San Francisco Giants Three Standouts: Game Seven, 3-1

Three players who stood out, two in a good way and one in not-so-good a way, from the San Francisco Giants’ loss on Thursday.

The San Francisco Giants dropped Thursday’s game to the Los Angeles Angels, 11-4. The offense was quiet until the late innings, hurt in the early-going by some baserunning mistakes. Reserve players made some noise in the eighth and ninth innings, but it was too little, too late.

Defense remains a work in progress, with two more errors leading to a couple unearned runs in the ninth inning. Pitching was hit and miss, with a few pitchers who are close to or locked in to jobs throwing well while others who are trying to make impressions faltered.

Here are three players who stood out on Thursday, for better or for worse:

1 – Chris Stratton

Stratton picked up right where he left off in his first spring outing, putting together another impressive start on Thursday. He followed Ty Blach’s footsteps, also getting through three innings without giving up a run. Stratton allowed only a single and a walk, and struck out three while only throwing 36 pitches in his three frames.

More from Golden Gate Sports

Just like in his first start, Stratton’s curveball was excellent. It had its normal huge break, so apparently the rule that “breaking balls don’t break as much in Arizona” doesn’t apply to Stratton. He got plenty of swing-throughs, and looks ready to start lengthening his starts as the spring goes on.

2 – Julian Fernandez

Fernandez, the Giants’ Rule 5 pick from this past offseason, took the mound for his second appearance this spring, but the results were quite similar to his first outing. He recorded just one out and gave up four runs on three hits (including a big home run hit by Matt Thaiss) and a walk. In addition, he threw two wild pitches and chucked a second-base pickoff throw into center field, though it didn’t lead to any runners advancing.

The 22-year-old Fernandez has faced 10 batters this spring, and has managed to retire just one, via a strikeout. Other than that, he’s allowed three walks and six hits (three singles, a double, a triple, and a home run). Eight runs have been charged to his record, which equals a 216.00 ERA.

The young man throws hard, but like so many others, he has no command of the velocity. He entered camp with a big uphill battle just to make the 25-man roster on opening day, but these two appearances have made it that much more difficult. He’s a thrower, not a pitcher at this point in his career, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to adjust enough to stick with the big league club as of now.

3 – Joe Panik

An everyday player just look to get his timing back, Joe Panik was back in the leadoff spot on Thursday. He started the game with a single, shooting a ball to left field as he has done so many times in the past. He also showed some good baserunnning acumen, tagging up from first base on a medium-deep flyball to left-center field off Brandon Belt’s bat.

Next: Three Standouts from Game Six

It’s been a good spring for Panik, and he’s looked rather impressive in the leadoff role. He’s approaching his at-bats the same way he usually has, working counts, fouling off tough offerings, and ultimately giving other hitters a chance to see what the pitcher is doing with the ball. If the Giants are thinking about hitting him in the leadoff spot during the regular season, this has been an excellent audition so far.

Home/San Francisco Giants