.
Gennett launched a rocket into right field on a four-seam fastball that checked in at 92 mph, pinging the second deck with a homer projected at just over 422 feet by MLB's Statcast.
It was his first career home run off of a left-handed pitcher and just his third extra-base hit.
Gennett's homer was notable for a few other reasons, registering as the fourth-longest shot of opening day, trailing only Trevor Story's slam off of Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke, and Daniel Murphy's blast on Braves starter Julio Teheran.
And that's not all.
The ball left Gennett's bat traveling 108.5 mph, eclipsing his hardest hit of 2015, which reached an exit velocity of just 103.6 mph.
Gennett's big game follows a strong showing at spring training, where he hit .424 with a .457 OBP in 33 at-bats.
It may not be nearly enough to proclaim Gennett's arrival as a major-league regular who doesn't need to be platooned, but he's off to a good start in year four.
That @Sgennett2 homer left the bat at 108.5 mph.
— #Statcast (@statcast) April 4, 2016
His hardest hit last year? 103.6 mph. #Statcast pic.twitter.com/L2wc0ZuMOS
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