San Francisco Giants Three Standouts: Game Six, 2-28

The San Francisco Giants tied with the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, each scoring 10 runs, but there are plenty of positives to take away from the game.

A day after the San Francisco Giants completed a huge ninth-inning comeback to walk-off the Arizona Diamondbacks, they were on the opposite end of a comeback. The Milwaukee Brewers stormed back from a 10-3 deficit in the ninth inning, scoring seven runs to even the score to end the game in a tie.

The offense had another strong showing, racking up 10 runs on 13 hits with three home runs mixed in. The defense, on the other hand, had another rough day with five errors and a few more miscues leading to seven unearned runs, including six in the ninth. Three errors, including two on easy plays at first base, contributed to the comeback..

Here are three players who stood out on Wednesday, a pitcher and two hitters who made positive impacts

1 – Ty Blach

Ty Blach was the first Giants’ starter to get two starts this spring, and he also became the first to go past the two-inning mark. He threw three full innings and looked great again. He allowed two hits and hit a batter that led to an unearned run, and struck out five batters while not walking any.

For the second straight spring outing, it was vintage Blach mixed with a newer, more aggressive Blach. He still works at his ridiculously fast pace and throws a ton of strikes (especially on the first pitch), but is getting a lot more swing-throughs than he did last season. Of his five strikeouts, three were of the swing-and-miss variety, and there were a wide variety of other whiffs as well.

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Blach has been doing an excellent job of mixing speeds, as he normally does very well, and changing the hitter’s eye-level. He still pounds the bottom half of the strike zone while moving the ball inside or away, but threw a lot of elevated fastballs on Wednesday, designed to get above the hitter’s hands and force swing-throughs or weak contact.

The southpaw entered camp as one of the favorites to earn a spot in the starting rotation, and has done nothing to hurt that status. If he can continue to do all the things that got him to the big leagues while also making the adjustments he’s shown so far this month, he could be in line for a very nice season.

2 – Steven Duggar

Looking to open eyes and find his way on to the opening day roster, Duggar was back in center field and in the leadoff spot on Wednesday. He wasted no time in getting on base, laying down a great bunt on the first pitch of the ballgame to record a single. When Brandon Crawford followed with a basehit to center field, Duggar went first-to-third.

He worked a walk in his second plate appearance, and added a nice play in center field. Domingo Santana hit a ball hard, but Duggar tracked it well and made the catch on the edge of the warning track.

There were some negatives with his day, however. In the first inning, he was thrown out trying to take home after Crawford was caught in a rundown on a botched hit-and-run, but it is understandable that a player with his speed would try to force the issue in a game like this. He also struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt in the fifth inning (strikeouts have always been something of an issue), and made the last out of the same inning on a fairly well-hit ball to center field.

3 – Mac Williamson

On the same day that NBC Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic wrote about the changes he’s made to his swing, Mac Williamson showed off the new-look swing by hitting his second home run of the Cactus League slate. During the Giants’ seven-run fifth inning, Williamson lifted a three-run shot well over the fence in left field for a no doubt homer.

Williamson briefly tied Kyle Jensen for the team’s lead in home run, but Jensen regained the advantage with a solo shot in the sixth inning. It wasn’t quite as exciting as his walk-off grand slam from the day before, however.

Next: Three Standouts from Game Five

The difference in Williamson’s swing is noticeable. He features a much bigger leg kick, and his upper body and lower body are more in unison with his hands starting to move in time with his step. The results have been promising as well. Williamson has the two home runs, but has also done a nice job of spreading his hits across the field, using right field and center field to his advantage.