San Francisco Giants: Players who Grabbed Headlines on Day One
The Cactus League schedule has officially begun, and some San Francisco Giants’ players did their best to grab the headlines.
Friday was the official start of Spring Training for the San Francisco Giants, with Madison Bumgarner leading the troops on to the field for the Cactus League opener against the Cincinnati Reds. As is the norm for Spring Bumgarner, he didn’t have a great outing, but there were plenty of guys that grabbed the headlines on day one.
Chris Marrero was the story of the day on Friday, picking up two hits and four runs batted in in three at-bats. Marrero, who spent all of 2016 with the Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate, entered in the fifth inning as the first baseman replacing Brandon Belt. He came up with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning to cut the Reds’ lead to 3-2, and scorched a line drive right to the second baseman in the seventh. He stole the spotlight in the ninth inning.
With the Giants trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Orlando Calixte worked a work and moved to third on Christian Arroyo’s single. Reds’ pitcher Kevin Shackelford brought home a fastball, and Marrero crushed the middle-middle heater. The ball sailed over the left-center field face, giving Jon Miller has first opportunity of the season to unleash his first patented “adíos pelota” of the year. The three-run blast was the Giants’ first of the Spring, and allowed the Giants to head home a winner.
Marrero came into camp in heavy competition for a bench role as an outfielder/first base, but he was the first of his counterparts to stand out. He still has a long way to go and a lot of other players to pass, but this was an excellent start.
While Marrero had the best day, there were a few players that came into the opener looking sharp. Second baseman Joe Panik, coming off a rough year in 2016, had two solid at-bats. In the first inning, he worked the count full before hitting a line drive up the middle for a single. In the third inning, he again got himself to a full count, taking some borderline pitches before hitting another line drive. Unfortunately, it was right to second baseman Jose Peraza. After having such a rough second half last year, it’s great to see Panik come into Spring as sharp as he was.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
New catcher Nick Hundley, signed this past offseason, gave Giants’ fans a nice first impression. In the top of the first inning, he made a great block on a curveball in the dirt with a runner on third base, saving what should have been a run. That would prove to be for naught, as the run scored anyway, but it was still an impressive block. He also did some work with the bat, lacing a line drive single back up the middle in the second and working a walk in the fourth inning.
Maybe most importantly, Hundley endeared himself to Bumgarner, which is not an easy task. Bumgarner has been notorious for his reluctance to pitch to anyone but Buster Posey in recent years, but after the game, he proclaimed that he doesn’t “think it’ll take much to get on the same page” with Hundley.
Hundley was also behind the plate for the third and fourth innings, when Clayton Blackburn reminded everyone that he is still around and demanded some attention. Blackburn pitched both innings cleanly, striking out three and coaxing three groundouts. Blackburn featured an impressive curveball, especially considering it’s the first game of Spring Training, using the pitch to strike out former teammate Adam Duvall, and Tony Renda.
Next: Beede Getting Chance to Shine
There’s still plenty of time left in Spring Training, so these guys will have a lot more opportunities to make an impression. For others, the door is still wide open .