Nick Vincent, the opener, doesn't solve Giants' first-inning struggles

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Well ... that wasn't any better.

The Giants' first experiment with the opener blew up in their faces Tuesday night when reliever Nick Vincent continued the season-long theme of falling behind early. Making the second start of his career, Vincent became the first reliever to kick off a game for the Giants since openers became popular last season, but he allowed three runs and didn't make it back out for the second. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got it going with a rocket to dead center, his first career homer. Freddy Galvis and Billy McKinney added RBI doubles in the 31-pitch inning. 

Vincent gave up four hits, with no walks or strikeouts mixed in during an inning that was so long that fellow reliever Trevor Gott started warming up. Vincent had not allowed more than two runs in an appearance all season. The outing was the continuation of a theme for the Giants, who have been outscored 45-5 in the first inning this year. 

"I think it's pretty obvious we've had our struggles here early in games," manager Bruce Bochy said before the game. "So you break it up a little bit."

[RELATED: Giants top pitching prospect Anderson to start Wednesday]

Tyler Beede, originally scheduled to start Tuesday, took over in the top of the second, although that wasn't much smoother. He loaded the bases before getting out of the jam with a pop-up. 

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