A pitching duel fronted by Logan Webb and Ben Lively RHP broke open when the Guardians scored 3 runs in the 8'th inning to take a 4-2 lead off Tyler Rogers RHP but Brett Wisely got it back and more with a 3-run HR in the bottom of the inning to salvage another Giants win. Key Lines:
Lamonte Wade Jr DH- 1 for 3, 2B, BB. BA= .229. I can just see the scene from the movie version of Moneyball where Billy Beane is sitting at a round table with his assistants and scouts and LMWJ's name comes up. Someone says, "He's only hitting .229!" Beane answers, "but he......(looks at his assistant)". Assistant: ".....gets on base!" as the old school guys at the table roll their eyes and groan. LMWJ's spring OBP is .429 and his OPS is .886 which is good for any hitter but exactly what you want from you leadoff guy. One thing that seems to keep showing up in the boxscore is he seems to be the DH more often than 1B, particularly against RHP's, with Wilmer Flores playing 1B. We'll see how that plays out with roster construction and in-season lineups.
Willy Adames SS- 1 for 2, 2B, BB. BA= .381. LMWJ and Adames led off the Giants half of the first inning with B2B doubles to score the Giants first run. Adames committed what was initially scored as B2B errors with Matt Chapman but Chapman's E was later changed to a hit.
Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 3, HR(5). BA= .417. Chapman continues to lead the Giants in batting average and HR's.
Sabin Ceballos 3B- 1 for 1. BA= .667. Ceballos continues to get opportunities to hit in the MLB spring games and continues to impress. He is 8 for 12 on the spring. I can't wait to follow his name in the Down on the Farm posts.
Brett Wisely 2B- 1 for 1, HR(1). BA= .286. Wisely has had a solid spring but so has Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss. Does Wisely's lefthanded bat make the difference?
Logan Webb RHP- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K's, 5/4 GO/AO. ERA= 1.77. Not a typical Logan Webb pitching line with almost as may flyouts and groundouts, but he sure seemed sharp in his final spring start. The only time he got close to trouble was in the 4'th inning when the second batter reached on Adames error and the next batter singled on a line drive off Chapman's glove which was initially scored as an error but later changed to a hit. That brought the dangerous Bo Naylor to the plate. Webby said "no worries" and got the GIDP to end the inning.
Spencer Bivens RHP- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 4/0 GO/AO. ERA= 2.92. Bivens finished 2024 on the MLB active roster. He had done nothing to lose that status this spring but is he on the bubble with so many bullpen candidates all pitching well?
Camilo Doval RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 1.13. Doval had to inject just a bit of his signature torture into it but ended up with the Save by striking out the side. Doval is another fascinating storyline to watch once the season starts.
The Giants play their final Cactus League game tomorrow in Scottsdale with Justin Verlander RHP making the start. That sure went by fast!
Jung Hoo Lee CF did not play and is looking to make his return to the lineup on Sunday against the River Cats in Sacramento but from his comments reported by Maria Guardado of sfgiants.com it sounds like it's far from a sure thing that he'll be ready for Opening Day.
Jerar Encarnacion jammed his left ring finger on a diving attempt at a catch right after entering the game in RF. He'll be evaluated but seemed to be in quite a bit of pain.
The Giants optioned Tristan Beck RHP and Wade Meckler OF and reassigned Logan Porter C, Enny Romero LHP and Jake Lamb UT/DH to minor league camp.
If Encarnacion broke digits & opens on DL could actually make most sense to have McCray as LHB & Schmitt as backup IF & Wisely start out in Sac'to
ReplyDeleteGreat job by the team this spring. I was a little bummed that they're not finishing the preseason against the Athletics. However, it's understood since the A's relocated.
ReplyDeleteAm a little bummed by the Lee situation. Hope he doesn't end up being another sunk investment.
Ceballos- Bryce Eldridge said he's an underrated prospect. Keith Law when asked by Marty Lurie said Ceballos isn't a prospect. Can Ceballos prove his doubters wrong. I wish Wisely would save his heroics for the regular season. Hopefully Encanarcions x-rays come back negative and Lee can recover from his back issues. I like both as potential breakout players.
ReplyDeleteSo it appears that starting pitching is our strength going into the season.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope Birdsong is named part of the rotation.
After last season; I am hopeful Bivens makes it out of spring.
I am moving from cautiously optomistic to optomistic.
Go Giants!!
Richard in Winnipeg
What about Roger's forgettable performance?
ReplyDeleteHe's had bad Springs before, is this just one-off?
He has been the main bull pen innings eater with most everything for years, he's been a guy who was always dependable.
No worries?
Spring tune up. No worries re. Rogers.......yet.
DeleteThere are ONLY a few choices left for the final 26 (with possible injuries playing a part), which means that either (1) the Giants are in very good shape going into the season or (2) they are mediocre with choices between so-so players that won't make much difference.
ReplyDeleteEither way, the FIFTH starting pitcher has to be near the Top question, who will he be?
Tradition: Harrison, pre-Spring favorite
Spring standout: Birdsong
Surprise long shot: Roupp
Given the Giants conservatism, it's likely to be Harrison, if he's ready
Awful news on Encanarcion fracture hand. They were going to use him as OF/DH. Kruk had good things to say about him, I like his bat. I'm starting to get concerned about OF depth. I'd rather see McCray playing everyday at AAA. I bet Harrison took the news of him being optioned hard. He's just had bad luck regarding his health which set him back. Sacramento rotation is stacked!
ReplyDeleteSo we're at the end of spring training and the only notable weakness seems to be LH relief -- and I'm a little nervous still about Miller's tingling fingers.
ReplyDeleteHow about offering some of the RH pitching depth -- the team seems to have a ton of plus RH pitchers -- for a LH strikeout pitcher? Maybe target Garrett Cleavinger of the Rays? Basically need someone to go with Miller who can strike out Ohtani and Freeman in crunch time. Maybe for Randy Rodriguez and a minor-leaguer?
I've seen speculation about the Yankees offering LHRP Tim Hill to SF for Jordan Hicks, but that sounds like a foolish deal to me. Hill is an old pitch-to-contact guy and would likely be torched. I believe that is why Posey traded Taylor Rogers.