San Francisco Giants Three Standouts: Game 13, 3-7
The San Francisco Giants had another Spring Training game end in a tie, but there are still plenty of things to take away from the game.
After an off-day on Tuesday, the San Francisco Giants were back at it again on Wednesday, playing host to the San Diego Padres. For the first time this spring, the Giants went to extra innings, but the additional frame didn’t decide things, ending the game in a 4-4 tie after 10 innings.
Here are three players (or groups) who stood out from Wednesday’s contest:
1 – Brandon Belt
Belt has gotten off to a nice start this spring, and continued that on Wednesday. He blooped a single into center field in the first inning, and took second on a breaking ball in the dirt that just squirted away from the catcher. Later, he led off the sixth inning with a hard-hit double into right field and scored a go-ahead run on a botched double play.
It’s very nice to see Belt swinging the bat well, but it’s even better to see him doing the little things right. After a bad injury ended his season last year, it would have been understandable if there was a bit of rust that he needed to shake off. Instead, he’s making great reads on the basepaths, taking extra bases whenever he can, and making smart plays at first base.
There have been no signs of apprehension in Belt’s game, which is a great sign for a player coming off another concussion. He looks just about ready to start the regular season.
2 – The Big League Bullpen
After Madison Bumgarner’s day was finished, there were multiple big league relievers that followed him. Three pitchers separated the day’s rotation guys (Chris Stratton pitched late in this game because of the off-day the day before), and all pitched extremely well.
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Josh Osich was the first man out, relieving Bumgarner with one out in the fourth inning and a runner on second in a tie game. Osich continued his strong spring, again getting ahead of hitters by pounding the strikezone. He got two groundballs to end the threat and keep another run off Bumgarner’s record.
Mark Melancon made his spring debut after, and pitched a quick, clean fifth inning. He featured his fastball and curveball, and got a pair of softly-hit groundballs before Wil Myers made solid contact. His line drive was hit right to left fielder Hunter Pence to end the inning. After that was Tony Watson, and he worked around a one-out walk by getting a double play to end the sixth.
3 – Hunter Pence
The early spring struggles continued for Pence on Wednesday. After being scratched multiple times in the first couple weeks, Pence hasn’t been able to put together anything positive on the field. He went hitless in three at-bats against the Padres.
He wasted no time in his first two at-bats, going after the first pitch both times. The first time, he grounded into an inning-ending double play to second base. The second, he hit a Baltimore chop to third base that resulted in a fielder’s choice. He had one more at-bat, and though he wasn’t as antsy at the plate, the result wasn’t much better. He struck out swinging in a full count.
Next: 3 Standouts from Game 12
It’s still very early in spring, so Pence has plenty of time for him to get his timing together, but no one would blame you if you’re concerned about Pence. He’s coming off his worst season and isn’t a kid anymore at 34 years old, and this start to his season hasn’t inspired much confidence.