Spring Training Game Wrap 2/26/2026: Rockies 11 Giants 3

 The Giants pitching faltered again and the lineup was not able to keep up.  Key Lines:

Matt Chapman 3B- 1 for 3, HR(1).  BA= .429.  Chappy has pounded the ball so far.  Exit velocity on the HR 108.4 MPH.

Heliot Ramos LF- 2 for 2, HR(1).  BA= .429.  I feel like Heliot is low-key lining up for a breakout season.  He worked hard on conditioning over the winter and is truly in the best shape of his live.  Last year was a (sometimes) hard learning experience.  Exit velocity on the HR 105.4 MPH.

Harrison Bader CF- 1 for 2, 2B.  BA= .455.  Bader is also raking in the early spring.  Exit velo on the double 101.6 MPH.

Blade Tidwell RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K.  ERA= 6.00.  Tidwell got through a quick 1, 2, 3 first inning but opened the second with walk, triple, single before settling down to retire the last 3 batters in a row.  Not something to panic over. 

Hayden Birdsong RHP- 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 54.00.  This is way beyond concerning.  He's already had most of last season plus the offseason to correct a supposed mechanical problem.  To my unprofessional eye, it's never looked like this was only a mechanical flaw.  We aren't quite into Steve Blass territory just yet, but getting close.  

Juan Sanchez LHP and Spencer Bivens RHP worked scoreless frames.  

ABS Challenge:  I forgot to mention there were a total of 11 challenges in Wednesday's game with 9 successful challenges and 2 unsuccessful.  Giants had 4 successes and the Brewers 5.  In this game, there were a total of 5 challenges:  2 by Patrick Bailey with one success.  Brewers challenged 3 with 1 success.  ABS challenges create a whole new set of stats to follow.  

Robbie Ray LHP makes his second spring start against the Dodgers in Scottsdale today with Yoshinobu Yamamoto RHP on the mound for the Hated Ones.

Spring Training Game Wrap 2/25/2026

 It was 80 degrees and calm at game time.  Batted balls were flying out of the park making the final score more like a football game.  Key Lines:

Harrison Bader CF- 1 for 3, HR, R, 3 RBI.  BA= .444.  There is still a place for 3-run home runs.  Bader's shot dented a food truck in the parking lot.  He signed the spot with a sharpie pen.  

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 1 for 2, HR, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI.  BA= .250.  Hopefully there are a lot more Bryce Eldridge lines like this in our future.

Jung Hoo Lee RF- 2 for 3, 3B, RBI.  BA= .417.  Yes! That's what we are looking for!

Luis Matos DH- 2 for 3, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI.  BA= .429.  Matos is fighting for a job. I still think he is going to be a star somewhere.  I hope the Giants find a way for him to star in San Francisco.  

Victor Bericoto PH/DH- 1 for 2, R, RBI.  BA= .600.  Bericoto could always hit.  

Christian Koss 3B- 1 for 2, HBP, 2 R, RBI.  BA= .250.  Christian Koss continues to do Christian Koss things on the field and that's a good thing.

Parks Harber PH/3B- 1 for 1, BB, SF, SB, RBI.  BA= .333.  Intriguing prospect.  

Adrian Houser RHP- 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 0 K, GO/AO= 5/1.  ERA= 4.50.  Gave up a solo HR to Brice Turang in the first inning.  Sinker was running 93.8-96.6 MPH.  5 ground ball outs over 2 IP.  

Caleb Kilian RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.  ERA= 0.00.  4-seam FB sat 98+ MPH.  Sinker was a tick slower.  

Carson Whisenhunt LHP was wild, giving up 4 walks.  Tristan Beck RHP came in and gave up a grand slam HR.

Blade Tidwell RHP gets the start today against the Rockies in Scottsdale.

Blogger's Note

 I was blessed by the outpouring of supportive comments after I shared the news of my wife entering hospice care.  Tuesday afternoon, I lost the love of my life.  I am heartbroken but relieved she is no longer suffering.  Words are not adequate to describe the level of pain she suffered every single day for the last 4 months.  It was an unspeakably awful experience I am sure will haunt me the rest of my life.  

My life will be different in the future.  I will pick up the pieces and figure out what I want do with the rest of my life.  For now, following Giants baseball and writing down my thoughts about it continues to be a central part of who I am and a form of therapy.  I appreciate everybody's care and support during this extremely difficult time.

DrB

Spring Training Game Wrap 2/24/2026: Giants 4 Angels 1

Logan Webb worked 2 dominant innings as the Giants continued to show off their organizational pitching and made the most of 4 hits for their fourth spring training win in a row.  Key Lines:

Lineup:  Jung Hoo Lee CF, Jared Oliva RF, Patrick Bailey C and Jake Holton DH had a hit each with Holton and Bailey hitting doubles.  Oliva had his second stolen base of the spring.  Bailey, Holton and Grant McCray drove in runs with sac flies.  

Logan Webb RHP- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's.  Midseason form!

Landon Roupp RHP, Matt Gage LHP, Ryan Walker RHP, Keaton Winn RHP, Michael Fulmer RHP and Braxton Roxby RHP threw a scoreless inning each.  

The Giants continued to score runs by putting the ball in play.  

The ABS challenge system my prove to make Patrick Bailey even more valuable as a defensive catcher if he continues to get overturned calls in key situations.  We have a new defensive stat to follow which means it will have to be incorporated into WAR calculations.

The Giants play another road game tomorrow agains the Brewers where Adrian Houser RHP will make his first spring start.

Spring Training Game Wrap 2/23/2026: Giants 6 A's 2

The Giants reached deep into their organizational pitching depth to overcome a shaky first inning from J. T. Brubaker while their contact approach continued to produce enough runs to record their third spring win in a row.  Key Lines:

Luis Arraez 2B- 2 for 3, 2B, 2 RBI.  BA= .500.  Well, we know he can hit.

Will Brennan LF- 1 for 1, 2B, BB, R.  BA= .667.

Drew Gilbert DH- 1 for 2, RBI.  BA= .400.  Brennan and Gilbert are probably competing for a 4'th OF spot.  They are both off to good starts.

Victor Bericoto PH/DH- 2 for 2, HR(1).  BA= 1.000.  Bericoto is a fave of some of our readers/commenters.  He hits the Giants first HR of the spring.

Harrison Bader CF- 1 for 1, BB, R.  BA= .500.  If Bader can come close to his batting production from last season he will be a major upgrade to CF and will facilitate an upgrade in RF.

Daniel Susac C- 1 for 2.  BA= .400.  All 3 of Susac's hits left the bat at over 100 MPH. 

J. T. Brubaker RHP- 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K's.  ERA= 18.00.  Interesting that 3 games in, Robbie Ray is the only member of the projected starting rotation to make a start.  It may be they are holding the starters back due to the extended spring training due to the WBC.  That seems to be giving some of the young pitchers from Down On The Farm a chance to show off their stuff.  Brubaker is not one of those.  His slider-sinker approach may need a few innings to get command of.  

Here is a list of the other 8 pitchers who did not allow a run with K's and FB velocity in parentheses:

Trevor McDonald RHP(2, 94.1-97.2).  Wow!

Gregory Santos RHP(0, 97.1-100.5). Wow!

Trystan Vrieling RHP(1, 92-96)

Greg Farone LHP(1, 94.2-94.9).  Threw 5 pitches in the inning.

Marques Johnson RHP(3, 93.2-94.8). All cutters with slider as secondary pitch.

Cody Delvecchio RHP(2, 94.2-96.8).  2025 draft pick. First pro appearance.

Darien Smith RHP(0, 92.1-94.8)

Ben Peterson RHP(0, 93.5-96.8).  

Additional Notes:  

After 3 game the Giants hitters spring K rate is 18.5% compared to 22.7% last regular season.  OK, mostly different batters, weaker competition, etc.  Still, the team has scored several runs simply by putting the ball in play.

Jung Hoo Lee threw out another runner at home plate from RF.  I could see his throwing arm becoming a real point of pride for the Hoo Lee Gans.  

Rafael Devers 1B and Willy Adames SS are both still looking for their first spring hits.  

Logan Webb RHP makes his first start of the spring tomorrow on the road against the Angels.  

Spring Training Game Wrap 2/22/2026: Giants 4 Cubs 2

The Giants showed off their defensive arm tools to make the Cubs pay for some adventurous base running and the lineup used a small-ball approach to push in 4 runs to win their Cactus League home opener.  Key Lines:

Matt Chapman 3B- 2 for 2, 2 2B.  Chapman looked to be in midseason form with a pair of hard-hit doubles.  Stay healthy, Chappy!

Christian Koss 3B/SS- 1 for 1, BB.  Grant McCray PR/CF drew a 1-out walk in the 7'th inning.  Christian executed a perfect hit-and-run play with a ground ball through the 2B hole behind the runner putting runners at first and third with one out. He then drew a throw to 3B on a groundout allowing McCray to score despite the inning-ending double play.  Small ball!  Put the ball in play!

Bryce Eldridge DH- 0 for 1, BB.  I had to do a double take at the TV screen to make sure it wasn't Brandon Belt at the plate.  Striking similarity but without the slumping shoulders(at least that I noticed).  Hopefully this does not ignite the Eldridge Wars.  

Willy Adames SS- Adames showed how the ABS challenge system can change a game.  With the bases loaded and no outs, he took a called third strike.  He tapped his helmet.  The call was overturned even though the top of the ball was a fraction of an inch below the strike zone and there is no way Adames could be sure it was a ball.  On the next pitch he hit a groundout to first base but the runners advanced driving in one run.  Rafael Devers then drove in another run on another ground out. Voila! The Giants had themselves a 2-run inning.  

Robbie Ray LHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K. Perhaps rattled by a fire alarm going of in the stadium that the umps did not stop the game for, Ray walked the first two batters he faced.  Seiya Suzuki then hit a Texas Leaguer that dropped in shallow RF.  Luis Arraez hustled to track it down and threw home but Devers cut it off and threw out Suzuki trying for a double.  The lead runner, Matt Shaw, stopped at 3B putting two runners on one base.  Alex Bregman, the trailing runner, was called out but then Shaw thought there were 3 outs and walked off the bag toward the dugout.  Matt Chapman tagged him out for a very unusual triple play to end the inning.

Trent Harris RHP- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  Harris FB was 94 MPH. He gave up a leadoff single then another hit that Grant McCray misjudged, but then McCray showed off his arm by throwing the runner out at home plate.  Jung Hoo Lee then showed off his arm by throwing out the second runner at home after catching a fly ball in foul territory to complete an inning-ending double play.  

Will Bednar RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.  Bednar came out throwing 98 MPH gas but couldn't find the strike zone and walked the first two batters he faced.  Pitching Coach Justin Meccage came out and delivered a message which seemed to settle Bednar down.  He got out of the inning with a couple of line-outs and a K.  

John Michael Bertrand LHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K.  Bertrand walked the bases loaded with one out.  Justin Meccage came out again and Bertrand got the GIDP to end the inning and the game.

Wilkin Ramos RHP- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 3 BB.  All arms and legs.  Mid-90's sinker/slider.  Couldn't find command. Potential bullpen arm with better command.

Tristan Beck RHP, Carson Seymour RHP, Spencer Bivens RHP and Reiver Sanmartin LHP looked fairly sharp in scoreless innings of work.  Bivens looks like he's added some muscle mass.

The Giants play the A's tomorrow in Scottsdale.  No word on who is pitching.  

Spring Training Game Wrap 2/21/2026: Giants 10 Mariners 5

 Hayden Birdsong was rocked in the first inning while recording just one out but the other nine Giants pitchers went 8.2 scoreless frames and the batters provided more than enough runs with a lot of help from the sun and the Mariners defense.  Key Lines:

Harrison Bader CF- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 RBI.  Bader drove one off the RF wall for a 2-run double in the second inning.  

Bryce Eldridge 1B- 1 for 2, 2B, BB, R, RBI.  Eldridge quick swing inside-outed a drive over the LF head for an oppo-field double in the third inning.  I saw somewhere it left the bat at 104.3 MPH, or something like that.  

Jake Holton 1B- 2 for 2, 2 RBI.  Jake who?  I must have missed a signing during the Hot Stove League season.

Heliot Ramos LF- 1 for 2, 2B, HBP, R.  The double came of Mariners Closer Andres Munoz RHP.

Jared Oliva CF- 1 for 2, SB, R.  Oliva had a nice 7'th inning with a hard infield single off the third baseman, SB, took third on a groundout and scored on Holton's single.

Hayden Birdsong RHP- 0.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 0 K.  Birdsong came out firing 98 MPH 4-seamers and got a quick 0-2 count on the leadoff batter who then reached on an infield grounder. The next batter walked on 8 pitches and the wheels came off.  Someone named Miles Mastrobuoni finished him off with a grand slam HR.  In short, Birdsong looked a lot like he did last season.

Blade Tidwell RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.  Tidwell looked nasty with a mid-90's FB and a sweeping slider.  Some to keep an eye on as the spring progresses.  

Michael Fulmer RHP- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K's.  Fastball topped out at 91.6 but was able to keep hitters off balance with a mix of 5 pitches:  4-seam, sinker, cutter, sweeper and curve.  Someone else to keep an eye on.  

Caleb Kilian RHP- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.  The Kris Bryant trade comes full circle.  Kilian got 3 flyball outs but it will warm some hearts to know that he topped out at 99.1 MPH.  Wowza!  

Other scoreless frames came from Jose Butto RHP, Nick Margevicius LHP, Juan Sanchez LHP, Braxton Roxby RHP and Nick Zwack LHP.

Robbie Ray LHP makes his first game appearance of the spring tomorrow in Scottsdale.

*************************************************************************************

I just want to thank everybody who contributed to a great discussion of several interesting topics on the Open Forum/AQA post.  We had 50 comments including my responses.  It was a vigorous discussion with a range of opinions.  Everybody was constructive and respectful.  I only had to hit the button on 2 comments.