Category: San Francisco Giants

By: Joe Lami

AP photo The Oakland A’s Eric Surkamp pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the last A’s exhibition game of spring on Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif.—The San Francisco Giants finished their spring across the bay in Oakland on Saturday afternoon. The third game of the Bay Bridge Series went to the Athletics, who were victorious in a 4-1 victory in front of 21,157 fans at the Coliseum.

Matt Cain polished off his spring with a loss, in which he gave up just one earned run in five innings pitched. The earned run came off the bat of Khris Davis, who homered to left for his second of spring to open up the third inning. Trouble came in the outfield later in the third when Denard Span was charged with two errors, which allowed Jed Lowrie to round the bases completely, bringing in Marcus Semien in the process to make it 3-0.

Cain ends spring training with a 1-2 record, pitching 17 innings after he was sidelined for a month with a minor surgery to his throwing arm. “I was very pleased with the job that he did. He made a couple of mistakes, but overall, it was a great effort and a great tune-up,” added manager, Bruce Bochy.

He enters the regular season looking the Giants’ fifth man on the rotation if he can remain healthy. Cain mentioned that the cyst on his throwing arm hadn’t been bugging him until it reputed and after the surgery that cleaned it out he was ready to go within a week but was held back to try and avoid infection.

Buster Posey didn’t suit up for the Giants and was a late scratch due to illness and was taken out of Friday’s night game early as a precaution. Bochy expected him to be in the lineup as San Francisco’s Designated Hitter. Posey is questionable to start on Monday, according to Bochy, “whatever it is, I hope he’s good to go on Monday.”

The story of the day for the Athletics was starting pitcher, Felix Doubront exiting the contest after just one inning pitched. The expected fifth starter for the A’s was relieved of his duties after complaining about tightness in his left arm. Non-roster invitee, Eric Surkamp took over and shut down the Giants. He gave up just two hits in seven innings while striking out seven and walking one. Surkamp was reassigned to minor league camp following Saturday’s game.

Matt Chapman homered in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 4-0. The shot to left was his sixth of the spring and his fifth RBI in the last five games.

The Giants lone run came in the ninth inning when Ehire Adrianza hit a solo shot to right field for his first of spring training to make it 4-1.

The Giants begin their season on Monday, as they will travel to Wisconsin to take on the Milwaukee Brewers in the Brewer’s home opener.

By: Joe Lami

AP photo: San Francisco Giant Matt Duffy scores ahead of the throw as Oakland A’s catcher Josh Phegley waits for the ball in Friday night’s exhibition game at AT&T Park

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—In the final pre-season game at AT&T Park, Jake Peavy pitched five strong scoreless innings for the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, earning his second win of the spring in a 3-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

It was clearly his best start of the spring, in which he gave up two hits and struck out three. Coming into Friday night’s contest, Peavy has struggled with a 7.43 ERA in the 23 innings he’s pitched over six outings.

Peavy said the change of scenery really helped him out in Friday night’s win, as he was comparing San Francisco to the Cactus League “with such thing air, Arizona is a lot like Colorado with that type of weather and being outside. The ball flies when it gets hit, the infield is like concrete and the ball is getting through. It plays a lot more like baseball when you get out of the Cactus League,” said Peavy.

Peavy’s next start won’t come until Thursday, where he takes the bump in the Giants’ home opener against the Dodgers.  Clearly fired up about the opportunity of starting in the home opener, Peavy exclaimed, “Anytime you get a chance to start your home opener, it’s special and then when you get it versus the Dodgers, you can’t draw it up much better than that as far as the intensity and rivalry. It will be fun to go out there and get thrown right into the fire. It will be as high as you can get, it will be like a post-season game with a lot of intensity and a lot of excitement around the ballpark”.

Two of the Giants runs came in the first inning off the bat of Buster Posey, who hit a double down the left field line to bring in Denard Span and Joe Panik. Posey finished his night two for two, adding another single in the third. Gregor Blanco brought in the Giants’ third run in the seventh inning with a single to left, bringing in Matt Duffy.

Duffy made the play of the game defensively, snagging a short hop at the hot corner, before throwing out A’s catcher Josh Phegley to end the second frame. “The plays Duffy made are [wow], they’re game-changing plays, and that’s what defense will do for you,” added Bruce Bochy.

Santiago Casilla earned his first save of the spring in his ninth appearance, pitching a scoreless ninth inning to close things out.

The Giants and A’s end their battle of the bay series on Saturday in Oakland with Matt Cain pitching against Felix Doubront in the final pre-season game of the year. Expect Cain to be held around five innings, depending on how the game goes of course.

By Jeremy Harness

photo credit: Sacramento Bee Jose Luis Villegas–Daniela Delao takes a selfie of  the San Francisco Giants Hunter Pence before the Giants at Sacramento Rivercats exhibition game at Raley Field Wednesday night

SACRAMENTO – Less than a week remains until the Giants kick off the 2016 season, and from the way things looked Wednesday night, they don’t have very many issues at all.

There have been a few minor injuries here and there, but the Giants have made it through this spring training otherwise unscathed, making things considerably easier for them to get a constant rhythm and feel for each other, which is very important considering the number of new additions to the lineup.

Now, back to Wednesday for a moment, Sure, they were going up against their Triple-A squad, but the bats looked sharp in an 8-4 win over the Sacramento River Cats at Raley Field, the first-ever meeting between these two teams.

“The atmosphere was just terrific,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “I saw a different energy level out of these guys (Wednesday night). The guys enjoyed it.

“It was a good break from spring training.”

Johnny Cueto went six innings and give up three runs on eight hits, including a two-run homer by Hak-Ju Lee in the top of the second inning that gave the River Cats an early 2-0 lead.

However, he settled down and even helped himself with the bat as well. Brandon Crawford brought the big club right back in the bottom of the second with a two-run shot of his own, a line drive that sailed just over the short wall in right field.

After Kelby Tomlinson doubled and then reached third on a sac fly, Cueto then brought him home with a single up the middle to give the Giants a lead that they would not relinquish.

“There’s a lot of eagerness, a lot of enthusiasm,” Hunter Pence said. “It’s a good time, it’s an exciting time just enjoy the challenge of what we’re about to do.

“I’m excited about this year.”

Pence got into the action, too. In the third, Pence added to the Giants’ lead with a solo homer that was just past center fielder Gorkys Hernandez’s reach.

Two innings later, Buster Posey tagged Matt Lujan for a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach.

By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, March 27, 2016

AP photo: Chicago White Sox Travis Ishikawa was a single short of getting a cycle in Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Travis Ishikawa knows all too well how fleeting fame can be.

The star of the San Francisco Giants’ 2014 playoff run, Ishikawa is in the Chicago White Sox camp as a non-roster invitee, wearing No. 64 as an indication of his status. The 10-year veteran is hoping to catch on as a left-handed designated hitter and backup first baseman.

In 23 Cactus League games for the Sox, Ishikawa is hitting .289 with four doubles, a triple and two home runs, accounting for a .556 slugging percentage.

“It’s going good,” Ishikawa said of his spring with the White Sox. “We’re getting close, so anything can happen. Regardless of what happens, I’m very happy to have a job and have a chance to get to the big leagues, either to start the year or maybe come up later on in the season, that’s what I’m fighting for each and every day.

“I don’t want to be a career minor leaguer,” he added. “This is the only place to play.”

In the fall of 2014, Ishikawa, a career first baseman, filled in out of necessity in left field and hit a walk-off home run against St. Louis to put the Giants in the World Series and eventually earned his second championship ring.

“It’s different, looking across at (the Giants’) dugout,” Ishikawa said. “I come in today, walking in and seeing a bunch of guys that you spend eight or nine months out of the year with, and you’re either on top of the world or the bottom of the barrel together, fighting. Sure, there’s a connection with those guys.

“I’ve been able to make those connections like that with guys in other organizations as well, but I’ve spent a majority of my professional career as a Giant. San Francisco, and their fan base, have a special place in my heart. It was so humbling, again, with my outs or my hits today, to hear the cheers. Those fans are one-of-a-kind.”

But that’s history, recent as it is. Now, the 32-year-old Ishikawa is looking to extend his major league career with the White Sox, where he’s still in the mix for a spot on their 25-man roster.

In Sunday’s 13-9 Cactus League win over the Giants, Ishikawa made a good case for himself to head north for Opening Day, coming one single shy of hitting for the cycle. In five at-bats, Ishikawa had four runs batted in on a triple, double and home run off Giants pitching.

Ishikawa confessed that he knew he was close to the cycle, saying, “I’ve never hit one before, and the single is the closest I’ve ever been, and me hitting a triple and a home run in the same game is something that rarely happens. I was trying for it, but it just wasn’t meant to be today.”

Ishikawa first came up with San Francisco in 2006 and stuck with the Giants from 2008 through 2010. From there, his career hit the shuttle, bouncing to Milwaukee, Baltimore, the Yankees, Pittsburgh, the Giants again in 2014, and back to Pittsburgh in 2015 after the Giants designated him for assignment last July.

It’s “a love of the game,” Ishikawa said, that keeps him going.

“I’ve been very fortunate, very blessed to spend a significant amount of time in the big leagues,” Ishikawa said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid. It’s all I’ve ever wanted; I still feel like I can compete at the major league level until the day comes where I can’t do that anymore. Until that day comes, I’ll keep fighting for it.”

On the Giants’ side, Grant Green is in a similar boat. The one-time top prospect of the Oakland Athletics went 1-for-4 on Sunday in his quest to catch on with San Francisco, but might get caught in the numbers game.

THE GAME
Both the White Sox and Giants took turns beating up on each other in the early innings Sunday, with the game tied 5-5 after three innings.

Brandon Crawford and Kelly Tomlinson gave San Francisco (11-17) a 2-0 lead with first-inning RBI singles to kick off the scoring spree.

In the bottom of the second, another run-scoring single by Crawford and a two-RBI double by Brandon Belt put the Giants up 5-0. That lead didn’t’ last long, as the White Sox batted around in the third, scoring five runs – two unearned. The big blow was a bases-loaded triple to center by Ishikawa on an 0-2 pitch from Jake Peavy.

San Francisco surged ahead 6-5 in the fourth when Sox pitcher Mat Latos threw a pickoff throw to second with no one covering. A balk was called, allowing Brandon Belt (who walked and went to third on a Jimmy Rollins’ throwing error) to score from third.

The throwing error by Latos provided the punctuation mark to his afternoon. Latos, pitching for his sixth major league team in five years, worked four innings, giving up seven hits and six runs – five earned – three walks and a balk. He struck out three.

Latos also hit Hunter Pence with a pitch in the bottom of the second.

“There’s no way I was trying to throw at (Pence) intentionally, especially in spring training,” Latos said. “I didn’t land properly and the pitch got away from me.”

Chicago (13-12) went ahead to stay with a five-run rally in the seventh, with home runs by Ishikawa and Avisail Garcia providing much of the damage.

Offensive highlights for the Giants include Mac Williamson’s fifth home run of the spring, and doubles by Belt and Gorkys Hernandez. Crawford was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Peavy worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up five runs – three earned – on six hits, striking out two and issuing two walks. George Kontos had the blown save and the loss – he was on the hook for all five runs scored by the White Sox in the seventh without recording an out.

Sox right-hander Scott Carroll (1-0) gave up two earned runs and struck out three in four innings to snag the vulture win.

CACTUS NEEDLES: In Mesa, the Athletics optioned OF Jake Smolinski to Triple-A Nashville and reassigned C Carson Blair to their minor league camp. … The Giants have hit 35 home runs this spring and were tied with Arizona for most spring training homers for National League teams in all of spring training going into Sunday with 34. … Giants OF Hunter Pence has hit six home runs, and 1B Brandon Belt has five, ranking 1-2, respectively, in Cactus League homers. … Giants INF Ehire Adrianza leads the club this spring with 18 hits and six doubles, Belt leads San Francisco with 16 RBIs and seven walks, and OF Gorkys Hernandez has four stolen bases. … The Giants have two more exhibition games remaining in Arizona before heading north – ticket sales are reportedly brisk for Wednesday’s game at Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants host the Thursday and Friday games of the Bay Bridge Series, which concludes on April 2 at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland.

TAGS: Travis Ishikawa,Chicago White Sox,San Francisco Giants,Cactus League,Sports Radio Service,Daniel Dullum

by Jeremy Kahn

AP photo: San Francisco Giant catcher Buster Posey stops to sign autographs for the fans at Scottsdale Stadium on Wednesday March 2 before they meet the LA Angels

Like I’ve said over and again in football or in baseball they play too many pre season games in those sports. Pre season baseball doesn’t count. Spring training is all good and dandy and everything but it’s just too long. Your talking 30 pre season games and then your playing 162 regular season games right after that. That’s just too long that’s why pitchers and other players get hurt is because their playing for seven to eight months and it’s just too long.

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy has to be concerned about this and one of his horses pitcher Matt Cain who pitched since 2005 because he was throwing too much from February to October. That’s eight months that’s a long time and you can’t do that these days like that anymore.

Jeremy Kahn covers San Francisco Giants baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below

By Jeremy Harness

photo credit: aroundthefoghorn.com–Giants pitcher Matt Cain continues to struggle in spring training to make a comeback

The encouraging sign for the Giants is that Matt Cain is back on the mound in live action, recovered from elbow surgery that sidelined him for much of last season.

The bad news, though, is that he is way off the mark thus far in this spring training.

At the same time, it is spring training after all, and that if there’s a time to get your struggles out of the way, this is the time. The right-hander went four innings and gave up six runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking one in a 10-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

In his two starts this spring, Cain carries a whopping 13.50 earned-run average, after surrendering three runs in only 2 2/3 innings of work against San Diego in his spring debut last Friday.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday that the team is seriously thinking about having Cain make his next start in the minors rather than taking his next turn in the rotation in the Cactus League. Meanwhile, the Giants are working right-hander Chris Heston on the same schedule as Cain’s, in case Cain goes down to the minors.

On the plus side for the Giants, Brandon Belt continued his hot streak Wednesday, launching two home runs off Arizona pitchers to go along with a double. With that performance, he raised his spring batting average to .448, and he leads the team with 12 RBI.

Meanwhile, Ehire Adrianza, who was designated for assignment by the team last year, has returned to the team and has a very nice spring thus far. The second baseman went 2-for-3 with a single and a double while knocking in a run against Arizona, a day after going 2-for-4 with a double against the White Sox.

by Michael Duca

AP photo of San Francisco Giant Hunter Pence hitting a home run off of A’s starter Chris Bassitt last Monday in pre season game

PERIOA AZ–San Francisco Giant Hunter Pence is having a breakout spring training hitting five homers thus far and it almost makes you forget about him getting hit on the hands last year at spring training by a minor league pitcher who shouldn’t have been out there throwing against veteran players but that’s the way it happened and what’s in the past is in the past. Ironically it happened again when Rymer Lirano of the Milwaukee Brewers got hit in the eye socket by the Dodgers Matt West this past week.

For this season for Pence it’s going to be great for the Giants to have him back for a whole season it’s always best to have your offensive team available to you in a 162 game season. Pence is the heart and soul of the team and the clubhouse. He’s seems to have enthusiasm and energy of course no one  knows what goes on when were not there. From the players that I’ve got to talk to  who they consider are the real clubhouse leaders at the Giants over the season’s past, former Giant pitcher Jeremy Affeldt, catcher Buster Posey and Pence.

Listen to the rest of the podcast about the Giants clubhouse leadership with Michael Duca below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com