by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

SCOTTSDALE AZ–The San Francisco Giants played the Los Angeles Angles for the second day in a row, after losing on Saturday by a 3-2 score at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Today Madison Bumgarner started for the Giants and C.W Wilson for the Angels.

Albert Pujols baptized MadBum early with a solo shot, his second home run of the spring. However, Bumgarner settled down and pitched six very good innings, retiring the last 16 Halos he faced, and the home run by Pujols, was the only hit he allowed.

C.J Wilson didn’t do that well for the Angels. The lefty went 4 1/3 innings, allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, and walked 4. The two runs were home runs by young Giants, Matt Duffy in the first inning and Justin Maxwell three innings later. For the Giants Gregor Blanco had 2 hits and Justin Maxwell also reached base with 2 hits. Wilson was very inconsistent last season and considering he is the #2 starter for the Angels behind Jered Weaver(who is having a terrific spring) is an extremely important piece for the Halos, who last year led baseball with 98 wins, to win the Western Division, and are one of the favorites, with the Mariners to win this division in 2015.

For the Angels the reigning American League MVP Mike Trout, considered the best player in the game had a hit in three at bats and ended the day batting .500 for the spring, and looks like he is ready for Opening Night at Seattle.

Today also in Surprise, Arizona. The Kansas City Royals beat the Giants 4-2.

Good news for the Giants: The Los Angeles Dodgers are the team to beat this year in the Western Division , however the Dodgers did not receive very good news. Pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu was told he will start the season on the disabled list, with an injured left shoulder. Ryu tried to play catch Sunday, after receiving cortisone shot this past Friday, but he could not stretch his arm. Last year he was sidelined twice for that same stiffness on his left shoulder. Injuries are part of the game, the Giants will not have Hunter Pence ready for Opening Day here in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, and now their biggest rivals will not have Ryu to start the season.

Anecdote from the past: How important should you take Spring Training individual performances? Most people realize that this is only Spring Training, games final scores do not count, and that is why many games end in a tie, something that would never happen during the regular season. My best anecdote of “not to make much “about what we see here in Arizona, happened in 1990.

I was in camp as I was broadcasting the Athletics. Pitcher Bob Welch had a terrible, I mean terrible Spring Training. He was so bad, that we were asking manager Tony LaRussa if he was ok, rumors surfaced that Welch was hurt, and was not telling anybody. He was a mainstay in that rotation, so everybody expected Welch to go through camp and free of injury and he looked like what he was, a very good established pitcher, together with A’s ace Dave Stewart.

At the end of the regular season, that same year Welch ended with a record of 27-6 2.95, pitched 238 innings and won the American League Cy Young Award. Welch passed last year at the age of 57, he lived in Seal Beach, in the Huntington Beach/Newport Beach area of Los Angeles. Welch is the last pitcher in the majors to win at least 25 games in a single season, and the last one to win 27 games. Prior to that sensational season by Welch, the great Steve Carlton won 27 games in 1972.

Health is the #1 concern for all teams in Spring Training, but never put much credence on a performance, good or bad, because unless the player is hurt, it is great to have a good spring, but that in the standings means, absolutamente nada.

With the games today, we are at half point of the Spring Training game schedule. The A’s and Giants will close their Spring Training with the Bay Series, Thursday and Friday April 2 and 3 at AT&T Park and Saturday April 4 at the O.Co Coliseum.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish TV voice for the LA Angels and the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s and does News and Commentary for http://www.sportsradioservice.com