San Francisco Giants News & Notes: Kelly, Posey, Santos

Aside from the wonderful Barry Bonds’ number retirement ceremony before the game, there wasn’t much going on with the San Francisco Giants on the field on Saturday. However, there are some notable things going on with the team and within the system.

• Casey Kelly made his San Francisco Giants debut on Saturday night after Ty Blach was knocked out of the game following a four-inning start. Over two years after his last big league game with the Atlanta Braves, Kelly was stellar in his first San Francisco outing. He threw shutout innings out of the bullpen, striking out three and scattering two singles.

Kelly used a good four-pitch mix to shut down the Pirates’ lineup, throwing a low 90s fastball that reached as high as 94 and mixing in a changeup, curveball, and slider. He threw 67 pitches across his five innings of work, and recorded 10 swing-and-misses.

Kelly was a workhorse for the Sacramento River Cats, leading the PCL in innings pitched (130 in 23 starts) before his promotion to San Francisco. Saturday marked Kelly’s longest scoreless outing as a big leaguer since his major league debut on August 27th, 2012, when he threw six shutout innings for the Padres. After his successful team debut, he certainly should be an option to start when the need for a fifth starter arises again.

• On the hitting side, Buster Posey has really started to heat up in recent weeks. Over his last 12 games, the Giants’ catcher has 20 hits in 47 at-bats, good for a .426 average. He’s collected multiple hits in seven of those games, including a pair of four-hit games. During that span, his season batting average has risen from .279 to .298. He still isn’t hitting for power, but that’s a lot easier to stomach when Posey is hitting over .400 over a stretch.
• Alen Hanson has enjoyed facing his old team. In five games against the Pirates this year, Hanson has collected eight hits in 19 at-bats (.421), including a double, a triple, and a home run while driving in five runs. Hanson spent the first nine years of his professional career in the Pittsburgh organization, and made his big league debut as a Pirate in 2016.

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• There was some bad news coming out of the minor league system. For the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, starting pitcher Gregory Santos was forced out of their Saturday contest after he was struck in the head by a 105-mph line drive. He was down on the mound for a long time before being loaded into an ambulance.

The 18-year-old, who was acquired in the Eduardo Nunez trade last season, was having a good year with Salem-Keizer following an aggressive assignment. He was named a Northwest League All-Star this year, but obviously, his health is the most important thing at this point. Keep him in your thoughts.

• Mac Williamson was out of Sacramento’s lineup for the third straight day, and Alex Pavlovic reported that the outfielder is again dealing with concussion symptoms. He initially suffered the concussion on April 24th when a fall over the bullpen mound sent him careening into the wall. He returned to the field on May 18th, but has clearly not been the same player. Between Sacramento and San Francisco, he hit .202/.299/.358 in 64 games. On Saturday, he was placed on the disabled list in Sacramento, and with all things considered, there’s a real chance his season is over.

• And finally, two players were rehabbing for the River Cats on Saturday. First baseman Brandon Belt began his rehab, flying out twice in two at-bats. He played five innings at first base, as scheduled. Reliever Hunter Strickland made his fourth rehab appearance, second with Sacramento, pitching a perfect eighth inning while striking out a pair.