Spring Training Game Wrap 3/9/2025: Giants 7 Padres 4

A 4-run rally in the 6'th inning helped the Giants overcome a rough start by Jordan Hicks against the Padres road squad in the home half of a split-squad day.  Key Lines:  

Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 2, BB, SB(2).  BA= .200.  Ramos got a late start to his spring due to mild oblique soreness.  He got his first hit yesterday on an infield chopper.  Today he singled up the middle, drew a walk and stole his second base out of 4 times on base.  He definitely seems to be looking to use his speed as more of a weapon this season.

Bo Davidson LF- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .667.  Davidson had the big blow of the game for the Giants with a 2-run oppo-field double.  Signed as an undrafted free agent, he opened a lot of eyes last season in A ball and looks to build on that this season.

Willy Adames SS- 1 for 2, 2B, BB.  BA= .375.  Adames is cruising through spring training.  Impressing as much with his leadership and defense as with his bat, which has not been bad.

Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 2, BB.  BA= .529.  Another guy who is cruising.  

Jerar Encarncacion DH- 1 for 3.  BA= .345.  Encarnacion has cooled off a bit from early spring but drove in a run today with an oppo-field single.  The starting lineup seems set but Melvin and Buster have some very tough decisions coming up regarding the positional reserves.

Jordan Hicks RHP- 2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.75.  I don't have a pitch count but Hicks got through 2 innings OK but his second inning was extended by a couple of infield singles one of which he deflected followed by an injury delay.  He then failed to record an out in the 3'rd and was chased after giving up 4 straight hits including 3 line drives and a wild pitch.  He then came back out for the 4'th inning and retired the two batters he faces with a pop out and ground out.  Not a great outing but a bit of a mixed bag.  No word on velocities so far.

Spencer Bivens RHP- 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 1.23.  Another strong appearance by Bivens who it seems should make the team as a versatile reliever based on both his performance last season and in spring training so far.

Camilo Doval RHP and Lou Trivino RHP pitched a scoreless frame each.  Both are expected to make the Opening Day roster.  Enny Romero LHP's roster hopes took another hit as he gave up a homer in the 9'th inning.  Melvin sounds more and more like he's going to roll with just one lefty in the pen.

Logan Webb RHP makes his third start of the spring in a road game against the Rockies tomorrow.  Apparently the Giants don't care if the Rockies regulars see him in a spring training game.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/8/2025: Giants 7 Royals 3

The Giants pitchers shut down the Royals road lineup and the hitters broke out the long ball for another spring win.  Key Lines:

Jung Hoo Lee CF- 0 for 2, BB.  BA= .364.  In addition to the walk Lee roasted a sinking liner right to the glove of the RF on the warning track. 

Grant McCray CF- 1 for 1.  BA= .273.  The hit was a slow chopper to 2B that he beat out with pure speed.  Perhaps a blueprint for increasing his BA and cutting down on K's?

Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 2, HR(4).  BA= .533.  The HR was oppo-field with 2-runners on base.  3-run HR's win games.  The 4 HR's leads the Giants for the spring so far.

David Villar 3B- 1 for 2, HR(1).  BA= .211.  The HR went to R-CF.  Later he made a throwing error on a somewhat difficult force play at 2B to extend an inning.  Villar does not seem to have a path to an active roster spot but maybe some team.

Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 3.  BA= .125.  Ramos is still getting his land legs under him but like McCray he beat out a roller by booking it down the line to beat the throw.  I was holding my breath that he wouldn't pull a hammy on the way.

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 1 for 3, HR(3).  YtY thought he took ball four on the prior pitch and probably would have tapped his helmet if replay was available but Scottsdale Stadium is not so equipped.  Next pitch was a breaking ball up in the zone and he took it WAY back into the Charro Lounge beyond RF.

Keaton Winn RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Winn looked healthy and effective with his signature FB/Split combo.  The splitter was diving away from lefty batters.  He put runners on 2'nd and 3'rd with no outs but got out of it with 2 K's and a nice play by Adames on a carom off Winn's foot.  He was also helped by a tough play that Chapman made look easy in the first inning.

Erik Miller LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Miller makes his first spring appearance after battling hand numbness and an apparent viral illness.  Miller gave up a leadoff hit then hit a batter but got out of it by striking out the side. 

Joel Peguero RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Miller and Kuip marvelled over his velocity which was sitting at 102 MPH on the stadium gun which reportedly tends to run a little hot.

Carson Ragsdale RHP- 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Ragsdale's second inning of work was extended by Villar's throwing error.  He came back out and got the first two batters in his 3'rd inning but then appeared to be tiring and walked his last two batters before Melvin pulled him aftger pitch #60.  Another impressive appearance by a Carson.

Justin Garza RHP gave up 3 runs in the 9'th inning to make the final score seem closer than the game was.

Tomorrow is a split-squad game with Landen Roupp RHP starting the road game against the Cubs with Jordan Hicks RHP starting the home game against the Padres.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/6/2025: Giants 7 White Sox 3

The Giants rolled out their possible, even likely, Opening Day lineup in Scottsdale and rolled to a easy win.  Key Lines:

Jung Hoo Lee CF- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .400.  Lee hit the first of 4 HR's in the game for the Giants.  His apparent good health and success at the plate seems like a great reason for optimism for the upcoming season.

Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 3, 2 HR(3). BA= .462.  Chapman drove in the Giants first run with a home run in the second inning and then went B2B with Lee in the 3'rd inning becoming the first Giants batter to homer 3 times this spring.  Chapman has had some good seasons but is he primed for a career year?

Wilmer Flores DH- 1 for 3.  BA= .278.  A healthy Wilmer Flores is probably a better DH option than Jerar Encarnacion.  If Wilmer DH's on days he does not play 1B, is Jerar redundant on the roster?  

Mike Yastrzemski RF- 2 for 2, HR(2), HBP.  BA= .222.  Talking about unsustainable stats, YtY is sporting a .897 OPS with a .222 BA and .286 OBP.  His HR was the Giants fourth of the game.  

Christian Koss SS- 1 for 1.  BA= .333.  Koss continues his strong spring.

Grant McCray CF- 1 for 1, 2 SB(3).  BA= .238.  McCray is probably the Giants best defensive CF and might be their best basestealer, although Patrick Bailey C might have something to say about that(Bailey stole a base today and is 5 for 5 during the regular season as a Giant at the MLB level).

Justin Verlander RHP- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 3.00.  Getting more bullish on Verlander's season.  Giants have a long history of getting value out of star players late in their careers.  

Sean Hjelle RHP, Tyler Rogers RHP, Camilo Doval RHP and Joey Lucchesi LHP each recorded a scoreless inning.

Enny Romero LHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K.  ERA= 5.40. Enny my man!  This is not how you win a roster spot!  

Keaton Winn RHP gets the start tomorrow on the road against the Reds.

Trevor McDonald RHP was optioned to AAA Sacramento.

Carson Whisenhunt LHP was reassigned to minor league camp.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/5/2025: Giants 11 D'Backs 5

Kyle Harrison's start went south fast but the Giants hitters and relief pitchers overcame the disaster start for the win.  Key Lines:

Wade Meckler LF- 1 for 3, 2 BB.  BA= .294.  Meck is quietly having himself a nice little spring.  There is a roster crunch in the outfield but he may not be out on a roster spot just yet.

Willy Adames SS- 2 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .412.  Adames was already having a fine spring and today he became, what, the 15'th Giants player to homer this spring?  

Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 1, 2 BB.  BA= .400.  Chapman is cruising.

Sam Huff C- 2 for 2, 2B, 2 BB.  BA= .308.  Huff seems to be the favorite to break camp as the back up catcher assuming Tom Murphy is not ready which seems very likely at this point.

Grant McCray CF- 2 for 4.  BA= .200.  McCray has not had a great spring but there is still plenty of time left.  I would not count him out of the 4'th OF race for no other reason than he is the best centerfielder of the candidates by a large margin.

Casey Schmitt 2B- 1 for 3, HR(2).  BA= .208.  If you had your money on Casey At The Bat to be the first Giant to hit 2 HR this spring, well, you are the winner of the jackpot!  

Christian Koss PR/3B- 1 for 3, 2B, SB(1).  BA= .294.  Koss might be the best all-around fielder of the utility infielder candidates.  Darkhorse for a roster spot.  He has a rooting section.

Kyle Harrison LHP- 1.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 12.77.  Harrison was greeted by a hail of line drives in the first inning and was lifted with just one out in the inning after giving up 5 runs including Gabriel Moreno C's 3-run HR.  He came back in the second inning and gave up a one-out single which he erased with a GIDP.  He gave up a leadoff double in the third inning followed by a K on his 44'th pitch and came out of the game.  Not a good day for Young Kyle.  I forgot to look for velocities on Gameday.  If anyone has those please post in comments.  Fingers crossed it was just a bad day and he's not hurting.

Carson Whisenhunt LHP- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 4/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 0.00.  The Whiz will likely start the season in AAA Sacramento but it sure looks like he is poised to take it to the next level.

Ryan Walker RHP, Lou Trivino RHP, Joel Peguero RHP and Antonio Jimenez LHP all pitched a scoreless frame.

Justin Verlander RHP gets the start tomorrow in Scottsdale against the White Sox.

8 players got cut from major league camp:  

40 man roster players Marco Luciano OF and Mason Black RHP were optioned to the AAA Sacramento River Cats and reassigned to minor league camp.  

Raymond Burgos LHP, Miguel Del Pozo LHP, Ethan Small LHP, Kai-Wei Teng RHP and Cole Waites RHP were reassigned to minor league camp.

Luciano's option might be a modest surprise but with Heliot Ramos OF needing catch-up time in LF, Luciano was not going to get much playing time which he desperately needs.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/4/2025: Giants 1 Padres 1

The pitchers still seem to be ahead of the hitters as the Giants and Padres battled to a tie in Peoria, AZ.  Key Lines:

Luis Matos RF- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .292.  The Giants managed just 4 hits with Matos driving in their only run with the only XBH in the 7'th inning.  Matos is so far having the best spring of the potential candidates for 4'th OF(not counting Jerar Encarnacion who is more of a DH/bat off the bench candidate).  

Heliot Ramos LF- 0 for 2, BB, SB(1).  BA= .000.  Ramos makes his first spring appearance after nursing a sore oblique.  He seemed fully healthy as he stole the base and made a diving catch in LF with no apparent ill effects.

Landen Roupp RHP- 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.  ERA= 0.00.  Roupp again looked terrific.  All the more impressive that he faced mostly the Padres projected starting lineup.  He is now unscored upon after 3 appearances and 8.1 IP.  He has 11 K's in those 8.1 IP and just one BB.  

Spencer Bivens RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's, 3/1 GO/AO.  ERA= 1.80.  I saw one AB on Gameday where he threw like 6 straight 95 MPH sinkers then got the K on a changeup.  Nasty!  

Cole Waites RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 6.75.  Quite a few fans rooting for Waites who missed all of last season.  He'll probably start the season in AAA Sacramento and wait for an opening in the bullpen.

Jordan Hicks RHP threw 40 pitches in minor league camp allowing 1 hit with 5 K's.  

Kyle Harrison LHP gets the start tomorrow in a road game against the D'Backs.

Gotta say I am so excited by the Giants right now. Win or lose I like the direction the team is headed and can't wait for the next game and Game Wrap.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/2/2025: Giants 9 Angels 5

The Giants jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind a strong 3 innings from Robbie Ray and a bases-clearing double by Jerar Encarnacion and held on for the spring win.  Key Lines:

Lamonte Wade Jr DH- 0 for 2, 2 BB.  BA= .182.  Classic LMWJ PA to lead off the Giants half of the first inning.  He fell behind in the count 0-2 then drew a walk.  He's now drawn 6 walks in 17 PA with an OBP of .471.

Jung Hoo Lee CF- 2 for 3.  BA= .400.  Two sharp groundball singles through the right side lead to 2 runs scored.  Please stay healthy JHL!  Please!  

Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 2, BB.  BA= .333.  Chapman has understandably played sparingly so far appearing in just 4 of 10 games with 12 PA's.  He probably only needs about 10 days to get ready for the season so he's playing just enough to stay sharp.

Luis Matos RF- 1 for 1, HR(1).  BA= .286.  In a statistical oddity, Matos becomes the 14'th Giants hitter to slug a home run this spring while none have hit their second yet.  If the season started tomorrow it seems like Matos would be the 4'th OF.

Jerar Encarnacion LF- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .444.  Wow!  Is Jerar this year's Randy Elliott Award winner?  With the bases loaded, he went the other way with pitch on the outer-lower quadrant of the strike zone and hit an absolute rocket directly over the head of the RF that clanged off the wall.  He later hit a 2-run infield single.  

Robbie Ray LHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K's.  ERA= 0.00.  Another strong start for Ray.  Last year's plan to have him boost the rotation after rehabbing from surgery got derailed, but he looks fully healthy and ready to roll this year.  Hopefully Tarik Skubal's private changeup lesson produces and ace level season.

The game understandably got ragged after the third inning.  Keaton Winn RHP and Lou Trivino RHP pitched scoreless frames but Tyler Rogers RHP, Camilo Doval RHP, Sean Hjelle RHP and Enny Romero LHP gave up runs.  I will say Hjelle was the victim of some bad BABIP luck as sinkerballers will at times.

The Giants have a free day tomorrow before making a bus trip to Peoria to play the Padres on Tuesday.  No starting pitcher named yet although it would be Jordan Hicks RHP turn.

Spring Training Game Wrap 3/1/2025: Dodgers 6 Giants 5

The Giants travel squad came up just short against the Dodgers home lineup consisting of several veteran regulars.  Key Lines:

Wade Meckler CF- 1 for 2.  BA= .308.  Meck is 4 for 13, all singles.   Probably a good sign for him that he's getting innings in CF.

Jung Hoo Lee CF- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .333.  I am getting excited to see what Lee can do over the course of healthy season.  I think some fans forget how much of an upgrade he can be over the Giants combined CF effort last season.

Jerar Encarnacion DH- 1 for 4, HR(1).  BA= .400.  Still a long way to go in spring training but Jerar was already a betting favorite for a roster spot coming in. He has only enhanced with his play so far.

Casey Schmitt 3B- 2 for 3, 2B.  BA= .222.  Is there room for both Schmitt and Brett Wisely on the team?  If not, Wisely seems to be winning the competition for utility infielder but there is a long way to go.

Christian Koss SS- 1 for 3, 2B.  BA= .333.  Koss got the start at SS.  He is quietly having a strong spring.  Saw a photo of his young daughter giving the Dodgers a thumbs down.

Carson Seymour RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 5/0 GO/AO.  ERA= 4.50.  Seymour did what he does best, had the Dodgers killing worms.

Robbie Ray LHP makes his second spring start tomorrow agains the Angels in Scottsdale.