Category: San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants’ Nick Hundley, right, is congratulated by third base coach Phil Nevin (16) after hitting a grand slam off Oakland Athletics’ Andrew Triggs in the fourth inning of an exhibition baseball game Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND-San Francisco Giants hitter Nick Hundley changed the finale of the Bay Bridge Series with one swing of the bat.

Hundley hit a towering grand slam off of Andrew Triggs in the top of the fourth inning, as the San Francisco Giants closed out the Spring Training portion of the 2017 season with a 6-3 victory over the Oakland A’s before a crowd of 30,743 at the Coliseum.

The Giants finish the 2017 version of the Spring Training with a record of 20-16.

This is the first time that the Giants finish Spring Training with a winning record since 2014 when they went 17-12-1.

Conor Gillaspie singled to lead off the inning, then Chris Marrero was hit by a pitch, then Aaron Hill picked up the second hit of the inning and then Hundley hit a Triggs offering into the left-centerfield bleachers to give the Giants their first runs of the afternoon.

Tyler Beede struck out four of the six batters he faced, as he pitched four innings, allowing two runs on five hits, not walking a batter and striking out five.

After Beede struck out the four of the six batters he faced in the first two innings, the A’s finally broke through in the bottom of the third inning.

Marcus Semien singled to break-up the no-hitter, then Yonder Alonso singled and after a Rajai Davis pop out to Hundley behind the plate and then Matt Joyce broke up the scoreless tie with a double to score Semien and Alonso with the first two runs of the game for the A’s.

The Giants got to Triggs in the first two innings, as they got three hits in the first two frames. Gorkys Hernandez doubled in the top of the second inning that sent Nick Hundley to third, but Triggs was able to get out of the inning, as he snared a Eduardo Perez liner up the middle and threw to Ryon Healy at third base to end the frame.

Michael Roth came on to pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning, and despite giving up a leadoff single to Alonso, Roth was able to get the next three batters out to end the inning.

Andrew Decker scored to cut the Giants lead down to 4-3, as he scored on a Josh Phelgley double, Kyle Crick was able to get Trevor Plouffe and Chris Parmelee to end the inning.

Justin Ruggaino stretched the Giants lead up to 6-3 in the top of the seventh inning, as he hit his fourth home run of the Spring that landed in the left-field seats.

NOTES: Madison Bumgarner will make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start on Sunday afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, while the Diamondbacks will send Zack Greinke to the mound.

After an off-day on Monday, the Giants will send Johnny Cueto on Tuesday to the Chase Field hill and the Diamondbacks will Patrick Corbin to the mound.

Matt Moore and Taijuan Walker face each other in the third game of the series, and Jeff Samardzija will close out the series against Robbie Ray.

This is the fourth time in six seasons that the Giants are opening the season in The Valley of the Sun, as they previously opened the season there in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija throws to the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of an exhibition baseball game Friday, March 31, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Oakland A’s offense continues to sputter heading into the final game of the exhibition series, with the Green and Gold falling to the San Francisco Giants 2-1 Friday night at AT&T Park. Jharel Cotton yielded a solo homerun to Brandon Crawford in the second inning, Eduardo Nunez committed an error that led to the A’s lone (unearned) run then picked up the game-winning RBI a half inning later.

Jeff Samardzija( 5 innings) and the Giants bullpen combined to not allow an earned run over the first 18 innings of the exhibition Bay Bridge Series after San Francisco shut out the A’s 3-0 Thursday night in China Basin. Oakland managed only five hits Friday, with only one baserunner reaching second base against Samardzija. Ryan Dull picked up the loss for the A’s while Derek Law earned the Save after loading the bases with two outs.

Crawford continued his torrid spring, taking a 0-0 Cotton high-and-outside fastball over the Toyota sign on the left field wall for his second Spring Training homerun. Crawford, appearing in just his 12^th game after manning shortstop for the World Baseball Classic champion US squad, hit .385 while wearing the Stars and Stripes.

Cotton was otherwise efficient, firing four innings of one-run ball. Despite being reduced to his fastball/cutter/change-up combo with his curveball proving inefficient, the pitcher locked in for the third starter’s spot still managed two strikeouts. He avoided picking up his first of the spring in his 56-pitch outing. The 25-year-old rookie had gone 3-0 entering play Friday night, allowing only one homer over his previous 16.2 innings.

Samardzija, unlike Cotton, had a rough spring entering Friday night. The Shark was sporting an ERA of 7.11, but pitched Friday night like he did during his career 2014 campaign. One of the Giants big offseason signings last year, Samardzija disappointed in his debut season in San Francisco despite shaving a run off his ERA from 2015 (4.96 to 3.81).

If the former Athletic pitched like he did Friday though, the 2016 qualms will be put to rest. The right-hander fired five innings of one-hit shutout baseball striking out six. He was cruising through four innings, throwing 45 pitches, but struggled somewhat in the fifth. He gave up a one-out walk to Yonder Alonso, then allowed the sluggish first baseman to steal second base (the only A’s to reach second against Samardzija Friday). While Samardzija would get out of the inning without allowing Alonso to advance further, he did need 30 pitches to escape the inning.

Non-roster invitee Jeff Decker broke up the shutout bid against the Giants’ pen in the top of the eighth inning, making San Francisco pay for shoddy defense. With Hunter Strickland on the mound, Giants third baseman Eduardo Núnez threw away a Mark Canha grounder with one out. Strickland induced a flyout from Josh Phegley, but Decker ripped a two-out fly ball that hit the gap to plate Canha and tie the game on an unearned run.

The A’s first lead of the cross-bay showdown would be short-lived after Ryan Dull, the A’s best relief pitcher of 2016, struggled to open up the bottom of the eighth. Dull allowed a leadoff single to Brandon Belt, then gave up a wall-ball right field double to Hunter Pence. After coming into the game for Buster Posey, Tim Federowicz popped out to Ryon Healy at first for the first out of the inning.

A’s manager Bob Melvin opted to walk Crawford to load the bases and set up the double play with Nunez at the plate. Melvin and Dull got the result they wanted, with Nunez bouncing a grounder to Marcus Semien at short. Adam Rosales’ double-up attempt would be a step behind the atoning Nunez, bringing home Belt for what would be the winning run.

Derek Law reminded Giants fans that baseball by the Bay is Torture, putting the tying run on third base with one out. Law bounced back, striking out Healy, walking Semien to load the bases, then inducing a Ryan Lavarnway bouncer up the middle that only Brandon Crawford could track down to end the game and pick up the save.

The A’s will send Andrew Triggs to the mound to open up the preseason finale Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum after earning the fourth starter’s spot in training camp. He’ll be relieved by Raul Alcantara who beat out Jesse Hahn and a slew of other pitchers for the fifth spot in Melvin’s rotation after Sonny Gray was ruled out for Opening Day. The Giants will send Tyler Beede to the mound, another pitcher who earned his spot in the rotation after beating out veteran Matt Cain and rookie Ty Blach.

San Francisco Giants’ Denard Span walks to the dugout during a spring training baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, March 28, 2017, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

by Michael Duca

SAN FRANCISCO–The times that I got to see San Francisco Giants leftfielder Denard Span he’s actually looked decent but he’s scuffled a lot this spring. Fairly late in the spring he was hitting .200. So it’s one of those things you hope that when the bell rings and the season is on things get forgotten and things get turned around. He is the leadoff hitter, he is starting centerfielder. It hasn’t been determined whose going to be on the 25 man squad.

Michael Morse probably would have made the opening day roster but is hurt and will rehab and open his season in Giants Triple A affiliate Sacramento. Morse is considered to be part of the Giants future. Chris Marrero was hitting the ball in spring and may have played himself onto a roster spot this spring. The Giants will need to have a starting centerfielder almost everyday to strengthen the defense up the middle of catcher Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik, and Span who’ll they depend on crucially.

Michael Duca does the Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportrsradioservice.com

 

San Francisco Giants third baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang signs autographs before the team’s spring training baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Mesa, Ariz., Friday, March 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

By Morris Phillips

Who knew Jae-gyun Hwang just might been considered for a roster spot with the Giants after having a good spring with the bat going 13-40 for an .325 clip and five homers. Hwang from Korea said he needs to learn more about Major League Baseball but if he’s anything like he was in Korea during his ten year career there he hit .285, 114 home runs and 26 homers in each of the last two seasons. he just might. Odds coming out of camp this week is while Hwang impressed he’s headed for the Giants Triple A affiliate Sacramento.

With Hwang he’s the kind of hitter the Giants are looking for that can deliver on offense at 29 he won the 2017 Barney Nugent Award and when athletic trainer Dave Groeschner made that announcement to the Giants clubhouse this week the players went crazy. Hwang’s hitting  is the surest way to get the attention of San Francisco manager Brue Bochy and his stay in Sacramento could be short.

Morris has much more Giants on the podcast this week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

AP file photo: San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Will Smith (13) on the mound during an MLB National League Division Series Game 3 Baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants Sunday October 10, 2016 at the AT&T Park, San Francisco Ca. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-5. (Bill Nichols Images via AP)

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 25, 2017

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The big news out of the San Francisco Giants camp occurred on Friday, when the team announced that left-handed reliever Will Smith will undergo Tommy John surgery and is out for the 2017 season.

Smith was acquired by San Francisco from Milwaukee at the non-waiver trade deadline in 2016. He was 1-1 with a 2.95 earned run average for the Giants down the stretch, with 26 strikeouts and nine walks.

Not only will Smith miss all of this season, there’s a good chance he’ll miss most of 2018 Spring Training. Smith was expected to fill a setup role in the Giants bullpen. It’s likely George Kontos, Hunter Strickland and Josh Osich will provide the bullpen bridge to closer Mark Melancon.

Other Giants battling spring injuries are INF Eduardo Nunez (sore right shoulder), OF Michael Morse (strained left hamstring), OF Mac Williamson (strained quad) and C Trevor Brown (sprained right knee). Brown is day-to-day.

Morse, meanwhile, is trying to make a case for himself to stick as a reserve outfielder. The 35-year-old Morse is hitting .265 with three homers, two doubles and eight RBIs.

TOUGH DAY FOR STRATTON
Right-hander Chris Stratton was called up from San Francisco’s minor league camp to start Saturday’s Cactus League game between the Giants and the San Diego Padres, in part so Johnny Cueto could start a minor league game against Arizona down the street from Scottsdale Stadium.

Stratton came into Saturday with a 1-0 record and a spring ERA of 1.80. After the first three innings, those numbers changed considerably.

The Padres went yard for all seven runs they scored off Stratton in the first three innings, with Cory Spangenberg, Erick Aybar and Jamie Romak all connecting for home runs.

Stratton gave up seven earned runs on nine hits in his three innings, with three strikeouts and a walk. But his ERA also ballooned to 9.00. The good news for Stratton is that he wound up with a no-decision.

BATTLE FOR ROSTER SPOTS
Going into the final week of Spring Training, there’s still a four-way battle among the non-roster invitees for a utility infielder spot on the 25-man roster.

Chris Marrero appears to have the best shot of sticking among that group. Marrero, 29, is batting .300 with seven home runs and 13 runs batted in. As the Giants’ DH Saturday, Marrero was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
Aaron Hill, a 2009 All-Star for Arizona, started at third base for San Francisco Saturday, going 0-for-3 with an RBI. Hill is hitting .209 with three RBIs in 45 at-bats.

It might be the end of the line for Jimmy Rollins, the 39-year-old Bay Area native and former National League most valuable player. Rollins is hitting .079 in 43 plate appearances; Jae-gyun Hwang is hitting .308.

THE GAME
After the Padres took an early 7-1 lead, San Francisco chipped away over the next six innings before emerging with an 8-7 win. Jae-gyun Hwang’s bases-loaded bloop single to shallow right-center in the bottom of the ninth pushed the winning run across off Padres’ reliever Carlos Fisher (0-1).

By the ninth, the top of the Giants order was occupied by non-roster invitees. Justin Ruggiano led off with a walk and moved to second when Rando Moreno hit into a fielder’s choice. After Austin Slater was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Hwang sliced a shallow fly that eluded a diving San Diego centerfielder Allen Cordoba, driving in Ruggiano.

Buster Posey’s solo home run – his first of the spring outside of the World Baseball Classic – accounted for the Giants’ first run. In the bottom of the sixth, Posey dropped a flare into shallow right field for a base hit, preceding Brandon Crawford’s home run to right-center off Padres starter Clayton Richard (wearing No. 3), closing the Giants’ deficit to 7-5.

In the seventh, Ruggiano led off with a double and scored on Joe Panik’s triple to right-center. One inning later, the Giants tied the game at 7-7 when Matt Reynolds – pinch-running for Chris Marrero, who walked – scored from first when Gorkys Hernández was thrown out trying to stretch his double to center into a triple.

Right-hander Neil Ramirez (2-0) gave up a hit and struck out one in the ninth to get the win. Ramirez, Jose Flores, Mike Melancon, George Kontos, Josh Osich and Cory Gearrin held the Padres scoreless from the fourth inning forward.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
The Giants were prominently represented in Team USA’s 8-0 championship win over Puerto Rico at Dodger Stadium on March 22.
Catcher Buster Posey was 4-for-15 (.267) with two home runs and four runs batted in, shortstop Brandon Crawford hit .385, going 10-for-26 with a triple and six RBIs. Closer Mark Melancon struck out one while giving up a walk and a hit in a 2/3 scoreless inning.

PLAY BALL LUNCHEON
This Friday, the Giants host their annual Play Ball Luncheon at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. It’s the Giants Community Fund’s largest fundraising event, helping at-risk children through the Junior Giants program.

HOME STRETCH
The Giants have four exhibition games remaining in the Valley of the Sun before heading back home for the Bay Bridge Series against the Oakland Athletics. games at AT&T Park on Thursday and Friday, and Saturday at the Coliseum.

San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds walks to the field with Milwaukee Brewers’ Darnell Coles, left, and Pat Murphy for a spring training baseball game Wednesday, March 22, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

by Michael Duca

SCOTTSDALE AZ–Former San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds left the Giants after the 2007 season since that time he’s gone under federal perjury indictment charges and was found not guilty of perjury for the accusation of using steroids knowingly under oath during grand jury testimony but willing but was found guilty of obstruction of justice. Bonds fought back and won after spending sometime serving house arrest and had his obstruction charge dropped and cleared his name. Shortly after his legal issues were resolved he took up bicycling and rode a bike everywhere and shed weight and looked much different from the steroid era period player of the pre 2007 season.

Bonds took a job with the Florida Marlins during the 2016 season but right after the season Florida manager Don Mattingly said he would quit if the team brass didn’t get rid of Bonds, Bonds was unceremoniously fired. Reasons were not clear but fans and media in Miami used their imaginations as to why as talk was he was surly and missed team film meetings and showed up at the park later than some of the players. Now Bonds returns to San Francisco for the 2017 season as assistant CEO to Giants team president and CEO Larry Baer. Bonds will be in Scottsdale as a coach for the final six days of Cactus League before departing with the club to San Francisco for the Giants Bay Bridge Series with the Oakland A’s on Thursday the 30th at AT&T Park. Bonds calls his return to San Francisco like returning home to “family” and there is talk about adding his name to AT&T Park’s Wall of Fame. A new chapter unfolds for Bonds for 2017.

Listen to Michael’s Giants commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner warms up prior to a spring training baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Giants defeated the Angels 7-4. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 The San Francisco Giants Madison Bumgarner pitched six scoreless innings Wednesday and pitcher Johnny Cueto threw 32/3 shutout innings at the Giants minor league complex. Looks like both pitchers are ready for this season

#2 The Giants after over hauling their bull pen and adding closer Mark Malancon there’s lots of expectations for Malancon this season

#3 Brandon Crawford had a great season last year. The Giants are working forward to seeing if Crawford can have an All Star year this year.

#4 Also a look at Jimmy Rollins role

#5 Will the World Baseball Classic players such as Crawford and Buster Posey be overworked or ready to go by opening day from the WBC

Morris Phillips does the San Francisco Giants podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com