Minor-League Vet Mark Minicozzi Homers As San Francisco Giants Split-Squad Beats Brewers
By Phil Watson
Madison Bumgarner threw two scoreless innings in his first outing this spring and 31-year-old career minor-leaguer Mark Minicozzi, competing for an infield job, hit his first homer of the spring as a split squad of San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers Friday afternoon in Cactus League action at Scottsdale Stadium.
The Giants (1-1) scored two runs in the third and added two more in the seventh to secure the win, fending off a late rally by the Brewers (1-1).
After Yovani Gallardo shut down the Giants in the first two innings, San Francisco broke through against Tyler Thornburg in the third.
Minicozzi got the inning started with an opposite-field shot to right-center field and Ehire Adrianza followed with a triple to right. Angel Pagan lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Adrianza and put the Giants up 2-0.
The Brewers got a run back in the fifth off Brett Bochy, who came in to relieve Ryan Vogelsong to start the inning. Caleb Gindl homered to right field to lead off the inning, but Bochy settled down to get the next three hitters in order to preserve San Francisco’s 2-1 lead.
The Giants got some insurance in the seventh. Jose De La Torre came on to pitch for Milwaukee and got off to a rough start to the inning, loading the bases on walks to Chris Dominguez and Minicozzi sandwiched around hitting Mac Williamson with a pitch.
San Francisco scored when Brewers second baseman Eugenio Velez, a former Giant, mishandled a grounder by Adrianza, allowing Dominguez to score and keeping the bases loaded for Gregor Blanco, who drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center.
With a 4-1 lead to start the ninth, George Kontos came on for the Giants. Kentrail Davis lined a one-out single to left and was erased on a fielder’s choice grounder by Velez. With two outs, Kontos uncorked a wild pitch that moved Velez into scoring position and Hector Gomez laced a triple over the head of Blanco in center field to make it a 4-2 game. Matt Pagnozzi grounded a single through the left side of the infield to plate Gomez to make it 4-3. After Irving Falu singled, Kontos got out of the jam by inducing Kevin Mattison to pop up on the infield.
Bumgarner allowed just a hit and struck out two in two scoreless innings to start the game. Vogelsong followed by allowing a hit in two innings, fanning one. Jake Dunning worked a scoreless sixth, allowing a hit and a walk while fanning two. Derek Law pitched a perfect seventh and Eric Cordier put up a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two and allowing a walk.
San Francisco won despite getting just five hits.
The Giants also played a split-squad game Friday against the Oakland Athletics and will visit Cubs Park in Mesa, Ariz., on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. Pacific to take on a Chicago Cubs split squad.