The San Francisco Giants hold the No. 10 pick in Monday MLB draft, which means that predicting who the Giants will take is tricky.

A variety of factors play into the Giants’ pick — organizational need, signability, and of course the biggest, what players get selected in the first nine picks.

MLB.com stated that it expects the Giants to take the best available college arm.

With position players expected to top this draft, this brings several players into play.

• Texas Christian LHP Nick Lodolo
• San Jacinto (Texas) JC RHP Jackson Rutledge
• West Virginia RHP Alex Manoah
• Kentucky LHP Zack Thompson

Nick Lodolo: The 6-foot-6, 185-pounder has a sinker in the low-to-mid 90s. At TCU, he strikes out 11.2 per 9 while walking 1.9. He could go as high as No. 4 to the Marlins, but has been linked to the Reds at No. 7.

Jackson Rutledge: Another big pitcher (6-foot-8) with a fastball in the 90s, Rutledge started at Arkansas. But a hip injury limited his time with the Razorbacks. And the work he put in to get healthy led to go the JC route to make himself eligible for the 2019 draft (staying at Arkansas would make him eligible for 2020 draft). He has committed to Kentucky. But he’s planning on attending the draft — all signs pointing to starting his track to the bigs. MLB.com has the Giants taking Rutledge.

Zack Thompson: Thompson has the makeup to be the top pitcher picked in this draft. However, he’s battled injury in high school and college, which may lead some teams to be wary.

Alex Manoah: If there is one pitcher who has been linked most to the Giants, it is Manoah. At 6-6, 260 pounds, Manoah has been known to throw in the high 90s. He was 8-3 with 1.91 ERA at West Virginia with 125 Ks in 94.1 innings.

Of course, depending on a variety of factors, the Giants may not go pitcher at all.

NBCBayArea.com said the Giants could also take UNLV shortstop Bryson Stott, listed as Baseball America’s No. 10 draft prospect. He’s 6-3, 200 pounds and bats left-handed, reminding some of Brandon Crawford. He bat .369 with 1.134 OPS for the Rebels with more walks (50) and strikeouts (37).

Also, Baseball America’s ever-changing mock draft slotted the Giants to take Arizona State outfielder Hunter Bishop, who belted 22 home runs for the Sun Devils.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see on Monday.

Thursday marked the 20th game of the 2019 season, and the San Francisco Giants still haven’t scored in the first inning.

After the Rockies scored two runs on Monday, the Giants became the last team in the majors with zero first-inning runs this season.

So we decided it was time to run down some numbers on the Giants in the first inning this season.

• The Giants are hitting .095 (6 for 63) in the first inning.
• The Giants have six hits (all singles), two walks and one hit by pitch in the first inning this season (.091 OBP).
• Of the nine first-inning base runners that Giants have had this season, three came in the same game (April 11 vs. Rockies. Duggar led off with single but was caught stealing. Posey then had a two-out single and Belt a two-out walk).
• In 20 games, the Giants have put a runner into scoring position once — in the aforementioned game.
• Three of the Giants’ first-inning hits are from Steven Duggar in consecutive games from April 11-13.
• In all three of those aforementioned games, Duggar was erased on the base paths (caught stealing, two double plays).
• The Giants have gone down in order in 12 of 20 games, including seven in a row from March 31 to April 8.
• The Giants have sent just three batters to the plate in the first inning in 15 of 20 games.
• The Giants have averaged 13.15 pitches seen in the first inning this season.
• If you exclude the 27-pitch first inning the Giants had against the Rockies’ Jon Gray on April 11, the Giants have averaged 12.42 pitches seen in the first inning.
• OPS+ split rates a batter’s success against the league average. An OPS+ of 100 or greater indicates a batter is doing better than the league average — less than 100 worse than league average. The Giants’ first-inning OPS+ split is -31.
• If you think this first-inning struggle is just an early-season fluke, the Giants hit .229 in the first inning in 2018, only worse in the seventh (.228) and ninth (.154) innings.

It appears as if the San Francisco Giants have come full circle.

The Giants started the spring with Mac Williamson has the presumptive left fielder.

But Mac didn’t impress new team president Farhan Zaidi this spring, and eventually would be designated for assignment. (Mac cleared waivers and is playing at Sacramento).

But even before that, Zaidi started looking for other options.

He acquired Matt Joyce on March 20, but then traded Joyce to the Braves on March 23.

He acquired Michael Reed on March 23 from the Twins, then he designated Reed for assignment last Tuesday. Reed re-signed with the Giants after clearing waivers and is now playing in Sacramento.

He acquired Connor Joe on March 21, then he designated Joe for assignment on Monday after making another trade – this time acquiring Tyler Austin from the Twins.

So what kind of player is Tyler Austin? Well, on the surface, he looks a lot like … Mac Williamson.

Austin is a 27-year-old right-handed power hitter who stands 6-2, 220 pounds.

Williamson is 28 years old, right-handed, who is 6-4, 237 pounds.

Their numbers in the minors look very similar. Austin has a few more ABs in the minors as he was drafted out of high school in 2010. Williamson was drafted out of Wake Forest in 2012.

Their major league numbers are also similar. Austin has hit for more power, but also has struck out more.

So for all the Giants fans who wanted to see Mac Williamson in left field for the Giants, you got your wish, sort of.

You’ll just see Mac in the form of Tyler Austin.

The best news of the first week of the 2019 baseball season, at least for this Giants fan, came Thursday morning when it was reported that Mac Williamson cleared waivers and will head to Triple-A Sacramento.

Yeah, I know, the news isn’t exactly Second Coming kind of news, but it’s been a rough first week of the 2019 season. So we’ll take what we can get.

I was very surprised when the Giants DFA’d Williamson prior to opening day as most projected him to at least get a shot to show what he could do in left field for the Giants.

Instead, the Giants went with 13 pitchers and tried to plug their left-field hole with the likes of Connor Joe, Michael Reed, Yangervis Solarte among others.

It hasn’t gone well.

Left-field continues to be the black hole in a rather darkish lineup in 2019.

Giants left fielders this season are batting .045 (1 for 22) with an OBP of .125 and eight strikeouts. The lone hit came Wednesday night, when Gerardo Parra got his first start in left of the season.

By comparison, Giants pitchers – PITCHERS – are batting .167 (2 for 12).

So any help the Giants can get, whether it be on the lineup or down in Sacramento, would be appreciated.

Williamson came into spring as the expected starting left field. But the Giants wanted him to show them something during the spring, perhaps a repeat of his 2018 spring when he hit .318 after reworking his swing the previous winter.

However, Williamson hit .237 (14 for 63) with one home run, two doubles, two walks and 18 strikeouts. Right now, .237 looks mighty sweet considering what current left fielders have been doing.

I don’t know if Williamson can be an everyday major league hitter or not. Quite frankly, we just haven’t seen enough of him.

Injuries and opportunities (or lack thereof) have halted Williamson’s progress all the way through the Giants’ system.

Williamson was drafted in the third round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest.

He hit .342 with 7 home runs in 29 games in short-season A Salem-Keizer in 2012.

He hit .292 with 25 home runs in 136 games in high-A San Jose in 2013.

He earned a trip to spring training in 2014 and the plan was for him to move to Double-A Richmond. However, an elbow injury kept him at San Jose so he could DH. He hit .318 with three home runs in 23 games with San Jose before Tommy John surgery ended his season.

Recovered in 2015, he hit .293 with five home runs in 69 games for Double-A Richmond, earning a promotion to Triple-A Sacramento. He hit .249 with eight home runs in 54 games for the RiverCats. He received a sip of coffee with the Giants in September, getting into 10 games.

The 2016 season saw Williamson put on the recall yo-yo.

After opening the season at Triple-A, he got recalled on April 15 by the Giants before being demoted on April 22, got recalled on May 2, sent back on May 9, recalled on June 2, sent back June 14.

He finally got a sustained shot at playing time after getting recalled again on June 21. In 34 games, he hit .256 with .365 on-base percentage with 6 home runs and 14 RBI.

But then on July 31, Willamson hurt his shoulder diving for ball in the outfielder and was placed on the DL. He didn’t return to the Giants until roster expanded in September. Clearly, he wasn’t healthy, going 1 for 14 before returning to the DL to end the season.

After another solid spring in 2017 (he hit .324), a quad injury put him on the DL to open the season. By April 19, the Giants sent him to the minors for a rehab assignment, which became a demotion to Triple-A on April 25.

Then he went back on the minor-league yo-yo – recalled May 15, sent back May 30, recalled July 8, sent back July 10.

He got another September call-up. After batting .156 (5 for32) in his earlier (brief) call-ups, Williamson hit .306 (11 for 38) down the stretch.

Willamson spent the following offseason reworking his swing with hitting guru Doug Latta. He hit .318 with four home runs in 44 spring at-bats, but with one option left, the Giants sent Williamson back to Sacramento, where hit hit .487 with six home runs in 11 games with the Rivercats.

That, along with an injury to Hunter Pence, led the Giants to recall Williamson.

He belted three home runs and hit .316 in his first five games with the Giants. But then he stumbled over the bullpen mounds (by the way, the Giants are one of two teams with bullpen mounds in the field of play in the majors – the A’s are the other. Not good company to keep) and crashed head-first into the padded wall.

That led to a month-long stint on the DL. When Williamson returned, he hit .187 over 23 games before his season came to an end on June 22 when it was clear he was not fully recovered from his concussion.

Williamson arrived at spring this year full recovered, but his red-hot, retooled swing didn’t come with him. So he was DFA’d.

Now he gets to go to Sacramento and show that he deserves one more – and perhaps this time prolonged – opportunity to show what he can do in the majors.

Because up to this point, injury and opportunity have robbed Williamson of that chance.

San Francisco Giants fans got their wish on Tuesday. They found someone better than Michael Reed, which really should not have been that hard.

The Giants designated Reed for assignment to make room for outfielder Kevin Pillar, who was acquired in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays for utility man Alen Hanson, reliever Derek Law and minor-league pitcher Juan De Paula.

The price for Pillar wasn’t too steep. Hanson had been DFA’d last week when he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. Law was DFA’d this past winter, cleared waivers and was sent back to the minors.  De Paula was acquired by the Giants from the Yankees in the Andrew McCutchen trade. De Paula, who is 21, has not pitched above low-A ball.

In Pillar, the Giants got an excellent defensive outfielder, a right-handed outfielder with the ability to spell Steven Duggar in center field.

That’s the role Reed was supposed to fill when he was acquired from the Twins the final week of spring training after the other options this spring did not pan out.

Drew Ferguson, a Rule 5 pickup, couldn’t hit and was sent back to the Astros. And the only thing Cameron Maybin could hit was apparently bars. After being hit with a DUI in Arizona, he was released after signing a minor-league deal.

Then Reed had what could be the worst hitting performance of any San Francisco Giants position player ever.

In four games in this young 2019 season, Reed went 0 for 8 with six strikeouts in eight plate appearances. That included one start, batting in the leadoff spot, no less.

Assuming Reed doesn’t clear waivers, accept an assignment to Triple-A Sacramento and eventually get another chance with the Giants, that will be quite an impressive Giants career for Reed.

The last player to have at least eight at-bats in his Giants tenure without collecting a hit was Dan Uggla, who went 0 for 11 with six strikeouts in 2014.

Uggla did eventually receive a World Series ring, so Reed has that to hope for – although I wouldn’t hold my breath.

However, Uggla did receive one walk in 12 plate appearances with the Giants and scored a run.

To find another Giants hitter who had at least eight plate appearances in his Giants tenure without collecting a hit or a walk, you’d have to go back a long way.

In fact, if you tracked all the way back to when the Giants arrived in San Francisco in 1958, you wouldn’t find another hitter to match Reed’s futility as a Giant.

You’d find several hitters who went hitless in their tenure as a Giant.

• Gordon Beckham went 0 for 5 with a sacrifice fly and two strikeouts in six plate appearance over three games as a Giant in 2016.
• Cole Gillespie went 0 for 9 with a walk in 10 plate appearances in three games as a Giant in 2013.
• Doug Clark went 0 for 5 with a walk in six plate appearances in eight games as a Giant in 2005.
• Andres Santana went 0 for 2 with an RBI in two plate appearances in six games as a Giant in 1990.
• Mackey Sasser went 0 for 4 in four plate appearances over two games as a Giant in 1987.
• Chris Jones went 0 for 1 in one plate appearance over three games as a Giant in 1986.
• Bob Kearney went 0 for 0 with a walk in one plate appearance over two games as a Giant in 1979.
• Art Gardner went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in three plate appearances over seven games as a Giant in 1978.
• Dick Phillip went 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout in four plate appearances over five games as a Giant in 1962.
• Neil Wilson went 0 for 10 with a walk and a strikeout in 11 plate appearances over six games as a Giant in 1960.
• Roger McCardell went 0 for 4 in four plate appearances over four games as a Giant in 1959.
• And Nick Testa went 0 for 0 in no plate appearance in one game as a Giant in 1958 – kind of the San Francisco version of Moonlight Graham.

But to find a Giants player who had eight or more plate appearances with a hit or a walk for his entire Giants tenure, you’d have to go all the way back to 1942 when the Giants were playing in New York.

That’s when Howie Moss went 0 for 14 with four strikeouts in 14 plate appearances over seven games as a Giant.

Moss was one of the more feared hitters of the International League in the 1940s, playing for the Baltimore Orioles. He had three failed major league tryouts – in 1942 with the Giants and then two in 1946 with the Reds and Indians. For his major league career, Moss hit .097 (7 for 72) in 22 games.

The Opening Day lineup of the San Francisco Giants has been announced.

• CF Steven Duggar
• 1B Brandon Belt
• 3B Evan Longoria
• C Buster Posey
• SS Brandon Crawford
• LF Connor Joe
• RF Michael Reed
• 2B Joe Panik
• P Madison Bumgarner

That’s the ninth consecutive Giants opening day for Buster Posey and Brandon Belt, the eighth straight for Brandon Crawford, fifth consecutive for Joe Panik and second straight for Evan Longoria.

The other positions are different from last year, including left field.

Congratulations, Connor Joe. You are the 13^th different Opening Day starting left fielder for the Giants over the past 13 Opening Days.

We knew that the Giants’ very unusual streak was going to continue for a 13^th year when last year’s Opening Day left fielder – Hunter Pence – signed with the Rangers in the offseason.

Many of us thought that starting left fielder would be Mac Williamson, who was designated for assignment Thursday morning, and not Connor Joe. But don’t feel too bad for Mac.

Being named the Opening Day left fielder practically guarantees that player won’t be playing for the Giants in 2020, if not completely out of baseball.

That’s been the other part of this trend.

Of the 12 players who have preceded Joe as the starting left field on Opening Day for the Giants, 11 were off the Giants’ roster the following season. And seven of those players never played another game in the majors the season following getting that Opening Day start.

Let’s run down the list.

2007 – Barry Bonds

Bonds was not re-signed in 2008 and never played another big-league game.

2008 – Dave Roberts

Yeah, THAT Dave Roberts. Roberts also wasn’t re-signed in 2009 and never played another big-league game.

2009 – Fred Lewis

Lewis was traded to the Blue Jays in 2010. He played 110 games for the Jays in 2010, 81 for the Reds in 2011 and 18 for the Mets in 2012 before finishing his playing days for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and three independent league teams.

2010 – Mark DeRosa

DeRosa is the only player on this list to return to the Giants the year following his Opening Day start. He’d play in 47 games for the Giants in 2011 before reinjuring his wrist and ending his season. He’d play 48 games for the Nationals in 2012 and 88 for the Jays in 2013.

2011 – Pat Burrell

Burrell did not re-sign with the Giants in 2012 and never played another big-league game.

2012 – Aubrey Huff

Huff did not re-sign with the Giants 2013 and never played another big-league game.

2013 —  Andres Torres

Torres was not re-signed by the Giants in 2014 and never played another big-league game

2014 – Mike Morse

Morse signed with the Marlins in 2015. He’d play 53 games in Miami plus another 45 for the Pirates in 2015. He’d play another six in for the Bucs in 2016 before playing 24 more back with Giants in 2017.

2015 – Nori Aoki

Aoki did not re-sign with the Giants in 2016. He played 118 games for the Mariners in 2016, 35 for the Astros, 12 for the Jays and 27 for the Mets in 2017.

2016 – Angel Pagan

Pagan was not re-signed by the Giants in 2017 and has not appeared in another big-league game

2017 – Jarrett Parker

Parker was designated for assignment by the Giants in 2018. He signed a minor-league deal with the Angels but has not appeared in another big-league game

2018 – Hunter Pence

Pence signed a minor-league deal with the Rangers in 2019 and will be the Opening Day lineup for the Rangers as the designated hitter.

Here’s another stat about this post-Barry Bonds trend: In 2008, Amy Gutierrez was hired as the sideline reporter for Giants game by NBC Bay Area.

Coincidence? I’ll let you decide.

Fans of the San Francisco Giants head into Opening Day with one question: Is there any hope for the 2019 season.

If you believe Baseball America’s PECOTA projections, the answer is a resounding “no.”

PECOTA projects the Giants in last place in the NL West at 74-88. FanGraphs doesn’t think much more about the Giants – 76-86.

PECOTA has actually really accurate in projecting the Giants’ outcomes recently.

From 2014 to 2016, PECOTA projections were virtually spot on.

In 2014, the Giants were projected 87-75 and finished 88-74. In 2015, projected 84-78, actual 84-78. And 2016, projected 87-75, actual 87-75.

In the past two seasons, PECOTA’s projections have been more off the mark with the Giants, but that’s not necessarily good news for fans in 2019.

In 2017, PECOTA projected an 86-76 finish for the Giants, who finished a woeful 64-98.

Last season, the Giants were projected 83-79 and finished 73-89.

When you consider how a dreadful month of September skewed the Giants’ final record, that 83-79 projection doesn’t look too far off.

From April to August, the Giants were never more than five games over or under .500. They finished August at .500.

But in September – after Buster Posey played his last game (Aug. 24) before hip surgery and Andrew McCutchen was traded to the Yankees (Aug. 31) – the Giants basically threw in the towel and finished 5-21.

The Giants lost their first 11 games of September, won four of their next five, then finished the season by losing nine of their last 10.

So the Giants were more like an 80-82 team than 73-89, and that puts them within range of the 83-79 PECOTA projection.

So how did Baseball America arrive at its projections? Well, it undoubtedly came down to two factors.

• Factor 1: The Giants’ offensive woes in 2018.

The Giants ranked 14^th in the National League in runs, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS.  In all cases, the team that ranked last was the 63-98 Miami Marlins.

• Factor 2: What did the Giants do to improve the offense in the offseason?

Um, let’s take a look at the additions on offense: Gerardo Parra, Yangervis Solarte, Eric Kratz, Connor Joe and Michael Reed. Not exactly a who’s who of offensive prowess.

So putting those two factors together, it’s easy to see why anyone would conclude the 2019 Giants won’t finish much better than the 2018 version.

But there’s one factor that was not accounted for – injuries.

Injuries are part of any season. But in 2018, they were particularly damaging for the Giants.

Here’s a look at time spent on the DL in 2018 by key Giant contributors.

And the above chart doesn’t take into account nagging injuries like the hip injury that sapped Buster Posey of his strength (and eventually ended his season early) nor does it factor the shoulder injury that led to Brandon Crawford’s second-half collapse (remember he was an All-Star at midseason).

Injuries played a key role in the Giants’ offensive production of 4.15 runs per game in the first half of the season drop to 3.27 runs in the second half.

Unlike the Marlins’ roster of untested young players, the Giants’ lineup is peppered with proven producers. It includes one MVP, 13 All-Star appearances and six Silver Sluggers.

Now while one could rightly argue that the better days of these hitters are in the past, it’s also been shown that provided they can stay healthy, they can still be productive players.

It is not farfetched to expect the Giants’ infield of Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford and Evan Longoria to outperform their 2018 numbers. All – save for Crawford – enjoyed healthy and productive springs.

However, the outfield remains a big question mark.

An outfield of Steven Duggar, Gerardo Parra and Connor Joe/Michael Reed/Yangervis Solarte won’t fill anyone with excitement.

But it’s not a big leap to expect Duggar to outperform 2018 center fielders of Austin Jackson/Gorkys Hernandez/Duggar.

The left field contingent of Joe/Reed/Solarte is not exciting. But the bar set by 2018 left fielders was set pretty low. Left fielders in 2018 hit a combined .230/.278/.343. The .621 OPS was the Giants’ second-worst position, only surpassed by .614 of second baseman.

Of course, the biggest loss would appear to come in right field, where the Giants basically replace Andrew McCutchen with Gerardo Parra.

Even if you only count McCutchen’s numbers in San Francisco, Cutch still outperformed Parra in 2018 with an OPS of .772 to .714.

And you might say Parra played for the Rockies in 2018, so his offensive numbers were padded from playing in Colorado. They may be true except that Parra performed better on the road than at Coors — .739 road OPS to .682 home OPS.

So while an offensive dropoff is expected in right field with Parra instead of McCutchen, but it might not be as precipitous as one might expect.

Also, Parra has shown an ability to hit at Oracle Park with a .310/.350/.399 slash line (.749 OPS) in 217 career plate appearances.

As it was last year, pitching will be the key factor in determining whether the Giants remain competitive or not.

The Giants ranked seventh in the NL in team ERA (3.95), eighth in WHIP (1.31). Those numbers get slightly better when looking at the bullpen – sixth in ERA (3.79) and sixth in WHIP (1.29).

Those numbers were not good enough to elevate the Giants into a playoff contender, but it did keep the Giants in the conversation for five months.

The Giants also have more pitching depth than in 2018 with the likes of Andrew Suarez, Ty Blach, Ray Black and Pat Venditte down at Triple-A.

And when the injury bug come calling – or more importantly to keep the bug at bay by keeping starters fresh – team president Farhan Zaidi has added quality players to serve as backups, led by catcher Eric Kratz and utility man Yangervis Solarte. Zaidi is hoping to strike gold with Connor Joe and Michael Reed.

But ultimately, Zaidi decided that other teams’ cast-offs were better than the Giants’ fringe players.

So 2019 begins with a large cloud of uncertainty. But it doesn’t mean some hope lies beneath those clouds.

The best-case scenario would be for the Giants to repeat what they did in 2018 – hanging around .500 for most the season – that could make the Giants buyers at the trade deadline to get into the playoff race.

The worst-case is they become an afterthought by the start of summer, and start moving players – starting with Madison Bumgarner.

If nothing else, the opening weeks of the season will be interesting to watch.

The San Francisco Giants’ final 25-man roster for Opening Day started to come a little more into focus late Monday night, when the team announced pitcher Chris Stratton had been traded to the Angels for left-handed reliever Williams Jerez.

The team also announced that pitcher Andrew Suarez was optioned to the minors. Those two moves basically set the starting rotation with Madison Bumgarner, Derek Holland, Dereck Rodriguez, Drew Pomeranz and Jeff Samardzija, although the only two rotation spots that have been announced were Bumgarner (set to start Thursday’s opener in San Diego) and Rodriguez (scheduled to start Saturday).

Manager Bruce Bochy said he’d announce the rotation on Monday, but stopped short of doing so because the Stratton deal was announced until almost midnight.

After adding Jerez to the roster, the Giants are down to 31 players to select the final 25.

Jerez has one option left, so it’s safe to assume he’s headed to Sacramento. Ty Blach, who got lit up Monday night against the A’s, also has options, so he’s a safe bet to head to the minors. The fact that Donovan Solano has not been released indicates that he did not have an opt-out into his minor league deal, so we can guess he’s headed to Sacramento as well.

That brings the 31 down to 28.

Now to determine who the last three cuts are there are three questions that need to be answered:

• Is there another trade (or more) still to come?
• Are the Giants keeping two catchers or three?
• Are the Giants keeping 12 pitchers or 13?

So if the answer to the first question is “no” and the answer to the second question to “2” and third is “13” then the last three cuts logically would be:

• C Tom Murphy (he was a waiver claim from Rockies on Sunday)
• IF Alen Hanson (with Yangervis Solarte told he made the team, there appears no room for Hanson)
• IF/OF Connor Joe or IF Pablo Sandoval (Sandoval has sentiment – he’s a favorite of Bochy – and the fact he’s a switch-hitter working for him. Joe has the fact he’s six years younger and can play in the outfield working for him)

Now if the Giants decide to keep three catchers – and this point I think they will – then there’s no way they go with 13 pitchers. If that’s the case, the final three cuts would have to be:

• IF Alen Hanson
• IF/OF Connor Joe or OF Pablo Sandoval
• P Travis Bergren, P Trevor Gott or P Mark Melancon. Bergren is the lone lefty in this group, and the Giants figure to keep three lefties (Will Smith and Tony Watson are the other two). So it figures Bergren is safe. So that narrows it down to Gott and Melancon. If spring stats determined this decision, the Giants would keep Gott. He has allowed just one unearned run in 11.2 innings this spring with 13 strikeouts. Melancon gave up nine runs (seven earned), three home runs in 6.2 innings with five strikeouts. But Melancon has two years and $28 million left on his contract. And before the Giants give up on that investment, they’ll need to determine that Melancon is beyond hope. And given the arms the Giants have at Triple-A, it just doesn’t figure they’ll make that move. So we’d say Gott is the final cut.)

It figures – barring another trade or waiver acquisition – that Michael Reed makes the team. I just can’t see the Giants opening the season without four true outfielders. Then they would also have Solarte and perhaps Joe to play outfield, increasing odds that Joe makes squad over Sandoval. Brandon Belt has also played outfield in past, but did not play out there this spring.

San Francisco Giants current roster

(number in parenthesis shows how many options player has lefter; R5 denotes player is a Rule 5 selection; *-denotes a non-roster player who has been told he has made the team)

Starting pitchers (5)

• LH Madison Bumgarner
• LH Derek Holland
• RH Dereck Rodriguez (3)
• LH Drew Pomeranz
• RH Jeff Samardzija

Relief pitchers (10)

• LH Travis Bergen (R5)
• LH Ty Blach (2)
• RH Sam Dyson
• RH Trevor Gott
• LH Williams Jerez (1)
• RH Mark Melancon
• RH Reyes Moronta (2)
• LH Will Smith
• LH Tony Watson
• RH Nick Vincent*

Catchers (3)

• Erik Kratz
• Tom Murphy
• Buster Posey

Infielders (9)

• Brandon Belt
• Brandon Crawford
• Alen Hanson
• Connor Joe (R5)
• Evan Longoria
• Joe Panik (3)
• Pablo Sandoval
• Donovan Solano
• Yangervis Solarte*

Outfielders (4)

• Steven Duggar (3)
• Michael Reed
• Mac Williamson
• Gerardo Parra*

The San Francisco Giants made a round of cuts Monday, reducing their spring training roster to 45.

But as far as making the final 25-man roster with the season opener a little more than two weeks away, the real list of candidates is more like 37 – the 31 players on the Giants’ active roster, plus six key non-roster invitees.

Here is the rundown of the final 37.

*-denotes player has minor-league options left / Rule-5 players must be kept on 25-man roster, or sent back team he was selected from

PITCHERS (19 / final roster likely will have 12 or 13)

• RH Tyler Beede*
• LH Travis Bergen (rule-5  player)
• LH Ty Blach*
• RH Ray Black*
• LH Madison Bumgarner
• RH Sam Dyson
• RH Trevor Gott
• LH Derek Holland
• RH Mark Melancon
• RH Reyes Moronta*
• LH Steven Okert
• LH Drew Pomeranz
• RH Dereck Rodriguez*
• RH Jeff Samardzija
• LH Will Smith
• RH Chris Stratton
• RH Andrew Suarez*
• SH Pat Venditte*
• LH Tony Watson

Manager Bruce Bochy suggested the Dereck Rodriguez had secured a spot in the rotation, along with Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija, Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz. That leaves 14 candidates for the remaining seven or eight spots, depending on how many pitchers the Giants opt to carry. Traditionally, the Giants have kept 13 pitchers on the roster to open the season. But with new management and a wealth of bullpen depth in the organization, that could change. Given that starting five, it would likely relegate Andrew Suarez to Triple-A. With Smith, Watson, Melancon, Moronta and Dyson virtual locks, it leaves just two or three spots left. One will be lefty, as the Giants will choose between Okert (out of options) and Bergren (rule-5).

CATCHERS (4 / final roster likely will have 2)

• Buster Posey
• Aramis Garcia*
• Rene Rivera (non-roster invitee)
• Stephen Vogt (non-roster invitee)

It’s a three-man battle to serve as Buster Posey, which seemed like a very important job when spring training started. It’s still a key job, but Posey has recovered well from his hip surgery, faster than expected. The Giants like what they’ve seen in prospect Garcia, but ultimately may choose to go the veteran route with Rivera or Vogt. Vogt is a bit more versatile, but he’s also recovering from shoulder surgery.

INFIELDERS (8 / final roster likely will have 6)

• Brandon Belt
• Brandon Crawford
• Alen Hanson
• Evan Longoria
• Joe Panik*
• Pablo Sandoval
• Donovan Solano (non-roster invitee)
• Yangervis Solarte (non-roster invitee)

This looks like four guys battling for two spots – Sandoval, Hanson, Solarte and Solano – and it seems like Sandoval’s position is pretty strong. Hanson looked like a good bet, but then the Giants added Solarte, who brings a similar skillset to Hanson with more big-league experience. He’s also shown himself to be more capable as a right-handed batter. It’s possible that the Giants go with a four-man outfield and keep three reserve infielders.

OUTFIELDERS (6 / final roster likely will have 4 or 5)

• Steven Duggar*
• Drew Ferguson (rule-5 player)
• Austin Slater*
• Mac Williamson
• Cameron Maybin (non-roster invitee)
• Gerardo Parra (non-roster invitee)

After falling short in pursuit of Bryce Harper, the Giants appear headed for a starting outfielder of Williamson in left, Duggar and Maybin in center and Parra in right. With Slater having options, they could keep Ferguson as a fifth outfielder. Or they could go with four outfielders knowing that Solarte, Hanson and even Belt could provide outfield depth.

One of the greatest mysteries of major league baseball, at least to many fans, is the rule surrounding minor league options.

It’s a topic that comes up every spring as teams’ roster decision often include whether or not a player can be optioned back to the minors, or placed on waivers if the player doesn’t make the Opening Day 25-man roster.

So here’s a breakdown of the option rule, in as the most simple terms I can describe.

Once a player is placed on a team’s 40-man roster, he is given three minor league options. So if a player on the 40-man roster during spring training is sent to the minors, he has been “optioned” to the minors. If the player remains in the minors for at least 20 days, he burns one of his options.

Now the option applies to the entire season, this is why it is often referred to as an “option year.”  So if a player on the 40-man roster is optioned to the minors to start the season, then gets recalled to the majors in June, spends a month in the bigs, then gets optioned back to the minors, he does not burn a second option.

A player keeps these “option years” until they accrue five years of big-league service time, then they go away.

So, for example, Joe Panik was called up to the majors during the 2014 season. He has never been optioned to the minors since then. So he still has three options remaining. But he also has 4.1 years of big-league service time, so if he spends this season on the Giants’ 25-man roster, he will no longer be eligible for options by the end of the 2019 season.

Is that clear enough? I hope so.

The problem with options is trying to figure out just where players stand with their options can be really hard to find.

So I’ve done the hard work for you. The following players on the Giants’ 40-man roster, with fewer than five years of big-league service, are out of options, meaning if the Giants don’t include these players on their Opening Day 25-man roster, these players will have to clear waivers before they can be sent to the minors – outfielder Mac Williamson, pitchers Sam Dyson, Chris Stratton, Steven Okert and Trevor Gott and infielder Alen Hanson.

Hanson and Dyson seem locks to make the 25-man roster, but it will be pivotal spring for Williamson, Stratton, Okert and Gott.

The Giants have also signed several veterans to minor-league contracts, like outfielder Cameron Maybin and Gerardo Parra and infielders Donovan Solano and Yangervis Solarte and catchers Rene Rivera and Steven Vogt. Most veterans who sign these minor-league deals have a clause in their contract that allows them to opt out of the contract if they are not given a big-league contract by a set date, usually 10 days before the start of the season.

One other thing, before we get to the Giants with options still left.

The Giants have two players on their 40-man roster who were Rule 5 selections in December – outfielder Drew Ferguson (Astros) and relief pitcher Travis Bergen (Blue Jays). While both players have options left, the Giants can’t send either to the minors for the entire 2019 season. So either the Giants put these players on their 25-man roster to open the season, or send them back to their original franchise (or the two teams can work out a trade, which would then bring the options back into play).

So here are the other players on the Giants’ current 40-man roster who still have minor league options:

• IF Breyvic Valera (1 option left)
• P Pat Venditte (1)
• P Ray Black (1)
• P Jake Barrett (1)
• P Reyes Moronta (2)
• C Aramis Garcia (2)
• IF Ryder Jones (2)
• OF Austin Slater (2)
• P Jose Lopez (2)
• P Tyler Beede (2)
• P Ty Blach (2)
• P Andrew Suarez (3)
• IF/OF Chris Shaw (3)
• IF Abiatal Avelino (3)
• OF Steven Duggar (3)
• 2B Joe Panik (3)
• P Dereck Rodriguez (3)
• P Logan Webb (3)
• P Melvin Adon (3)
• P Sam Coonrod (3)

The San Francisco Giants are back in Arizona for spring training, so I guess it’s time to start blogging about Giants baseball.

The 2018 season ended on a sour note, as for the first time since 2008 the Giants didn’t reach the postseason in an even-numbered season.

Their 73-89 final record looks uglier than 2018 season. It is largely a by-product of the late August decision that they would not contend for a postseason berth and threw in the towel after trading away Andrew McCutchen (previous to that move, Buster Posey decided to end his season by having surgery on his hip).

The Giants in 2018 were basically a .500 team all season through August, when they never deviated more than five games over or five games under .500. In September, they went 5-21.

The offseason has been more about departures – or impending departures – than additiions.

Gone are the likes of Gorkys Hernandez, Hunter Pence, Hunter Strickland, Gregor Blanco, Nick Hundley. Hardly all-stars.

Then came the announcement the manager Bruce Bochy would retire after the 2019 season – not terribly surprising as that’s when his contract expires.

So what kind of hand with Bochy be dealt for his final go-around with the Giants?

New team president Farhan Zaidi hasn’t exactly shook the world with moves this winter.

Offseason acquisitions have included ambidextrous reliever Pat Venditte, utility infielder Breyvic Valera, left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz and right-handed relievers Trevor Gott and Jake  Barrett. The Giants also re-signed left-handed pitcher Derek Holland.

They’ve also bolstered their roster by signing veterans to minor-league deals. Battling for jobs this spring will be outfielders Cameron Maybin and Gerardo Parra, infielder Donovan Solano and catchers Rene Rivera, Cameron Rupp and Stephen Vogt.

So here is how the battle for the Giants’ Opening Day 25-man roster looks like right now.

 

STARTING PITCHERS

LOCKS:  LH Madison Bumgarner, RH Dereck Rodriguez, LH Derek Holland

HEALTH QUESTION: RH Jeff Samardzija (shoulder)

IN THE MIX: LH Drew Pomeranz (could start or be in pen), RH Chris Stratton, LH Andrew Suarez

 

BULLPEN

LOCKS: RH Sam Dyson, RH Mark Melancon, RH Reyes Moronta, LH Will Smith, LH Tony Watson.

IN THE MIX: LH/RH Pat Venditte, Stratton, Pomeranz, LH Ty Blach, RH Jake Barrett, RH Ray Black, RH Trevor Gott, RH Jose Lopez

 

CATCHERS

LOCK: Buster Posey

IN THE MIX: Aramis Garcia, Stephen Vogt, Rene Rivera, Cameron Rupp

 

INFIELDERS

LOCKS: Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria

IN THE MIX: Alen Hanson, Donovan Solano, Pablo Sandoval, Abiatal Avelino, Breyvic Valera

 

OUTFIELDERS

LOCK: Steven Duggar

IN THE MIX: Cameron Maybin, Gerardo Parra, Mac Williamson, Chris Shaw, Austin Slater

Over the past month, it had become clear that the last player manager Bruce Bochy wanted to use off his bench was Austin Jackson – and that’s saying a lot considering that Hunter Pence is also on his bench.

And it also became clear the last pitcher he wanted to use in a high-leverage situation was Cory Gearrin.

On Sunday morning, the San Francisco Giants dropped some dead weight for their roster by trading both Jackson and Gearrin to the Texas Rangers.

And what did the Giants get in return? Well, in short, nothing – at least for now.

The trade involved the Giants sending Jackson, Gearrin and pitching prospect Jason Bahr to Texas for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

And it appears the Rangers have little interest in Jackson. The team reportedly informed the outfielder not to report to the club right away. The Rangers have little use for another outfielder and will look to flip Jackson to another team, or potentially designate him for assignment if a trade partner can’t be found.

So why in the world would the Rangers take on more than $6 million in guaranteed salary when most of that money is going to a player they don’t even want or need?

Well the answer is they must really like what they’ve seen in Bahr.

Bahr is a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher who was drafted in the fifth round by the Giants in the 2017 draft out of Central Florida.

After posting a 3.55 ERA in seven starts (13 appearances) for short-season A Salem-Keizer last summer, Bahr has had a solid first full season in the minors with the Giants’ two full-season Class A clubs.

Bahr was 6-4 with a 2.75 ERA in 13 starts for low-A Augusta, striking out 88 and walking 21 in 68.2 innings. He was recently promoted to high-A San Jose, where he went 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in three starts, fanning 15 and walking just two in 16 innings.

Last winter, the Giants signed Jackson to a two-year deal, hoping the veteran outfielder could play all three outfield positions and be a big threat in the lineup against left-handed pitching.

Well, Jackson did hit 100 points higher against lefties than righties, but that’s largely because he hit just  .188 against righties this season.

Jackson started the season in a lefty-righty platoon in center field with Gregor Blanco. But Blanco was eventually sent to Triple-A, and Jackson went to the bench when Gorkys Hernandez, who also bats right-handed, proved a better options offensively and defensively in center field.

Jackson is still owed $3.5 million in 2019, plus a $500,000 buyout in 2020. Add the back half of his $3 million salary this season, and the Giants were on the hook for about $5.5 million to Jackson.

Jackson had made just two starts – 15 plaste appearances — since June 13.

Likewise, Gearrin has spent most of the past six weeks being called on to pitch when the Giants were trailing or leading by a large margin.

Since May 20, Gearrin had made just one appearance with the Giants holding a lead of three runs or fewer, and that came on July 1 when he was asked to get one out in the fourth with the Giants up on Arizona 4-3.

Gearrin is making $1.68 million this year and has one more year of arbitration left.

By clearing Jackson and Gearrin off the books, the Giants open room on their payroll to potentially add another veteran player in a trade, if they decide.

It also opens up room on the roster to look at two players performing well in the minors – outfielder Steven Duggar and reliever Ray Black.

Duggar was a sixth-round pick in 2015 out of Clemson. He impressed the Giants in the spring, particularly with his glove, as he challenged for a spot on the roster.

He was eventually sent to Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .272 with a .354 OBP in 78 games. He still strikes out a butt-ton of times for a guy who doesn’t hit for power – 103 in 356 plate appearances.

It seems odd that the Giants, who are currently carrying just one reserve infielder and have two other infielders who can play the outfield (Alen Hanson and Brandon Belt) that the Giants would add a second reserve outfielder. But Duggar is a plus defender and gives the Giants a left-handed option off the bench, which they have been lacking.

The more exciting addition to the roster is Black, a 28-year-old righthander who was drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2014.

Black can touch 100 mph on the radar, something the Giants really haven’t had in their bullpen before. Black battled injury and control problems in his five seasons in the minors.

But this year has been different. He started out at Double-A Richmond, where he posted a 0.90 ERA in 10 outings, striking out 20 of the 38 batters he faced, while walking just four.

After a promotion to Triple-A Sacramento, he had a 2.91 ERA in 22 outings, striking out 38 in 21.2 innings, while walking seven.

Both Duggar and Black were added to the Giants’ 40-man roster and activated after the trade Sunday morning.

When the San Francisco Giants signed Mark Melancon to a four-year, $62 million deal in December 2016, they saw the move a missing piece to make the Giants competitive.

After all, the Giants were coming off a 2016 season that saw them blow 30 saves, and that didn’t inclue the two they blew in the Division Series against the Cubs.

But with Melancon at the back of their bullpen, the Giants foresaw the following scenario playing out over and over again – ace Madison Bumgarner pitches well, leaves the game with the lead and Melancon comes in the ninth to lock down the win.

The Giants thought that scenario would first play out on Opening Day 2017 when Bumgarner pitched seven solid innings against the Diamondbacks and left with a 5-3 lead. The lead was 5-4 when Melancon enter the game in the ninth.

Melancon gave up two runs and the Diamondbacks won 6-5.

Melancon didn’t get another opportunity to save a Bumgarner win before Bum hurt himself in a dirt bike accident three weeks later.

Bumgarner would spend almost three months on the disabled list. By the time he returned in mid-July, Melancon was on the DL with a pronator strain.

Melancon came off the DL in August, but did not pitch in the closer role, which had been turned over to Sam Dyson. Melancon’s season ended in early September.

Both Bumgarner and Melancon started the 2018 season on the DL.

Melancon made his season debut on June 3. Bumgarner made his debut two days later.

However, Melancon made his first seven appearances of 2018 in a non-closer role as the Giants worked him back into form.

With the Giants’ bullpen in flux after closer Hunter Strickland punched a door and broke his hand, Melancon got his first save opportunity on Thursday against the San Diego Padres. It came after Bumgarner threw eight shutout innings on 100 pitches.

With a 3-0 lead, Melancon got three outs, allowing just one hit, to record his first save since May 27, 2017.

And it was his first save of a Madison Bumgarner win, the sight the Giants have been waiting 18 months to see.

It was Bumgarner’s first win since beating the Dodgers on Sept. 23, 2017. It was his first outing without allowing a run since July 30, 2017, and his first eight-inning outing since April 8, 2017.

 

 

 

 

Ooooh, that looks really bad.

That was my first reaction after watching Evan Longoria get hit on the hand by a Dan Straily pitch on Thursday in Miami.

There are many factors that can lead someone to make a conclusion like that … how the player reacts, the angle that the ball deflects after hitting the player, the location of where the player got hit.

All of those factors with Longoria led me to believe it was bad.

But then Longoria shook it off and headed to first base. The trainer came out to have a look, but Longoria stayed in the game.

Then I felt “Oh, maybe we dodged a bullet there.”

But then while standing on first, I say Longoria gesture to the dugout.

After the game, Longoria said he decided to stay in the game because he didn’t need his hand to run the bases. But as he stood at first, he felt his hand get worse, not better.

So he exited the game and Alen Hanson took over at third base.

Typically what happens in cases like this is the player goes for X-rays. If the report is good, the club will make an announcement a couple of innings later saying that X-rays were negative and the player is day-to-day.

But no such report came. And the game limped on for SIXTEEN INNINGS.

So when the game finally ended and we learned Longoria had a fractured pinkie, it was no surprise.

And now Giants fans are left to ask a question they’ve been forced to ask all season.

Now what?

The 2018 season has been a minefield of injuries. Here’s a look at the top 16 players on the Giants’ payroll and the time they have spent on the disabled list this season.

Try to find a week when at least three Giants were on the shelf at the same time.

The timeline for Longoria’s stint on the DL is about six weeks. That would put his return around Aug. 1.

With Brandon Belt making a rapid return from an appendectomy, the front line to step in to fill Longoria’s absense falls to Pablo Sandoval.

Bruce Bochy said so much on Friday. But that could be a cause for concern.

The 2018 version of Sandoval is not the same Sandoval from the Giants’ three tile runs. But the Panda has been productive in 2018.

In fact, from one viewpoint, Sandoval has been about as good as Longoria. To date, Sandoval has about half as many plate appearances as Longoria. If we doubled Sandoval’s production to match Longoria’s plate appearance, they are pretty comparable.

But with any statistical analysis, the deeper you go, the more catches you find.

In Sandoval’s case, 78 percent of his plate appearances have come as a left-handed hitter against right-handed pitching. And that’s because recently his switch-hitting splits have been very wide.

In his entire career, Sandoval has been better from the left side, batting .295 as LH batter and .251 as a righty. Of his 130 career home runs, 111 have come from left season.

This season as a lefty, Sandoval is hitting .301/.359/.484. But as a righty, he’s .160/.276/.200. That horrendous split is the main reason Sandoval has stopped becoming an everyday player the past couple of seasons.

When you consider that more than one-third of the starting pitchers the Giants will face over the next six weeks are lefties, an alternative must be sought.

The first choice would seemingly be switch-hitting Hanson, who has been a bright spot this season as a minor-league signee in the offseason.

Hanson’s splits are better, but not great. Some 77 percent of Hanson’s plate appearances this season have come from the left side, where he’s been very good — .357/.390/.768. But from the right side, it drops to .267/.333/.400 in a very small sample size.

Over his brief big-league career, Hanson’s split have been pretty even, even if the lion’s share of PAs came as a lefty.

So a possible option for the Giants is to have Sandoval start against righties, and Hanson against lefties.

Another option is to recall Kelby Tomlinson and give him some at-bats against lefties. But he’s actually hit righties slightly better this year.

Against lefties, Tomlinson is .209/.277/.256.

One more option is to recall Ryder Jones, who is hitting .286 in Triple-A. But he’s a lefty batter and last year his .312 Triple-A average became a .173 big-league average.

Right now, it’s Sandoval first. We’ll see where that goes.

The second opinion Johnny Cueto went to get on Monday on his elbow wasn’t nearly as bad as most San Francisco Giants thought it would be.

And who could blame them?

Normally when a player goes to see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion, it almost always comes back “Yep, you need surgery.”

But that’s not what Andrews said on Monday.

Cueto, the Giants’ ace of 2018 so far, was diagnosed with a sprained elbow ligament on Monday, and Andrews’ prescription was rest.

That means Cueto will be sidelined six to eight weeks. He won’t be pitching for the Giants again until late June at the earliest.

On the surface, that seems bad. But when you consider surgery would have meant Cueto would have missed the rest of 2018 and likely half of 2019, rest sounds pretty good.

Cueto was reported to have been “ecstatic, excited and pumped” by the news, which lends credibility to speculation that the first opinion Cueto got on his elbow was much more ominous.

Need further evidence? Manager Bruce Bochy said Cueto asked to pitch in Atlanta last weekend before seeing Andrews. That translates into he expected the worst from Andrews and figured he couldn’t do any more damage by pitching through the pain, which he had done very well in his previous two starts before going on the DL.

Now Cueto and the Giants hope the elbow responds to rest and rehab. That doesn’t always happen, and a real possibility of surgery being somewhere in Cueto’s future still exists.

So what will the Giants’ do between now and late June, while Cueto rests.

Well, Andrew Suarez will remain with the big club for at least late May, until Madison Bumgarner returns from his broken thumb. Suarez will get the chance to prove to deserves to remain beyond that.

Suarez is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in three starts with the Giants this season. He has 18 strikeouts against two walks in 17.2 innings. That’s one fewer walk than what Jeff Samardzija allowed in the first inning on Monday in Philadelphia.

Four of the six runs Suarez has allowed have come on home runs. Once Suarez figures out what pitches he can’t throw to big leaguers, he could be really, really good.

The Giants hope he is, because the depth pool for starting pitching in the organization gets a little thin after Suarez. Tyler Beede would be next up, but he’s not dazzling with  his 1-2 mark and 4.84 ERA at Triple-A.

Beyond that, you’re looking at Dereck Rodriguez (4.26 ERA), Casey Kelly (9.25), Tyler Herb (5.59) and Jose Flores (4.50). Matt Gage got promoted from Double-A Richmond in April and has allowed just one earned run in 11 innings in two starts at Sacramento, so that’s something to watch. None of those pitchers are on the Giants’ 40-man roster.

And, of course, the Giants could kick the tires on Matt Harvey, who was designated for assignment by the Mets last week.

In the meantime, they’ll stick with the pitchers they have now, and hope the offense can give them good support, which they’ve been doing of late.

Saturday’s opening game of a split doubleheader was one to forget for San Francisco Giants fans.

It started out with the announcement that outfielder Mac Williamson would need to go on the 7-day concussion disabled list when he failed one last test on Saturday morning.

It got worse when the Giants announced the Joe Panik would need to go on the DL with a sprained thumb.

And things didn’t get any better when the game started. In the first inning, Chris Stratton had a hard time finding the strike zone, walking four Dodgers which led to three runs.

In the second inning, Stratton found too much of the strike zone and the Dodgers hammered him, sending him out of the game with one out in the second inning having allowed six runs.

And it didn’t get any better as the Dodgers tallied 15 runs on 20 hits and seven walks.

But then in the ninth inning came a little relief.

That’s when Pablo Sandoval became the first Giants position player to pitch in game since Greg Litton did it in 1992.

The Panda recorded a 1-2-3 inning.

“It’s not that easy, but I do everything I can to save some bullpen for the next game,” Sandoval said. “We lost the game, but we had a little fun at the end of the game.”

It provided a lot of reaction.

Manager Bruce Bochy said: “It did bring some levity to a real long game. With that said, it was pretty impressive what he did.”

Shortstop Brandon Crawford said: “”He was hitting corners. You do that, it’s tough to hit, tough to drive a ball, even if it’s 87 or whatever it was that he hit. He got us some ground balls.”

Pitcher Jeff Samardzija said: “A couple of more miles an hour, he’s serviceable.”

Even Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was impressed. “[I] like Pablo, like the arm stroke. Good secondary. Sometimes it’s amazing how certain people can make the game look so easy. It was a big inning for them. They needed him. It’s a crazy game. I was thinking [Austin] Slater, but Pablo was the right choice. Touching 88.”

It’s even more amazing when you remember that Sandoval was born a left-handed thrower. But as a child, he yearned to play shortstop, which is hard to do as a lefty. So his grandfather helped him learn to throw righty.

And he threw 88 on Saturday.

Because of that, we offer a new nickname for Pablo Sandoval.

The Panda Express.

Mac Williamson has arrived with the big club, but is he the savior just about every San Francisco Giants hopes he will be?

Williamson performed very well this spring after spending the winter retooling his swing with help from the same coach who helped turn the Dodgers’ Justin Turner into an All-Star.

Many Giants hoped Williamson would have been on the Giants’ opening day 25-man roster.

But a combination of manager Bruce Bochy wanting to have more defensive flexibility and Williamson still having an option year left sent the outfielder to Triple-A Sacramento, where he tore it up.

In just 11 games, Williamson hit 6 home runs, drove in 16, hit .487 with a .600 on-base percentage. Slugging 1.026, he had a whopping OPS of 1.626.

What may be most impressive is the fact that Williamson walked seven times and only struck out five.

Five strikeouts. Compare that to River Cats teammates Steven Duggar (16), Kyle Jensen (19) or Chris Shaw (21).

Now last season, Christian Arroyo tore it up in Sacramento in April, prompting a May call-up to the big club. Then he proceeded to struggle and was sent back to Triple-A after hitting below the Mendoza line.

But that was a 21-year-old Arroyo in his first stint in the bigs. Williamson is 27 and has had brief stints of success with the Giants, so he knows what to expect.

For the move to pay off for the Giants, Williamson does not need to match his Triple-A numbers, not that anyone is expecting that. In fact, he doesn’t even have to come close.

He just has to give the Giants something, anything. Because the Giants have received NOTHING from left field this season.

If you look at all eight positions, nowhere is the Giants getting anything less than from left field with team lows in batting (.188, .208 is next worst), on-base percentage (.219, .270 is next worst) and slugging (.203, .324 in next worst).

And those left-field numbers are largely the product of one player — Hunter Pence. Pence was hitting .172 with a team-worst .197 OBP, a team-worst slugging of .190 and a team-high 22 strikeouts.

Now I am not part of the chorus of fans shouting to cut Pence, saying he’s washed up. But even veteran San Francisco Chronicle writer suggested that this DL move could be simply a way for the Giants to delay making a hard decision regarding the future of Pence in his final contract year.

I don’t believe that. But it’s very hard to ignore how bad those numbers are.

Pence went to the DL because of a sprained thumb he first injured in the home opener against the Mariners.

Pence said he didn’t know if his thumb was the reason for his struggles, but it’s hard to imagine that it didn’t make things worse.

Of Pence’s 10 hits this season, four came in the four games before his injury, including in his only extra-base hit.

Pence started the season 4 for 15 (.267) before hurting his thumb, and .140 since. Now 15 at-bats is a very small sample size, but you can’t find another series of 15 at-bats this season in which he’s produced four hits since his injury.

And what’s worse, his strikeouts have increased. He struck out six times in his first eight games (29 plate appearances). He has struck out at least once in his last nine games — 16 whiffs in 32 PAs).

He clearly need time off to fix something, and that’s hard to do with a sore thumb.

Yet, Pence played in all of the Giants’ first 17 games, starting all but two.

That’s why I believe the thumb injury is a legit one.

While Pence heals (and/or rights himself), Williamson will get at least a couple of weeks with the big club.

The hope is he keeps hitting, provides a much-needed offensive spark and makes it very difficult for the Giants to send him back down.

But as long as Williamson can give the Giants something, they’ll be better off.

During the opening weeks of the season, Pence had an -0.4 WAR. That’s wins above replacement. And the replacement is your average Triple-A call-up.

The hope is that Williamson will be better than an average Triple-A call-up.

But with Pence setting a very low bar, anything Williamson can contribute will be a good thing.

The San Francisco Giants’ offense is struggling.

And while the Giants rank fourth in the National League in batting, their batting in run-scoring situations is horrible.

So we’ll look at just how horrible by using NL rankings in various statistical categories with runners in scoring position.

Not to play spoiler here, but it’s pretty horrible.

Batting average with runners in scoring position (RISP)

1. Giants .158
2. Cubs .193
3. Nationals .210
4. Brewers .220
5. Dodgers .228
6. Reds .228
7. Rockies .229
8. Cardinals .242
9. Marlins .250
10. Mets .255
11. D-backs .263
12. Padres .283
13. Phillies .284
14. Pirates .315
15. Braves .333

On-base percentage with RISP

1. Giants .263
2. Brewers .295
3. Dodgers .303
4. Rockies .330
5. Cardinals .331
6. Nationals .335
7. Marlins .336
8. Cubs .341
9. Reds .343
10. Padres .348
11. D-backs .376
12. Pirates .381
13. Phillies .388
14. Mets .390
15. Braves . 424

Slugging percentage with RISP

1. Giants .219
2. Dodgers .267
3. Cubs .289
4. Reds .316
5. Brewers .341
6. Nationals .364
7. Marlins .370
8. Rockies .375
9. Cardinals .392
10. Mets .415
11. D-backs .447
12. Padres .504
13. Phillies .509
14. Pirates .556
15. Braves .558

Highest strikeout percentage (Ks divide by PAs) with RISP

1. Giants .281
2. Reds .264
3. Cubs .250
4. Marlins .236
5. Brewers .229
6. Phillies .228
7. Cardinals .228
8. Nationals .226
9. Padres .224
10. Rockies .212
11. D-backs .211
12. Mets .204
13. Dodgers .200
14. Pirates .173
15. Braves .173

Lowest run percentage (runs divided PA) with RISP

1. Giants .209
2. Reds .221
3. Brewers .271
4. Nationals .282
5. Rockies .305
6. Cubs .310
7. Marlins .323
8. Dodgers .325
9. Padres .329
10. Cardinals .331
11. Mets .358
12. D-backs .387
13. Braves .405
14. Phillies .430
15. Pirates .440

For those looking to point a finger at this struggle with RISP, here is how individual hitters with more than 10 plate appearances with RISP have fared for the Giants.

• Brandon Belt 3 for 10, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, .300 AVG, .429 OBP
• Buster Posey 3 for 12, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, .250 AVG, .375 OBP
• Joe Panik 2 for 12, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, .167 AVG, .231 OBP
• Andrew McCutchen 3 for 22, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, .136 AVG, .208 OBP
• Brandon Crawford 1 for 8, 1 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K, .125 AVG, .385 OBP
• Evan Longoria 1 for 10, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 6 K, .100 AVG, .182 OBP
• Hunter Pence 1 for 12, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, .083 AVG, .143 OBP
• Other hitters 4 for 18, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K, .222 AVG, .318 OBP
• Pitchers 0 for 10, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 8 K, .000 AVG, .000 OBP

Hapy Monday

Chris Stratton’s seven innings of one-hit shutout ball on Thursday in San Diego made us think …. How have the San Francisco Giants’ first-round draft picks fared in the past 10 years.

Back in the 1990s, the Giants had some real clunkers in the first round — Calvin Murray, Steve Soderstrom, Matt White.

In the 2000s, they hit some good ones who helped the Giants become World Champions — Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner.

So let’s look back at the past decade, remembering that the Giants own the No. 2 pick this June.

Here are the Giants’ first-round picks of the past 10 years and how they have fared.

2008 – BUSTER POSEY (No. 5 overall)

Enough said

2008 – CONOR GILLASPIE (No. 37, supplemental first-round pick)

After being drafted out of Wichita State, Gillaspie got a very quick call-up in September 2008. He spent 2009 and 2010 in the minor before being recalled in June 2011. After collecting a World Series ring with the Giants in 2012 (he played six games with them), Gillaspie was traded to the White Sox, where he was their primary third baseman in 2013 and 2014. After struggling to start 2015, he was traded to the Angels, who later designated for assignment. He signed a minor-league with the Giants in the spring of 2016, and spent most of the season as a bench player. When Eduardo Nunez was hurt late in the season, Gillaspie stepped up big, delivering the decisive three-run home run in the Wild Card game against the Mets. He returned to a bench role in 2017 but was DFA’d in August, cleared waivers and played out the rest of the season at Triple-A Sacramento. He remains an unsigned free agent in 2018 at age 30.

2009 – ZACK WHEELER (No. 6 pick)

The right-handed pitcher was one of the Giants’ top prospects when he was traded to the Mets in 2011 in exchange for Carlos Beltran. He made his big-league debut in 2013, going 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA with the Mets. He went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 2014 before missing all of 2015 and 2016 after Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2017 to go 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts. In his first start of 2018, Wheeler held the Marlins to one run on two hits over seven innings.

2010 – GARY BROWN (No. 24 pick)

The speedy center fielder out of Cal State Fullerton was the Giants’ top prospect in 2011, being selected to the All-Star Futures Game. But he never progressed much once he reached Triple-A. He was a September call-up in 2014, going 3 for 7 in seven games. At the end of spring training, he was DFA’d by the Giants, claimed by the Cardinals, DFA’d again on April 21 and claimed by the Angels. He spent the balance of 2016 in Triple-A and released by the Angels in March 2016. He played independent baseball in Maryland before retiring last July.

2011 – JOE PANIK (No. 29 pick)

Drafted as shortstop out of St. John’s with a pick that many draft experts felt was a reach in the first round, Panik made his debut with the Giants in June 2014 as they sought a replacement at second base for injured Marco Scutaro (Brandon Hicks, Dan Uggla etc.). Panik earned the job and hit .305 in 73 games and he was the starting second baseman as the Giants won the 2014 World Series. He’s been the Giants’ starting second baseman since, earning an All-Star Game selection in 2015 and a Gold Glove in 2016.

2011 – KYLE CRICK (No. 49 supplement first-round pick)

The right-handed pitcher was drafted out of high school. He became the Giants’ top prospect, per Baseball America, in 2013 and 2014. But as he moved to Double-A in 2015, he began to struggle with control. In 2017, the Giants turned him into a reliever and he made his big-league debut last June, finishing the season with 3.06 ERA in 32.3 big-league innings. In January, he was traded along with 2016 second-round pick Bryan Reynolds to the Pirates for Andrew McCutchen. He’s currently pitching for the Pirates’ Triple-A team.

2012 – CHRIS STRATTON

2013 – CHRISTIAN ARROYO (No. 25 pick)

Drafted as a shortstop out of high school, Arroyo was a surprise pick to many as he was thought to be prepared to accept a scholarship at Florida. But he signed with the Giants and made quick and solid progression through the minors. At age 21, he made his big-league debut with the Giants on April 24, 2017. He got his first career hit on April 25 against Clayton Kershawn, then hit his first home run on April 26 against Sergio Romo. But then he began to struggle. He was sent back to the minors on June 4 with a .192 average. Injuries marred his 2017 season in Triple-A. In December, he was traded to the Rays as part of a deal to acquire Evan Longoria. He’s currently playing for the Rays’ Triple-A club.

2014 – TYLER BEEDE (No. 14 pick)

A right-handed pitcher drafted out of Vanderbilt, Beede became the Giants’ top pitching prospect. In 2016, he lead the Double-A Eastern League with a 2.81 ERA and was second in strikeouts (135). After being limited by injury early in 2017, he went 6-7 with 4.79 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Sacramento. He made his big-league debut last Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, giving up two runs on three hits with five walks and three strikeouts in four innings. He is slated to make his second start on Sunday against the Padres.

2015 – PHIL BICKFORD (No. 18 pick)

The right-handed pitcher was the No. 10 overall pick in 2013 draft out of high school, but chose not to sign with the Blue Jays. The Giants picked him two years later out of the College of Southern Nevada. He was pitching in Class A in August 2016 when he was traded, along with catcher Andrew Susac, to the Brewers for reliever Will Smith. He was listed as the No. 54 prospect in baseball by MLBPipeline.com before he was hit with 50-game suspension for banned substances (not word what it was, but it may have been marijuana) and then he had surgery after breaking two bones in his hand after being hit by comebacker. That limited him to six appearances in rookie ball in 2017.

2016 – No first-round pick (surrendered to sign Jeff Samardzija)

2017 – HELIOT RAMOS (No. 19 pick)

Drawing comparisons to Yoenis Cespedes, Ramos was drafted as a 17-year-old outfielder out of Puerto Rico. He hit .348 with six homers in 138 at-bats at rookie level last year. As Baseball America’s 79th-best prospect in baseball, Ramos was coveted by other teams in offseason trade discussions. The Giants kept him and he is starting the season at low-A Augusta.

About year ago, San Francisco Giants pitcher Chris Stratton could have changed his name to “And Chris Stratton.”

That’s because any discussion about prospects in the Giants system would end with “…. and Chris Stratton.” You know, it would go like “Christian Arroyo, Tyler Beede, Chris Shaw, etc. … and Chris Stratton.”

Stratton’s progression up the Giants’ farm system made him sort of an afterthought. Not a flop as a former first-round draft pick. Just an afterthought.

He could have been best described in a report on him by minorleaguebaseball.com in April of 2017.

“There’s nothing spectacular about Stratton. He has four adequate pitches and he throws strikes. He won’t dominate, but he is versatile, a good 11th man on a staff for mop up and long relief work who can make some starts if necessary.”

Not a glowing report for player who was taken with the 20th pick of the 2012 draft as an All-American out of Mississippi State. But you’d struggle to find many scouts or Giants fans who would disagree with that assessment.

That’s because his numbers in minors were just kind of OK. Not terrible, but not great. Just OK.

In six minor-league seasons, Stratton was 38-34 with a 4.07 ERA in 111 starts and 116 games.

There was a glimmer of hope in 2016 that Stratton might actually develop into the pitcher the Giants hoped he’d become when they picked him in 2012.

That season, he went 12-6 with 3.87 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Sacramento. Not glowing numbers, but pretty solid in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Stratton got his first major-league call in 2016, when he had a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings of relief.

But then in 2017, his Triple-A number got very “meh” again — 4-5 with 5.11 ERA in 15 starts. He was 26 years and starting to run out of opportunities with the Giants.

But then last July, the Giants needed to call up a pitcher who could give them innings, and their top pitching prospects in Sacramento — Tyler Beede and Joan Gregorio — were on the DL. So Stratton got the call, as he was on the 40-man roster.

He made a spot start against Detroit and a four-inning relief appearance later in July against the Pirates.

After coming off a brief DL stint, he was put into the rotation in August and seized the opportunity.

He made nine starts in the last two months season, going 4-2 with a 2.42 ERA and 43 strikeouts, 20 walks in 44.2 innings. He had three scoreless outings of 6+ innings.

That thrusted him into competition for a spot in the rotation heading into this spring. Injuries to Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija locked Stratton into the rotation, but he probably would have made the rotation without the injuries.

In the early part of season, Stratton has established himself as the Giants’ best starting pitcher not named Johnny Cueto.

In three starts, Stratton has a 2.60 ERA with an 0.981 WHIP.

If there is a knock on Stratton, it’s that he doesn’t have overpowering stuff, which often leads to him burning a lot pitches. This was evidenced Thursday in San Diego when the Padres’ Austin Hedges fouled off seven pitches before flying out.

Even so, Stratton pitched seven complete innings for the first time in his big-league career, holding the Padres to one hit. That win, oddly enough, was Padres pitcher Clayton Richard, who entered the game in the third as a pinch-hitter and never actually pitched in the game. According to Elias, it was the first time since 1935 that a team was limited to one hit that came from a pitcher who didn’t start the game.

Put this season’s three starts with last season’s final nine starts, Stratton 5-3 with a 2.47 ERA in 12 starts (62 innings).

That’s All-Star like.

It’s good enough to allow us to say that right now the best starting pitchers the Giants have are Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto … and Chris Stratton.

 

 

 

 

Here are the Giants’ first-round picks of the past 10 years and how they have fared.

2008 – BUSTER POSEY (No. 5 overall)

 

Enough said

 

2008 – CONOR GILLASPIE (No. 37, supplemental first-round pick)

After being drafted out of Wichita State, Gillaspie got a very quick call-up in September 2008. He spent 2009 and 2010 in the minor before being recalled in June 2011. After collecting a World Series ring with the Giants in 2012 (he played six games with them), Gillaspie was traded to the White Sox, where he was their primary third baseman in 2013 and 2014. After struggling to start 2015, he was traded to the Angels, who later designated for assignment. He signed a minor-league with the Giants in the spring of 2016, and spent most of the season as a bench player. When Eduardo Nunez was hurt late in the season, Gillaspie stepped up big, delivering the decisive three-run home run in the Wild Card game against the Mets. He returned to a bench role in 2017 but was DFA’d in August, cleared waivers and played out the rest of the season at Triple-A Sacramento. He remains an unsigned free agent in 2018 at age 30.

2009 – ZACK WHEELER (No. 6 pick)

The right-handed pitcher was one of the Giants’ top prospects when he was traded to the Mets in 2011 in exchange for Carlos Beltran. He made his big-league debut in 2013, going 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA with the Mets. He went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 2014 before missing all of 2015 and 2016 after Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2017 to go 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts. In his first start of 2018, Wheeler held the Marlins to one run on two hits over seven innings.

2010 – GARY BROWN (No. 24 pick)

The speedy center fielder out of Cal State Fullerton was the Giants’ top prospect in 2011, being selected to the All-Star Futures Game. But he never progressed much once he reached Triple-A. He was a September call-up in 2014, going 3 for 7 in seven games. At the end of spring training, he was DFA’d by the Giants, claimed by the Cardinals, DFA’d again on April 21 and claimed by the Angels. He spent the balance of 2016 in Triple-A and released by the Angels in March 2016. He played independent baseball in Maryland before retiring last July.

2011 – JOE PANIK (No. 29 pick)

Drafted as shortstop out of St. John’s with a pick that many draft experts felt was a reach in the first round, Panik made his debut with the Giants in June 2014 as they sought a replacement at second base for injured Marco Scutaro (Brandon Hicks, Dan Uggla etc.). Panik earned the job and hit .305 in 73 games and he was the starting second baseman as the Giants won the 2014 World Series. He’s been the Giants’ starting second baseman since, earning an All-Star Game selection in 2015 and a Gold Glove in 2016.

2011 – KYLE CRICK (No. 49 supplement first-round pick)

The right-handed pitcher was drafted out of high school. He became the Giants’ top prospect, per Baseball America, in 2013 and 2014. But as he moved to Double-A in 2015, he began to struggle with control. In 2017, the Giants turned him into a reliever and he made his big-league debut last June, finishing the season with 3.06 ERA in 32.3 big-league innings. In January, he was traded along with 2016 second-round pick Bryan Reynolds to the Pirates for Andrew McCutchen. He’s currently pitching for the Pirates’ Triple-A team.

2012 – CHRIS STRATTON

2013 – CHRISTIAN ARROYO (No. 25 pick)

Drafted as a shortstop out of high school, Arroyo was a surprise pick to many as he was thought to be prepared to accept a scholarship at Florida. But he signed with the Giants and made quick and solid progression through the minors. At age 21, he made his big-league debut with the Giants on April 24, 2017. He got his first career hit on April 25 against Clayton Kershawn, then hit his first home run on April 26 against Sergio Romo. But then he began to struggle. He was sent back to the minors on June 4 with a .192 average. Injuries marred his 2017 season in Triple-A. In December, he was traded to the Rays as part of a deal to acquire Evan Longoria. He’s currently playing for the Rays’ Triple-A club.

2014 – TYLER BEEDE (No. 14 pick)

A right-handed pitcher drafted out of Vanderbilt, Beede became the Giants’ top pitching prospect. In 2016, he lead the Double-A Eastern League with a 2.81 ERA and was second in strikeouts (135). After being limited by injury early in 2017, he went 6-7 with 4.79 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Sacramento. He made his big-league debut last Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, giving up two runs on three hits with five walks and three strikeouts in four innings. He is slated to make his second start on Sunday against the Padres.

2015 – PHIL BICKFORD (No. 18 pick)

The right-handed pitcher was the No. 10 overall pick in 2013 draft out of high school, but chose not to sign with the Blue Jays. The Giants picked him two years later out of the College of Southern Nevada. He was pitching in Class A in August 2016 when he was traded, along with catcher Andrew Susac, to the Brewers for reliever Will Smith. He was listed as the No. 54 prospect in baseball by MLBPipeline.com before he was hit with 50-game suspension for banned substances (not word what it was, but it may have been marijuana) and then he had surgery after breaking two bones in his hand after being hit by comebacker. That limited him to six appearances in rookie ball in 2017.

2016 – No first-round pick (surrendered to sign Jeff Samardzija)

2017 – HELIOT RAMOS (No. 19 pick)

Drawing comparisons to Yoenis Cespedes, Ramos was drafted as a 17-year-old outfielder out of Puerto Rico. He hit .348 with six homers in 138 at-bats at rookie level last year. As Baseball America’s 79th-best prospect in baseball, Ramos was coveted by other teams in offseason trade discussions. The Giants kept him and he is starting the season at low-A Augusta.

Nine games into the 2018 season, and the San Francisco Giants have been held to one or no runs in six of those nine games.

And so the call has gone out “The Giants need to start hitting.”

Well, that’s true and it’s not true — depending on how you look at it.

One stat that would indicate that the Giants are hitting, relatively, is their ranking in team batting average.

The Giants currently rank fifth in the National League in hitting. So that doesn’t sound so bad.

But the problem is that almost no one in the National League is hitting in the early days of the season.

The Pirates lead the NL in hitting at .283, then come the Braves at .267. In third are the Mets at .247.

Last season, a .247 team batting average would have ranked 14th in the NL at season’s end, one spot behind the Giants’ .249.

Given that, the Giants’ .239 team batting average this season doesn’t look so hot.

What’s worse is that the Giants have not been able to convert hits into runs.

The Giants rank 15th in the NL in runs scored with 25, and 10 of those runs have come in one game.

Why is that?

Well, the Giants’ ability to deliver hits in scoring situations is one big culprit.

The Giants are 8 for 67 with runners in scoring position. That’s a .116 average.

Very, very bad.

But it gets worse, if you can fathom that.

Of the Giants’ eight hits with runners in scoring position, only four have produced runs.

That’s right four hits failed to score a runner.

And when you consider, given the Giants’ lack of power, there whole offensive strategy is based on the idea of get-em-on, get-em-over, get-em-in.

Well, right now they are struggling mightily on that last piece.

Here are the eight hits this season with runners in scoring position.

HIT 1: Game 1, March 29 at Dodgers

In the second inning with Hunter Pence on second base, Brandon Belt blooped a single to right, Pence was held up at third.

HIT 2: Game 5, April 3 vs. Mariners

In the eighth inning, after Gregor Blanco led off with a double, Kelby Tomlinson singled to center. Blanco was held at third base.

HIT 3: Game 6, April 4 vs. Mariners

In the first inning, with runners on first and second, Buster Posey hit a slow chopper to third that Kyle Seager couldn’t get a handle on for a infied single, loading the bases.

HIT 4: Game 6, April 4 vs. Mariners

In the fifth inning, with runners on first and second, Pablo Sandoval homers to right.

HIT 5: Game 6, April 4 vs. Mariners

In the seventh inning, with runners on first and second and two out, Brandon Belt singles to center, scoring Nick Hundley.

HIT 6: Game 7, April 7 vs. Dodgers

In the seventh innning, with Austin Jackson on second and one out, Andrew McCutchen hits a bouncer over the bag at third for an infield single. Jackson stayed at second.

HIT 7: Game 7, April 7 vs. Dodgers

In the 14th inning, with runners on first and third and no outs, McCutchen homers to left.

HIT 8: Game 8, April 8 vs. Dodgers

In the eighth inning, with runners on first and second an no outs, Buster Posey single to right, scoring Pence from second.

It’s April, and it’s already Splash Hit season.

Pablo Sandoval launched the first Splash Hit of 2018 when he launched Felix Hernandez’s final pitch on Wednesday for a three-run home run into McCovey Cove.

The Panda even called it. Sort of.

“I ain’t gonna lie. He called it,” Andrew McCutchen said. “He said he was going to hit a homer today.”

https://www.mlb.com/giants/video/share/sandovals-three-run-dinger/c-1906902283?tid=8878828

It marked the first April Splash Hit since Brandon Crawford hit one on April 13, 2014, and only the second April Splash Hit since 2008.

Of the 77 Splash Hits, it was only the 11th in April.

It was the earliest Splash Hit by date, and the second earliest by schedule.

Barry Bonds had a Splash Hit in the Giants’ home opener in 2004. He also hit one in Game 2 in 2004, but that was in the seventh inning, so The Panda’s officially becomes the second earliest.

The Splash Hit also was Sandoval’s eighth Splash Hit, moving him into sole possession of second place in the Splash Hit list. It was his first Splash Hit since May 12, 2013. He, of course, spent 2015, 2016 and most of 2017 with the Red Sox. The nearly five-year gap between Splash Hits is the longest gap between Splash Hits by one player.

Of course, Bonds tops the list with 35, then comes Sandoval with eight and Brandon Belt with seven. Denard Span is the only other Giant with more than two. Span hit five and accounted for the last three Splash Hits.

EARLY SPLASH HITS

1. Barry Bonds 2004, Game 1
2. Pablo Sandoval 2018, Game 2 (fifth inning)
3. Barry Bonds 2004, Game 2 (seventh inning)
4. Barry Bonds 2001, Game 4
5. Michael Tucker 2005, Game 5
6. Brandon Crawford 2014, Game 6

The San Francisco Giants have nearly $52 million worth of pitching on the disabled list – in 2018 salary – and yet they are 2-0 because of a pair of 1-0 victories.

That seems about as likely as the fact that the Giants scored both runs off home runs by Joe Panik – one off Clayton Kershaw and the other off Kenley Jansen.

The Giants became the second team ever to open the season with back-to-back 1-0 victories. The 1943 Cincinnati Reds were the other team.

Since the 1943 Reds opened at home – as the Reds do every year – the Giants became the first team to accomplish the feat on the road.

Johnny Cueto took a perfect game into the seventh inning when Chris Taylor’s bloop single broke it up. Taylor was then erased on a double play by the next batter. Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland completed the shutout as the Dodgers sent the minimum – 27 batters – to the plate.

In 2017, the Giants were 0-23 when scoring just one run. So far in 2018, they are 2-0.

In 2017, the Giants didn’t record their first shutout win until June 2 – a 10-0 win at Phildelphia. They didn’t notch their second shutout until Aug. 21 – a 2-0 win over Milwaukee. They finished with five shutout wins.

It’s the second time in Giants history that they have opened with back-to-back shutout wins, and the first time they’ve done it on the road.

With John Burkett and Billy Swift starting, the 1994 Giants opened the season with 8-0 and 2-0 wins over the Pirates.

If the Giants can keep the Dodgers scoreless for 5.2 innings on Saturday, they will break the team record for most scoreless pitching innings to open a season, set in 1994.

Derek Holland gets his first pitching assignment for the Dodgers on Saturday. Hopefully, Holland can keep the streak going.

If he can’t, hopefully the Giants hitters – besides Panik – can get going against the first right-handed starter they’ll see this season – Kenta Maeda.

Look for Bochy to employ this lineup vs. righty

2B Joe Panik

1B Brandon Belt

RF Andrew McCutchen

C Buster Posey

3B Evan Longoria

SS Brandon Crawford

RF Hunter Pence

CF Gregor Blanco

P Derek Holland

Of all the unlikely San Francisco Giants to belt a home run off Clayton Kershaw, Joe Panik might have been the unlikeliest.

Panik’s solo home run in the fifth inning of the Giants’ 1-0 victory over the Dodgers was only the second baseman’s 30^th home run of his career.

Watch Panik’s homer: https://www.mlb.com/giants/video/share/paniks-solo-homer-off-kershaw/c-1898956883?tid=8878828

And although Panik became the 15^th different Giants hitter to homer off Kershaw, he quickly moved to the top half of the list of Giants who have taken deep in terms of career home runs hit – even with just 30.

Career home runs by Giants who have home runs (as a Giant) against Kershaw.

1. Hunter Pence 220
2. Juan Uribe 199
3. Bengie Molina 144
4. Melky Cabrera 131
5. Buster Posey 128
6. Angel Pagan 64
7. Joe Panik 30
8. Mac Williamson 22
9. Madison Bumgarner 17
10. Matt Duffy 17
11. Brandon Hicks 11
12. Brett Pill 9
13. Chris Stewart 9
14. Ehire Adrianza 5
15. Kelby Tomlinson 3

When you look at that list, with the likes of Chris Stewart, Kelby Tomlinson and Ehire Adrianza on it, there have been some unlikely Giants to homer off Kershaw.

Even so, Panik’s home run seems even less likely when you consider:

Prior to Thursday, in his career, Kershaw surrenders a home run to a left-handed hitter at a rate of 1 for every 47 plate appearances.

Prior to Thursday, Panik only had two home runs against left-handed pitching, out of more than 500 plate appearances.

But when Panik took Kershaw deep, he became the first Giants to accomplish one feat. He became the first left-handed hitter to homer off Kershaw. The other 14 Giants to go deep did it from the right-hand side of the plate.

Here’s a list of  Giants players who have home runs off Kershaw and the year they hit it.

1, Buster Posey 3 (2013, 2015, 2017)

2, Madison Bumgarner 2 (2015, 2016)

3, Joe Panik 1 (2018)

3, Kelby Tomlinson 1 (2017)

3, Mac Williamson 1 (2017)

3, Hunter Pence 1 (2017)

3, Angel Pagan 1 (2016)

3, Matt Duffy 1 (2016)

3, Ehire Adrianza 1 (2016)

3, Brandon Hicks 1 (2014)

3, Melky Cabrera 1 (2012)

3, Brett Pill 1 (2012)

3, Chris Stewart 1 (2011)

3, Juan Uribe 1 (2010)

3, Bengie Molina 1 (2009)

 

If you had the San Francisco Giants beating Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers 1-0 on Opening Day on a Joe Panik home run, collect your prize.

That’s how it all shook out Thursday at Chavez Ravine, as the Giants won their first Opening Day game in Dodger Stadium since 2002.

The outlook Thursday was not so bright when, after we knew Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija would start the season the disabled list, the Giants announced that closer Mark Melancon would be joining them on the DL with a flexor strain.

But Blach, who has been outstanding in his starts against the Dodgers, matched Kershaw 0 for 0 through the first four innings.

In the fifth inning, Panik turned on an inside pitch and drove it just inside the right-field foul pole.

From watching on ESPN, it looked like the ball might be foul, from how the camera angle was showing it.

But it stayed fair, and the Giants led 1-0. Blach kept the lead 1-0 after five innings. He gave up three hits, three walks while striking out three. He left after 80 pitches because he hadn’t thrown more than 60 during the spring.

Before the Giants’ run of pitching injuries, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Blach he’d be starting in the bullpen and make his first start on April 10, when the Giants first needed a fifth starter.

That’s why Blach got the early hook. Then the Giants turned it over to the bullpen.

Four relievers — Josh Osich, Cody Gearrin, Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland — kept the shutout intact.

Osich was outstanding. Gearrin dodged around a couple of singles. Watson was outstanding. Strickland worked around a leadoff single by Matt Kemp to notch his first save since being proclaimed the closer in Melancon’s absence.

It was the Giants’ first Opening Day win by shutout since beating the Pirates 8-0 in 1994. John Burkett started that game. It was the first Opening Day shutout win against the Dodgers since 1958, the first major-league game played on the West Coast. The Giants also won that one 8-0.

Last year, the Giants went 0-23 when scoring just one run. This year, they are 1-0.

Last year, the Giants never spent a day above .500. This year, they’ve spent one.

Last year, the Giants never spent a day in first place. They are there today.

Who know what the future holds for the Giants, given so many uncertainties. But at least for one day, 2018 is going just fine.

The San Francisco Giants announced the Opening Day lineup against the Dodgers.

CF Austin Jackson
2B Joe Panik
CF Andrew McCutchen
C Buster Posey
3B Evan Longoria
LF Hunter Pence
1B Brandon Belt
SS Brandon Crawford
P Ty Blach

It marks the 12th consecutive season the Giants have opened with a different player starting in left field, dating all the way back to Barry Bonds’ final Opening Day start in 2007.

If you are looking for an Opening Day diversion, try guessing the names of the 10 players sandwiched between Bonds and Hunter Pence. We’ll reveal the answer at the end of this post.

It’s actually Pence’s third consecutive Opening Day start for the Giants, after starting in right the past two seasons. He was hurt at the opening of the 2015 season.

It’s the eighth consecutive Opening Day start for both Buster Posey and Brandon Belt. It’s the seventh consecutive start for Brandon Crawford. It’s the fourth consecutive start for Joe Panik.

It’s the first-ever Opening Day start for the Giants for Ty Blach, Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen and Austin Jackson.

Third base is turning into a mini-left field for the Giants. Longoria is the fifth different player to start at 3B on Opening Day since 2014 — Pablo Sandoval, Casey McGehee, Matt Duffy and Eduardo Nunez.

Posey’s eight Opening Day starts at catcher are the most ever by Giant since 1908. Today’s start broke a tie he had with Wes Westrum.

Belt’s eight starts ties him with Will Clark for fourth-most ever at first base.

Getting back to left field. Bonds made 12 consecuive Opening Day starts from 1993 to 2004, and 14 of 15 starts until 2007.

The odds that this streak will be extended to 13 is very good when you consider that Pence is in the last year of his contract and will turn 36 next season.

Want to take any bets on who next year’s start left fielder is?

Mac Williamson?

Chris Shaw?

Austin Slater?

Brandon Belt?

Someone else?

All right. As promised, here is the answer to our left field question from above.

2007 – Barry Bonds
2008 – Dave Roberts
2009 – Darren Lewis
2010 – Mark DeRosa
2011 – Pat Burrell
2012 – Aubrey Huff
2013 – Andres Torres
2014 – Michael Morse
2015 – Nori Aoki
2016 – Angel Pagan
2017 – Jarrett Parker
2018 – Hunter Pence

When the San Francisco Giants open the 2018 season at Dodger Stadium, it will mark their ninth consecutive Opening Day on the road.

So the question will be asked “Why don’t the Giants ever open at home?”

And the standard answer is that it’s the Giants choice. They prefer to play games at home later in the season than earlier.

But nine years in a row?

The last time the Giants opened the season at AT&T Park was on April 7, 2009 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Giants won the game 10-6.

Since then, the Giants have spent four Opening Days in Arizona, one each in Houston and Milwaukee and this season marks the third Opening Day in LA.

I get the inclination to want more home games later in the season than earlier. But is there really a big difference between opening at home on March 29 and April 3?

You’d think that a franchise that had such a lengthy streak of “sellouts” it wouldn’t matter when the home games are played.

This decision by the Giants has robbed fans of some special Opening Days in 2011, 2013 and 2015. When they should have been hoisting a World Series banner at home, the Giants instead opened at Dodger Stadium in 2011, Dodger Stadium again in 2013 and in Arizona in 2015.

Since opening their ballpark by the bay in 2000, the Giants have only played four Opening Days there – in 2001 vs. the Padres (the Giants won 3-2), in 2005 vs. the Dodgers (the Giants won 4-2), in 2007 vs. the Padres (they lost 7-0) and the aforementioned game in 2009 vs. the Brewers.

To make matters worse, Opening Days in Dodger Stadium have not gone well for the Giants. They have managed to score just one run in three openers there since 2008.

This season marks the 60^th anniversary of the both the Giants and Dodgers on the West Coast. And that first Opening Day back in 1958 was played in San Francisco. The Giants beat the Dodgers 8-0 in April 15, 1958. Shouldn’t the 60^th anniversary game also be played in San Francisco?

The Giants and Dodgers didn’t play in another Opening Day matchup against until 1976.

Since then, they have meet on Opening Day in 1977, 1982, 1988, 1992, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2013.

Overall, the Giants are 6-5 on Opening Day against the Dodgers, although LA has won the last three.

The last time the Giants won on Opening Day in LA was in 2002, when Barry went yard three times.

The only time I have ever spent Opening Day in a big-league ballpark was at Dodger Stadium in 1988, when Dave Dravecky beat Fernando Valenzuela.

The Giants return to Chavez Ravine for another Opening Day on Thursday. Hopefully, they’ll score a run. Heck, maybe even two, if we dare to dream.

But at least we can be thankful of one thing – thank God the Astros beat the Dodgers last fall, or else the Boys in Blue would be hoisting their own World Series banner.

Instead, they’ll just hoist a National League pennant.

And the Giant fans can watch, tilt their heads to the side, glance at three World Series rings since their last Opening Day at home and say “Aw, isn’t that adorable.”

Late Tuesday night, after the Giants’ 3-0 win over the A’s to take the Bay Bridge Series, the Giants announced, more or less, who would be making the Opening Day roster.

It includes 12 pitchers, five outfielders and two rookies – just not the rookies you might have been expecting.

With injuries to Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija, rookie relief pitchers Pierce Johnson and Roberto Gomez were informed they would be joining the club Thursday for the opener at Dodger Stadium. Another rookie, outfielder Steven Duggar will be heading to Triple-A Sacramento, news that will frustrate some Giants fans (not this Giant fan. Duggar needs to play every day and Giants face a ton of lefties to open the season).

Here’s the 25-man roster, with one question remaining.

Starting pitchers (4): LH Ty Blach, RH Johnny Cuetro, LH Derek Holland, RH Chris Stratton.

Relievers (8): RH Mark Melancon, LH Tony Watson, RH Sam Dyson, RH Hunter Strickland, LH Josh Osich,  RH Cory Gearrin, RH Johnson, RH Gomez.

Catchers (2): Buster Posey, Nick Hundley.

Infielders (6): Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria, Pablo Sandoval, Kelby Tomlinson.

Outfielders (5): Andrew McCutchen, Austin Jackson, Hunter Pence, Gregor Blanco, Gorkys Hernandez.

Disabled list (4): Bumgarner, Samardzija, Will Smith, Julian Fernandez.

The one question is Melancon, who remains uncertain for the opener.

Actually, there are two questions. The other question is which player will be dropped from the 40-man roster to make room for Blanco.

So who are these rookie pitchers?

Pierce Johnson, a 26-year-old righthander, is a former first-round pick (43^rd overall pick) of the Chicago Cubs in 2012. He spent six seasons in the minors, most of them as a starter and most of them with good numbers. But his last two, at the Triple-A level, were less impressive. He was 4-6 with a 6.14 ERA in 22 games and 11 starts in 2016. He was 3-2 with a 4.31 ERA in 43 games (42 relief outings) in 2017. He spent three days in the majors with the Cubs last May, making one appearance and giving up two unearned runs in one inning. He was designated for assignment in September and claimed off waivers by the Giants.

He had a strong spring, pitching seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit and three walks with nine strikeouts. But he was also among one the Giants’ first cuts from big-league camp back on March 13 and was set to open the season at Double-A Richmond before getting his Opening Day assignment.

Roberto Gomez is a 6-foot-6, 28-year-old righthander. He was signed by the Rays out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. He pitched five seasons in the Rays system, mostly as a starter, before getting injured and released by the Rays in 2014. Injury kept him sidelined in 2015-16. He was signed by the Giants in November 2016.

He was 3-9 with 4.07 ERA in 38 games, 13 starts, for Triple-A Sacramento last season before getting called up by the Giants in September. He gave up five earned runs in 5.1 innings in four outings for the Giants.

Gomez was part of the second round of cuts by the Giants after giving up eight runs (three earned) in 8.1 innings this spring. He had 13 strikeouts. Like Johnson, Gomez was set to start the season at Double-A Richmond.

Both pitchers made the final 25 in part that both can pitch a couple of innings at a time. The Giants don’t have a true long man in the bullpen, so these two provide some of that given the Giants are opening the season with four starters and 12 total relievers.

That’s it. The Giants simply should sign a closer on the free agent market.

It does not end well.

Develop them from within the organization, trade for them. Just don’t sign them as free agents.

The Giants developed Rod Beck (1992-1997), they traded for Robb Nen (1998-2002), promoted Tim Worrell (2003) and Matt Herges (2004) from within the organization.

Then they signed Armando Benitez for the 2005 season. He was a disaster.

They promoted Brian Wilson (2008-2011), Sergio Romo (2012-13) and Santiago Casilla (2014-2016) from within the organization and won three world titles.

But after they finished 2016 with everybody as the closer (and no one doing the job well, they went back to the free-agent market and signed Mark Melancon before the 2017 season. And it appears once again that it will be a disaster.

In the first year of his four-year contract, Melancon had a 4.50 ERA with only 11 saves in 16 chances mixed in with two stints on the DL before his season ended in September with an unusual surgery to relieve compression in his forearm.

And that’s not even the worst part of it. It’s what the doctors found during the surgery.

I’ll let Melancon tell it, as he told it to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“Well,” Melancon said, “my pronator muscle was basically getting pinched off or squeezed off where there was a lack of blood flow and oxygen getting to the muscle. And in turn, it was dying.

“When they went in there, that muscle had turned gray. It wasn’t completely dead but over time, it was dying. The doctor was shocked when he saw the grayness. His hope is that it turns back to the normal reddish color.

“He doesn’t know how long it’ll take. He’s optimistic about it. (Surgery was) to decompress and cut that fascia and allow that muscle to expose itself and have more oxygen and blood flow.”

That’s right. Dying muscle tissue. Gray muscle tissue. Doctor shocked. A hope that “it turns back to the normal reddish color.”

When I read that earlier this spring, I was like “Oh my God. That’s not good.”

Melancon had a quiet Spring Training as he worked himself by into shape. He was 5.79 ERA (he gave up three earned runs in just 4.2 innings).

So when we found out Tuesday that Melancon might not be ready to open the season and that he’s felt “mild discomfort” in his forearm since midway through Spring Training, there is significant reason for alarm.

The Giants were trying to play it down on Tuesday. General manager Bobby Evans said Melancon did not suffer a physical setback, and that the Giants are playing it safe with their closer. “Obviously, he’s post-surgery, so I think they’ll continue to make sure he’s in good shape.”

They are making it sound like Melancon hasn’t pitched since Friday so that if he’s not ready to start the season, they can backdate his DL stint and perhaps only miss the Dodgers series to open the season.

The Giants said Melancon played catch Tuesday and will repeat the exercise Wednesday to see where he’s at.

“We’re hoping he’s all good to go Thursday,” manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday. “We don’t know at this point right now if that will be the case.”

So he’s going to go from playing catch to being ready to take the mound in a game on Thursday?

Seems highly unlikely to me.

Again … dying muscle … gray muscle …. hope it turns reddish again.

Anyway, the Melancon news, along with the news that flamethrowing reliever and Rule 5 player Julian Fernandez will open the season with a sprained elbow ligament is just the news you want to hear to open the season, to go along with the news that Madison Bumgarner might not be ready until June and Jeff Samardzija will miss the first three or four weeks of the season.

The news is also the reason the Giants have not set their Opening Day 25-man roster. And they may not until the deadline early Thursday morning.

Every team opens the season at 0-0. And it already feels like the Giants are 10 games back.

Madison Bumgarner is not going to become the first San Francisco Giants pitcher to make five consecutive Opening Day starts since Juan Marichal started seven in a row from 1964-1969.

We knew that on Friday after Bumgarner suffered a broken pinky after taking a line drive off the hand.

On Sunday, we formerly found out who will be on the mound Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

It’s Ty Blach.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy called the decision “the simplest solution” by slotting Blach in Bumgarner’s spot while keeping Johnny Cueto, Derek Holland and Chris Stratton in their positions to start the Bay Bridge Series.

And here’s why that’s not the most horrible idea in the world.

Blach has an excellent track record against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 36.1 innings pitched, Blach has a 2.23 ERA against the boys in blue.

In four starts against the Dodgers, the numbers get even better: 1.67 ERA.

Some state geeks will scream “Small Sample Size,” and they wouldn’t be wrong.

But in Blach’s brief big-league career, he has not faced a team more than the 36.1 innings he’s pitched against the Dodgers. And the 2.23 ERA is the lowest for Blach against any team he’s faced in more than one outing.

Still, those aren’t the numbers some Giants fans think of when they think of Blach.

The numbers they remember are Blach’s 8-12 record in 2017 with a rather unimpressive 4.78 ERA.

In early August last season, Blach was 8-7 with a 4.15 ERA. But then he went through a five-start stretch that all resulted in losses and sent Blach to the bullpen for most of September.

Blach’s numbers during Spring Training were solid — a 3.63 ERA in five starts with 15 strikeouts in 17.1 innings and just one walk.

Even so, it looked like Blach might be relegated to bullpen duty to start the season before Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija got hurt.

Now, he’ll start Opening Day against Clayton Kershaw.

It’s a daunting task, but Blach has been up to the challenge before.

Blach beat Kershaw in a season-saving win on Oct. 1, 2016. He even went 2 for 3 off the Dodgers lefty.

Oh look at that. The sun DID come up on Saturday. They said it would.

It’s hard not to imagine San Francisco Giants walking under a perpetual cloud of gloom after a bad, bad couple of days to end Spring Training.

The Giants returned to the Bay Area for final preparations for the next Thursday’s season opener knowing they won’t have two of the top three starting pitchers on the active roster at the beginning of the year.

Jeff Samardzija will miss at least the first three weeks of the season with a strained pectoral muscle. Things got a whole lot worse on Friday, when Madison Bumgarner suffered a broken pinky finger on his pitching hand after getting tagged with a comebacker.

The outlook isn’t good for Bumgarner. He’ll have a pin placed in his hand this weekend, a pin he hopes can be removed in four to six weeks. Think May 1. And then he can start throwing again.

How long it takes for Bumgarner to get back to being game ready will determine how long he’s out, but right now the Giants have to be prepared for going the first two months of the season without their best pitcher.

Not exactly the way you hoped to start a season after coming off your worst season in three decades.

“Obviously, we know what he means to us …” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Unfortunately, you’ve got to deal with these things. But this one certainly was a downer today because we were all getting ready to go to San Francisco and now we’ve got to make some adjustments.”

So, now what?

The Giants started this week thinking their rotation would be Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Samardzija, plus the best two out of a trio of Chris Stratton, Derek Holland and Ty Blach, with the third starting the season in the bullpen.

Then Samardzija got hurt, and it looked like it would Bumgarner, Cueto, Stratton and Holland, which Blach as the swing guy early as the Giants don’t need a No. 5 starter until April 10.

Now the Giants are looking at Cueto, Stratton, Holland, Blach and SOMEBODY in the No. 5 spot, when needed. Bochy said the team likely will look from within, which means Tyler Beede or Andrew Suarez, both of whom were slated to start the season at Triple-A.

It also means the Giants almost certainly will open the season with 13 pitchers. That means they’ll have to choose one out of three reserve outfield candidates – Gregor Blanco, Steven Duggar or Gorkys Hernandez. Jarrett Parker was informed Friday he would be put on waivers.

For a team that many thought would need everything to go right to be a playoff contender against after a 64-98 campaign last season, the Giants are definitely getting off to a wrong start.

The goal now is to keep their heads above water until Bumgarner returns. If the team is anywhere near .500 on Memorial Day, Giants fans would have to feel ecstatic.

But even that might hide the bigger impact of losing Bumgarner and Samardzija so early in the season.

The Giants’ bullpen had enjoyed a very strong spring, and was a source of optimism for a club in an area that has been a sore spot in recent seasons.

The Giants lost two pitchers they could depend on giving six or seven innings most every outing and replacing them with pitchers they HOPE can give them six good innings.

That is going to put a heavier burden on the bullpen, the result of which might not be completely felt until the second half of the season.

In the meantime, the Giants will be asking back-of-the-rotation pitchers to step up, the bullpen to take on a bigger role and, of course, the offense to produce.

It’s a lot to ask.

Every year, we reach a point in Spring Training when you just want to say “Can Spring Training be over before something bad happens?”

Too late.

Word broke Thursday afternoon that Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija had an MRI on his shoulder, and the Giants were awaiting results.

But it can’t be good that the Giants’ No. 3 starting pitcher is getting an MRI this late in Spring Training.

UPDATE: Results of Samardzija’s MRI came in late Thursday, and they weren’t so bad — a strained pectoral muscle. Samardzija will rest of a week, and “crank it back up” as Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Given that timeline, the righty could be back with the Giants by the latter half of April if all goes well.

The announcement of the MRI came one day after Samardzija looked very good for three innings against the Cubs’ Triple-A lineup, and then gave up two home runs in an inning, a common occurrence all spring for the big right-hander.

Apparently on Thursday, the Giants had a heart-to-heart with Samardzija and he admitted pain in his shoulder.

“I think he’s been dealing with it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Thursday. “He hasn’t said anything. That’s who he is. He kept pitching with it.”

But the results, and some lost velocity on his fastball, tipped the Giants that something was amiss.

Now we wait on word of the depth of what is ailing Samardzija, and how long it will keep him sidelined.

But it’s all but certain with the season set to open in a week that Samardzija will start the season on the DL.

While there are some outside options, Bochy said Thursday the team is likely to fill the void from within. It make sense, since Derek Holland, Chris Stratton and Ty Blach had been battling for the remaining two spots in the rotation.

Now all three figure to secure spots in the rotation. However, the Giants had been considering the option of keeping the loser of the rotation battle to head to the bullpen to provide long relief. If all three are in the rotation, it may lead the Giants to carry 13 pitchers to open the season.

That would come at the expense of keeping five outfielders. That could be bad news for the likes of Gorkys Hernandez and Jarrett Parker, both of whom were fighting for a job as a reserve outfielder.

With a couple of scheduled off-days early in the season, the Giants won’t need a No. 5 starter until April 10. So the Giants could open with a four-man rotation, which would buy them almost two weeks before needing to make a decision about 12 or 13 pitchers on the roster.

The Giants are also debating keeping Rule 5 flamethrower Julian Fernandez, who would have to be returned to the Rockies if he doesn’t make the Giants’ 25-man roster.

If the Giants go with the four-man rotation at the start of the season, they could keep Fernandez in the pen and still keep five reserve position players. But Bochy may still want to bolster the pen with another arm.

That’s the decision the staff has to make, and the fact Bochy will have Brandon Belt start in left field for the Giants’ Cactus League finale on Friday hints that it’s something they are seriously considering.

The San Francisco Giants shaved down their spring training roster to 31 players, six away from the final cut of 25 for Opening Day, which now looms just 10 days away.

With one of the 31 players being reliever Will Smith, who will open the season on the disabled list, the number of players the Giants will actually have to cut is five.

The players optioned to the minors on Monday were pitchers Tyler Beede, Derek Law, Roberto Gomez and outfielders Austin Slater and Mac Williamson.

Players reassigned to minor-league camp were pitchers  Andrew Suarez, Joan Gregorio, Jose Valdez, catchers Justin O’Conner, Trevor Brown and Hector Sanchez, infielders Orlando Calixte, Chase d’Arnaud, and Kyle Jensen and outfielder Chris Shaw.

That leaves the following players still in camp. And we’ve included * next to players who are a lock to make the final 25 (16 players), plus other players’ roster status.

LHP Ty Blach

LHP Madison Bumgarner*

RHP Johnny Cueto*

RHP Sam Dyson*

RHP Julian Fernandez (Rule 5 player)

RHP Cory Gearrin  (out of options)

RHP Mark Melancon*

LHP Josh Osich

RHP Jeff Samardzija*

LHP Will Smith (DL)

RHP Chris Stratton

RHP Hunter Strickland (out of options)

LHP Tony Watson*

LHP Derek Holland (not on 40-man)

C Buster Posey*

C Nick Hundley*

IF Brandon Belt*

IF Brandon Crawford*

IF Evan Longoria*

IF Joe Panik*

IF Pablo Sandoval*

IF Kelby Tomlinson

IF Josh Rutledge (not on 40-man)

IF Andres Blanco (not on 40-man)

OF Gorkys Hernandez (out of options)

OF Austin Jackson*

OF Andrew McCutchen*

OF Jarrett Parker (out of options)

OF Hunter Pence*

OF Gregor Blanco (not on 40-man)

OF Steven Duggar (not on 40-man)

 

Here are the key areas where the Giants need to make a decision soon.

STARTING PITCHERS: There are two spots in the rotation open, and they will be filled by Stratton, Blach or Holland. It’s possible that if the loser in this battle will open the season in the pen. In fact, with the Giants not needing a No. 5 starter until April 10, it’s possible two could open the season in the pen.

FINAL BULLPEN SPOT: With Smith headed to the DL, the Giants are left with 13 pitchers in camp. In past seasons the Giants have opened the campaign with 13 pitchers on the roster. But again, given the early days off in the schedule and other tough decisions in the roster elsewhere, it seems likely that the Giants would go with 12. So loses out? Lefty Josh Osich has options left, but he’s been lights-out this spring. So it seems unlikely he gets sent to Sacramento. Has Holland shown the Giants enough to keep him, either in the pen or as a lefty reliever? Are the Giants still intrigued with flame-thrower Jose Fernandez? Fernandez has been lit up this spring (11 earned runs in 5.1 innings), but as a Rule 5 player, he would need to be sent back to Colorado if he doesn’t make the Opening Day 25.

INFIELDERS: Monday’s moves make it a pretty good bet that Kelby Tomlinson has made the club. While non-roster players Andres Blanco and Jeff Rutledge remain in camp, none has handled shortstop duties as much as Tomlinson this spring.

OUTFIELDERS: There are two jobs open and four in contention: Gorkys Hernandez, Gregor Blanco, Steven Duggar and Jarrett Parker. The deal Blanco signed in January is a minor-league one, so he could in theory be sent to Sacramento. So can Duggar. Hernandez and Parker are out of options, so they would need to clear waivers before heading to Sacramento. Duggar has played a stellar center field this spring while his bat has cooled after a hot start (he’s hitting .270). Hernandez’s bat has picked up this spring. He’s hitting .278. But the chances of the 30-year-old clearing waivers are actually fairly decent. The same cannot be said for Parker, whose power potential would be intriguing to other clubs. He’s struggled this spring, hitting .222 with 20 strikeouts in 43 plate appearances. Blanco has outshined others at the plate, hitting .348 with .429 OBP.

Our call

Barring injuries in the final, here’s how we see things shaking out.

The Giants send Fernandez back to Colorado; Holland makes Final 25, filling Hernandez’s spot on the 40-man. Stratton and Holland fill out back end of rotation, Blach goes to pen, much like he did last year.

Tomlinson makes the club over Rutledge and Andres Blanco.

The Giants keep Blanco and Parker; Duggar is sent to Sacramento, and Gorkys goes through waivers.

The Giants announced their first set of spring training cuts, sending 13 players to Minor League camp.

The most significant cut was left-handed reliever Steven Okert, who appeared in 44 games last season.

But with minor-league options remaining, it was an easy decision, leaving Josh Osich and veteran Derek Holland battling for a spot as a left-handed reliever.

So let’s take a look at the remaining 47 players in Big League camp as the battle for the final 25 roster spots intensifies in the next two-plus weeks.

CATCHERS (2 like to make final 25)

Locks: Buster Posey, Nick Hundley.

Also in camp: Trevor Brown, Hector Sanchez, Justin O’Conner.

This one is pretty clear cut. Posey and Hundley were going to make the big club. The only question is whether the Giants wanted to go with three catches, which seems highly unlikely. Brown, Sanchez and O’Conner will head to minors.

INFIELDERS (6)

Locks: Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria.

Front-runners: Pablo Sandoval, Kelby Tomlinson.

Also in camp: Andres Blanco, Orlando Calixte, Chase d’Arnaud, Kyle Jensen, Josh Rutledge.

It looks like Sandoval will make the team as a backup corner infielder, which leaves the Giants to look for a middle infield reserve. Tomlinson looks good to fill that role, although Chase d’Arnaud is having a solid spring.

OUTFIELDERS (5)

Locks: Hunter Pence, Austin Jackson, Andrew McCutchen.

In the mix: Jarrett Parker, Gregor Blanco, Mac Williamson, Gorkys Hernandez, Steven Duggar.

Also in camp: Chris Shaw, Austin Slater.

This is the roster battle that is most interesting. When the Giants signed Austin Jackson, it was done with the idea that Jackson would be the utility outfielder, filling in at all three outfield positions and getting starts in center against lefties. That means the Giants are looking for a center fielder who can start against righties. Blanco and Duggar seem like front runners for that over the right-handed Hernandez. If the Giants settle on Blanco, sending Duggar to minors, it would come as Hernandez’s spot on the 40-man roster. For the fifth outfield spot, Parker is the front-runner, as he is out of options. But Williamson has been making noise with his revamped swing. But Williamson has one option year left.

STARTING PITCHERS (5)

Locks: Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija.

Front-runners: Chris Stratton, Ty Blach.

In the mix: Tyler Beede, Andrew Suarez and Derek Holland.

Beede and Suarez have a couple of weeks to challenge for spot in the rotation. But Stratton and Blach have been solid this spring, while Beede and Suarez have struggled. Holland is looking for a job as a starter or a left-handed reliever.

RELIEVERS (7)

Locks: Mark Melancon, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson, Derek Law, Hunter Strickland.

In the mix: Cory Gearrin, Josh Osich, Derek Holland.

On the DL: Will Smith.

Also in camp: Manny Parra, Jose Valdez, Roberto Gomez, Julian Fernandez.

With two spots open in the pen, one almost certainly will go to a leftie, as Watson is the lone lefty lock. That means Osich or Holland, at least until Will Smith is set to return. The Giants are targeting a May 1 return date for Smith. Gearrin looks like a good bet to claim other pen spot. The other factor is whether or not the Giants will start with 12 or 13 pitches on the 25-man roster. In past seasons, they have gone with 13 to open the season. But with four days off scheduled in April and no games in Colorado (which can drain a bullpen), and the fact the Giants have some tough outfield decisions, I expect them to go with 12 pitchers. But I’ve been wrong before.

Well, it’s March. Opening Day of 2018 is less than a month away.

I guess it’s time MoreSplashHits wake from its blogging hibernation.

The 2017 season was possibly the most difficult for Giants fans in three decades, maybe longer when considering that most started 2017 with hopes of competing for a postseason berth. That was not the case in 1985.

Everything went haywire in 2017. EVERYTHING.

But as they say, hope springs eternal. So this spring, here is to hope that 2018 will find the Giants once again contending.

In order for that to happen, the Giants will need something they didn’t get in 2017, a surprising contribution from someone within their own organization.

That remains the case in spite of the addition of veterans Andrew McCutcheon (in a trade with the Pirates), Evan Longoria (in a trade with the Rays), Tony Watson (signed as free agent from Dodgers), Austin Jackson (signed as free agent from Indians).

And the prime candidate to make that internal contribution is center fielder Steven Duggar.

When the Giants added Jackson, it first appeared as if the Giants had their starting outfielder – Hunter Pence in left, McCutcheon in right and Jackson in center.

But then Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he planned to use Jackson in a versatile outfield role – starting some in center while provide respite for Pence in left and McCutcheon in right.

Jackson coming off a 2017 season that saw hit a career-high 318. But that was in a platoon role with the Indians. Jackson raked left-handed pitching, not so much against righties.

So it would appear the Giants will be looking for a left-handed batting centerfielder to split time with Jackson.

That leaves two leading candidates in camp this spring – Duggar and veteran Gregor Blanco, who re-signed with the Giants (although to a minor-league candidate) after spending 2017 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

So who is Steven Duggar, and what are his chances of making the Giants’ opening day roster?

Let’s explore.

Duggar is a 24-year-old rookie who was a sixth-round selection in the 2015 draft out of Clemson.  Here’s what scouts were saying about him in a pre-draft report.

“Though Duggar had arguably the best all-around tools in the Cape Cod League last summer, he never really has lived up to them in three years at Clemson. A team that believes he can fulfill his untapped potential at the plate could draft him as high as the second round. Duggar has advanced speed and strength for power and drives the ball in batting practice, but does not do it during games. There’s a lot going on in his left-handed swing, and he’s susceptible to breaking balls. While he does have a knack for drawing walks,  he also gets too passive at the plate and strikes out too often.  A well above average runner, Duggar has the speed to steal bases and cover ground in the outfield. He’s played mostly right field for the Tigers and his strong arm is an asset there, although he’ll probably move to center field as a pro. How much his bat develops will determine whether is future is as an everyday player or an extra outfielder.”

Duggar hit .293 with a .390 on-base percentage in 58 games in short-season A ball in 2015. He hit .302/.388 in 130 games split between High-A San Jose and Double-A Richmond in 2016. Elbow and hip injuries limited him to 44 games in 2017 split mostly between San Jose and Triple-A Sacramento.

In 900 minor-league at-bats, he’s hit .292/.384, but he has 223 strikeouts in 232 games, a high rate for a hitter who does not hit for great power.

But it was his performance in the Arizona Fall League that made the Giants rethink their approach to center field in 2018. Duggar received a non-roster invite this spring

And, so far, Duggar has made the most of his spring invite, hitting 3 home runs and batting .350/.409 in 20 spring at-bats.

If we’ve learned anything about spring stats over the years, it’s that we should pay too much attention to them.

Don’t believe us? We offer you two words then — Chris … Marrero. As you may recall, Marrero had the hot spring last year, earning a spot on the Opening Day roster as a right-hand power bat off the ranch.

But Marrero spent more time striking out than anything else, batting .132 in 38 at-bats before being cast off.

So spring stats aren’t worth getting excited about, especially spring stats so early in the spring.

The smart money is the Giants turning to Blanco as a safe move. For what it’s worth, Blanco is hitting .538/.611 in 13 spring at-bats this spring.

It’s safer to turn to Blanco, send Duggar to Sacramento and require the rookie to do something to require the Giants to change their minds.

But it all makes for something to watch over these final three weeks of March.

So as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches just two weeks away and the Giants are 180 games out of first place (which is amazing considering the season is just 162 games long), I thought it might be time to break out of my blogging slump to ask a lingering a question.

The Giants are clearly out of the postseason running (even Vegas oddsmakers have removed them from their books for winning the World Series), which puts the team in a very unfamiliar situation of being sellers at the trade deadline.

Johnny Cueto, Eduardo Nunez, Hunter Strickland and Jeff Samardzija have all be rumored to be on teams’ radar list as potential trade commodities.

So the big question this July is what will the Giants do at the deadline? And fans have been wondering when was the last time they made a deadline deal in which the Giants could be considered sellers.

In short, it hasn’t happened that often, which makes this question hard to answer.

First, you have to understand the history of the non-waiver baseball trade deadline.

This is largely a product of the labor agreement that ended the 1994-1995 work stoppage.

That is evidenced by the fact that after the 1987 trade that brought Dave Dravecky, Craig Lefferts and Kevin Mitchell to the Giants, the team did not make a July trade of any kind until 1995.

Since 1995, the Giants have only made three July trades that can be catorgized as seller trades.

And that’s largely because since 1995, the Giants have been mostly competitive, posting winning records in 15 of 22 seasons since then.

But even in those seven losing seasons since 1995, the Giants have only chosen to make seller deals three times.

The first was in 1995, when the Giants sent pitchers Mark Portgual and Dave Burba and outfielder Darren Lewis to the Reds for five players, largely minor-league prospects — none the amounted to much.

The Giants stayed away from being sellers for another 12 years, when in 2007, they sent pitcher Matt Morris to the Pirates for outfielder Rajai Davis and pitcher Steve MacFarland. MacFarland didn’t amount to much, but Davis has had a solid career. Unfortunately, not for the Giants, as they put him on waivers the following spring.

The last seller trade by the Giants came in 2008, when they dealt second baseman Ray Durham to the Brewers for pitcher Steven Hammond and outfielder Darren Ford. Again, neither prospect amounted to much, although Ford made some late contributions in the Giants’ first World Series season in 2010.

So that’s basically it. And that is what makes this July so interesting for Giants fans, because it’s a boat the team has not been in often in the past.

Here is a rundown of July trades of the place two-plus decades.

 

2016

• Acquired IF Eduardo Nunez from Twins for P Adalberto Mejia
• Acquired P Matt Moore from Rays for IF Matt Duffy, IF Lucius Fox, P Michael Santos
• Acquired P Will Smith for Brewers for P Phil Bickford and C Andrew Susac

 

2015

• Acquired P Mike Leake from Reds for P Keury and IF Adam Duvall

 

2014

• Acquired P Jake Peavy from Red Sox for P Edwin Escobar and P Heath Hembree

2013

• None

2012

• Acquired IF Marco Scutaro from Rockies for IF Charlie Culberson
• Acquired OF Hunter Pence from Phillies for C Tommy Joseph, P Seth Rosin and OF Nate Schierholtz

2011

• Acquired IF Jeff Keppinger from Astros for P Jason Stoffel and P Henry Sosa
• Acquired OF Carlos Beltran from Mets for P Zach Wheeler
• Acquired IF Orland Cabrera from Indains for OF Thomas Neal

2010

• Acquired P Chris Ray and P Michael Main from Rangers for C Bengie Molina
• Acquired P Javier Lopez from Pirates for OF John Bowker and P Joe Martinez
• Acquired P Ramon Ramirez from Red Sox for P Daniel Turpen

2009

• Acquired IF Ryan Garko from Indians for P Scott Barnes
• Acquired IF Freddy Sanchez from Pirates for P Tim Alderson

2008

• Acquired P Steven Hammond and OF Darren Ford from Brewers for IF Ryan Durham

2007

• Acquired OF Rajai Davis and P Steve MacFarland from Pirates for P Matt Morris

2006

• Acquired P Vinnie Chulk and IF Shea Hillenbrand from Blue Jays for P Jeremy Accardo
• Acquired P Mike Stanton from Nationals for P Shairon Martis

2005

• Acquired OF Randy Winn from Mariners for P Jesse Foppert and C Yorvit Torrealba

2004

• Acquired OF Ricky Ledee and P Alfredo Simon from Phillies for P Felix Rodriguez

2003

• Acquired P Matt Herges from Padres for P Clay Hensley
• Acquired P Sidney Ponson from Orioles for P Ryan Hannaman, P Kurt Ainsworth, P Damian Moss

2002

• Acquired OF Kenny Lofton from White Sox for P Ryan Meaux and P Felix Diaz

2001

• Acquired P Brian Boehringer from Yankees for P Joe Smith and C Bobby Estalella
• Acquired IF Andres Galarraga from Rangers for P Todd Ozias, OF Chris Magruder and P Erasmo Ramirez
• Acquired P Wayne Gomes from Phillies for OF Felipe Crespo
• Acquired P Jason Schmidt and OF John Vander Wal from Pirates for OF Armando Rios and P Ryan Vogelsong
• Acquired P Jason Christiansen from Cardinals for P Kevin Joseph

2000

• Acquired P Doug Henry from Astros for P Scott Linebrink

1999

• Acquired P Livan Hernandez from Marlins for P Nate Bump and P Jason Grilli

1998

• Acquired OF Joe Carter from Orioles for P Darin Blood
• Acquired IF Shawon Dunston, P Jose Mesa and P Alvin Morman from Indians for OF Jacob Cruz and P Steve Reed
• Acquired OF Ellis Burks from Rockies for OF Darryl Hamilton, P Jim Stoops and P Jason Brester

1997

• Acquired C Brian Johnson from Tigers for C Marcus Jensen
• Acquired P Pat Rapp from Marlins fro P Brandon Leese and P Bobby Rector
• Acquired P Cory Bailey from Rangers for P Chad Hartvigson
• Acquired P Wilson Alvarez, P Danny Darwin and P Roberto Hernandez from White Sox for OF Brian Manning, P Lorenzo Barcelo, IF Mike Caruso, P Keith Foulke, P Bob Howry and P Ken Vining

1996

• Acquired P Jim Poole from Indians for OF Mark Carreon
• Acquired C Rick Wilkins from Astros for C Kirt Manwaring
• Acquired P Kirk Reuter and P Tim Scott from Expos for P Mark Leiter

1995

• Acquired OF Dave McCarty, P Ricky Pickett, P John Roper, OF Deion Sanders and P Scott Service from Reds for P Dave Burba, OF Darren Lewis and P Mark Portugal
• Acquired P Luis Aquino from Expos for P Lou Pote

Mac is back.

Many San Francisco Giants fans will revel in the news that Mac Williamson has been called up from Triple-A Sacramento. They’ve been calling for that for weeks.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is took Hunter Pence going on the disabled list to get Williamson back to the bigs.

Pence was placed on the 10-day DL on Monday after battling a mild hamstring strain for the past several days.

Pence has not appeared in a game since making a brief appearance in Friday’s 17-inning marathon. That means the DL stint could be backdated to Saturday, meaning he could come off the DL as early as May 23 in Chicago. But given Pence’s battles with hamstring issues in the past, it seems more likely he won’t return until the Giants come home for a Memorial Day weekend series against the Braves on May 26.

Pence becomes the 12th Giants to head to the DL this season, joining Will Smith, Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Aaron Hill, Jarrett Parker, Denard Span, Mark Melancon, Conor Gillaspie, Trevor Brown and Williamson.

Giants fans have been clamoring for the team to recall Williamson from Triple-A Sacramento ever since he was first sent there on April 21 after spening the first three weeks on the DL with a leg injury.

But after a very solid spring, Williamson took a while to find his swing at Triple-A.

On May 7, he was hitting just .208 with a .240 OBP. He had more strikeouts (14) than hits (10) in 50 plate appearances. Yet, Giants fans STILL wanted to call him up.

He then he got hot, collecting hits in his last six games with the RiverCats, including four multi-hits games. He is 10 for 25 (.400) with six strikeouts and four walks in that stretch, moving his average from .208 to .274.

Sunday’s win over Cincinnati nothwithstanding, the Giants have struggled to score runs this season. So they could use a hot bat.

You can expect Williamson to play, particularly with the Dodgers sending lefties on Tuesday and Wednesday.

And a break right now might be the best thing for Hunter Pence. His average had dropped to .243 on the season. He had been hitting .184 over his past 10 games, .207 over the past month, averaging about a strikeout a game.

The San Francisco Giants got their most dramatic win of the season to date – and it might be the most dramatic win at season’s end.

Two dramatic home runs, rallying from a 3-0 deficit after six innings, a walk-off win, against the Dodgers. That will be hard to beat.

The Giants were 5-57 last year when trailing after seven innings. But they won last night.

This season, before last night, the Giants were 0-12 when trailing after six innings, 0-13 when trailing after seven innings.

But that didn’t keep MoreSplashHits from sharing signs of optimism.

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled starter Alex Wood after six scoreless innings and brought in former Giant Sergio Romo, MoreSplashHits tweeted.

Sergio is coming in to protect a 3-run lead.

So you’re saying we have a shot.

— Tim Martinez (@MoreSplashHits) April 27, 2017

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As much as we love Sergio and all he has done for the Giants over the year, the memory of last season was still too fresh.

To make the tweet that much sweeter was what Christian Arroyo did when he stepped up in the seventh with a runner on base.

Apart from being an exciting moment for the rookie – and Giants fans – it was also encouraging to see Arroyo with the long ball.

He had never hit more than nine home runs in any of his previous four minor league seasons. Last year, he hit only three for Double-A Richmond.

But he hit three in Sacramento so far this season, which made us worry that part of his hot Triple-A start was partially inflated by the hitter-friendly PCL and might signal that his hot start might not translate to the majors, particularly for a player hitting in the pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.

But then Arroyo went yard Wednesday.

Then in the eighth inning, with the Dodgers leading 3-2, Michael Morse came up as a pinch-hitter in his first at-bat for the Giants since the 2014 World Series and his first at-bat in the majors since being released by the Pirates in April of last year.

MoreSplashHits tweeted this.

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Michael Morse is pinch-hitting.

Something very familiar about this situation.

— Tim Martinez (@MoreSplashHits) April 27, 2017

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That was referencing one of Morse’s last at-bats at AT&T Park in a Giants uniform, when he came up as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the 2014 NL Championship Series with the Giants trailing the Cardinals 3-2.

Morse would hit a game-tying home run off Pat Neshek.

In that case, it was Morse’s first plate appearance in almost a month as he battled an oblique injury, his first at-bat at AT&T Park in about six weeks.

On Wednesday, it was Morse’s first at-bat at AT&T Park in almost two seasons. And yet, he did this.

That means in Morse’s last four pinch-hitting appearances as a Giant at AT&T Park, he’s gone …

• Home run
• Walk
• Single
• Home run

Hmmmm, maybe we should tweet that.

 

Recently, San Francisco Giants Bobby Evans spoke about the possibility of bringing up prospect Christian Arroyo.

“I’m not saying that Arroyo is not ready. I’m not going in that direction,” Evans told reporters. “I’m just saying you want him to push you to make that decision. What he’s done so far is a great beginning to that, but we’re only two weeks in.”

That was just five days ago.

On Monday, the Giants called up Arroyo to the big league and put him in the starting lineup at third base against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’ll wear No. 22.

So what happened between then and now?

Well, Madison Bumgarner fell off a dirt bike in Denver and the Giants were swept by the Rockies, falling to 6-13, their worst 19-game start since moving to San Francisco.

Oh, and Arroyo kept on hitting in Sacramento, including going 4-for-6 on Sunday.

This decision by the Giants really boils down to one number: 13.

In their past seven games, that’s the total number of runs the Giants have scored.

It is also the total number of hits Arroyo has collected in his past seven games with the RiverCats.

With Brandon Crawford expected to leave the team on a bereavement leave for his sister-in-law’s funeral later this week, the timing made sense to call on Arroyo.

The Giants actually made two moves on Monday, also calling up outfielder Drew Stubbs. Stubbs also was in Monday’s starting lineup, batting eighth and playing center field.

Chris Marrero was designated for assignment, and Aaron Hill was placed on the disabled list with a forearm strain.

Why was Marrero and his .132 average DFA’d instead of Gorkys Hernandez and his .108 average? Well, Gorkys can play defense, and his bat has shown a little bit more life recently (which is not saying much, I know).

It also means Denard Span’s shoulder injury must not be that severe. The Giants will continue with a four-player bench. Monday night it consists of Span, Hernandez, Conor Gillaspie and Nick Hundley. Not a lot of pop there.

So what can expect from Arroyo, the first 21-year-old position player to be called up by the Giants since Hector Sanchez in 2011?

Well, his game is a lot like that of Joe Panik or Matt Duffy.

Although Arroyo has three home runs already for the RiverCats, he only hit three homers all of last season with Double-A Richmond and has never hit more than nine in any of his four professional seasons (that came In 90 games at High-A San Jose in 2014). He’s a put-the-bat-on-the-ball guy, striking out once every 6.7 plate appearances as a pro.

By comparsion, Marco Scutaro, a prolific bat-on-ball guy, struck once every 9.6 PAs in his big-league career. Free-swinging Jarrett Parker fans once every 3.04 PAs in his short big-league career.

Arroyo also doesn’t walk much (one walk in every 17.5 PAs).

He turns 22 on May 30, so much of that minor league resume came at age 18, 19, 20 and 21.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy has him hitting sixth between lefties Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik. And he’s playing third base, where the Giants hope he finds a permanent home with them. Eduardo Nunez moves to left field to make room for Arroyo in the starting lineup. Look for Nunez to cover shortstop when Crawford goes on leave.

Arroyo’s arrival also means they will have four of their own first-round draft picks in the lineup Monday

• SP Matt Cain (2002)
• C Buster Posey (2008)
• 2B Joe Panik (2011)
• 3B Christian Arroyo (2013)

Not to mention 2012 top pick Chris Stratton is in the bullpen.

So good luck, Christian Arroyo. We hope you’re here to stay.

You’ve heard of Orange Fridays, right San Francisco Giants fans?

Well, April 21, 2017 was Black Friday for the Giants.

First came news that – actually when I saw the first tweet about this I thought it was a joke, a bad, bad joke – that Madison Bumgarner would be placed on the disabled list with sprained pitching shoulder and bruised ribs sustained in a dirt-bike accident during the Giants off day Thursday in Denver.

Then, on Friday night, when Giants fans needed a glimmer of hope to raise their spirits, the Giants lost in particularly painful fashion to the Colorado Rockies.

It started with the Giants’ team bus backing into a parked car on the way to Coors Field.

First the Giants teased their fans by taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning thanks to contributions from players who hadn’t contributed much of anything over the last week (or three weeks) – Eduardo Nunez, Chris Marrero and Denard Span.

But that all unraveled in the fourth inning when the Rockies became the first National League time in 67 years to hit a grand slam and an inside-the-park home run in the same inning. And just to make matters more painful, in 29 other big-league parks, both home runs likely would have landed in the glove of Hunter Pence.

The first was Trevor Story’s grand slam to right, which off the bat looked like a routine fly ball to right. But it kept carrying to the short porch to right – a lot like Miguel Cabrera’s home run in the 2012 World Series – for a grand slam. It was the first grand slam that Johnny Cueto has allowed in his career.

Later in the inning, Charlie Blackmon hit a line to Pence in right. Pence, fighting the lights the entire way, slipped on the soggy turf and the ball shot past him for a two-run inside-the-parker. To make matters even more fun, Pence said his knee was “a little twisted” on the play. Pence was out of the lineup Saturday.

But the fun didn’t end there. The Giants were in position to tie the game in the eighth with two on and nobody out. Bruce Bochy pulled back Conor Gillaspie as the pinch hitter and sent up Gorkys Hernandez with his .067 batting average (0-for-23 since the 2^nd day of the season) to bunt.

Hernandez took two balls, tried to take a third but couldn’t get out of the way and the high-and-tight pitch went off his bat for a foul ball. Then with a 2-1 count, he TOOK a strike instead of bunting, then flied to right. The Giants didn’t score.

And it does not stop there. Melvin Upton Jr., signed to a minor-league deal to add depth to the Giants’ suffering outfield, was hit on the hand with a pitch at extended spring training. He’ll be out eight weeks after having surgery.

Ugh.

It all left Giants fans asking one question: Now what?

And by “now what” they meant what will the Giants do without their best pitcher for two months.

Two months. That’s estimated time Bumgarner will be out, according to a couple of national baseball writers.

But Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says such estimates are pure projections until Bumgarner is seen by the team doctor. That won’t happen until next week.

In the short term, the Giants called up Chris Stratton from Triple-A Sacramento fill Bumgarner’s spot on the roster. Stratton will be used in relief, likely just long relief as he has been starting for the RiverCats.

Ty Blach will take Bumgarner’s spot in the rotation on Tuesday against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.

For anyone looking for a ray of sunshine, the last time Blach and Kershaw went head-to-head on Oct. 1 of last season, Blach held the Dodgers to no runs on three hits over eight innings as the Giants won 3-0.

Blach has been pitching out of the bullpen this season, allowing three runs (all earned) on two hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. However, three runs, two hits and two walks came in one outing in Arizona. Take that out,and Blach has thrown 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk.

But replacing Bumgarner isn’t about replacing him strikeout for strikeout, earned run for earned run.

It’s about giving the Giants the chance to win.

As I mentioned, tongue in cheek, in a tweet: “Just remember that without Bumgarner, the Giants would be 6-10 right now.”

That’s because that Giants are 0-4 in Bumgarner starts this season — not that any of that was Bumgarner’s fault.

But last season, the Giants were 20-14 in Bumgarner’s start, which is on par for most seasons. They were 19-13 in his starts in 2015 and 2012, 20-13 in 2014 and 11-7 in 2010.

So 20-14 is a .588 winning percentage. Now if Bumgarner misses two months, that would be about 12 starts.

To maintain a .588 winning percentage over those 12 starts, the Giants would need to 7-5 in the starts that Blach (or potentially Tyler Beede) makes during Bumgarner’s turn in the rotation.

That doesn’t seem unattainable.

Baseball is a team sport. And when one players goes down, it’s up to the team to pick up the slack.

If the Giants could stay in the playoff hunt well into September without Buster Posey in 2011, they could certainly stay in the mix until late June without Bumgarner.

But they need contributions from up and down the roster. That includes the five players who were projected to make up the Giants’ bench when the season started – Nick Hundley, Aaron Hill, Conor Gillaspie, Chris Marrero and Gorkys Hernandez.

Right now, only Hundley (.257) is holding up his end of the bargain. The other four have combined to hit .126.

The San Francisco Giants are back in Kansas City, seeking some good karma.

And the last time the Giants were in K.C., there was a lot of good feelings, plus technology and stuff.

The Giants make their first appearance at Kaufman Stadium since beating the Royals in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series with a historic performance from Madison Bumgarner.

But that was 2.5 years ago, and things are not going so well for the Giants now.

They are 5-9, in last place in the NL West, their starting left fielder is out more than two months with a broken collarbone, their best player hasn’t been in the lineup in more than a week, they haven’t won a game this year started by their ace Bumgarner, and now their manager is out after having a procedure performed on his heart.

Bruce Bochy will miss the series in Kansas City after having a minor heart procedure (yeah, we say “minor” because it wasn’t our heart that the procedure was being performed on) to alleviate some discomfort he was experiencing due to an atrial flutter. He will rest at home for a couple of days before rejoining the club Friday in Colorado.

Ron Wotus will assume managerial duties in Kansas City. And if you’re looking for a good sign through all this gloom, Wotus has a good record as Giants skipper. Last season, when Bochy was admitted to a Miami hospital for an undisclosed illness, Wotus took over the reins and led the Giants to an 8-7 win over the Marlins in 14 innings during which Brandon Crawford became the first MLB player in 41 years to get seven hits in a game.

And if you want more good news, Buster Posey is back.

Posey was activated off the 7-day concussion disabled list and will bat fourth in the lineup vs. the Royals as the designated hitter. Posey said he was unsure if he would catch Bumgarner on Wednesday or not. It’s probably a wait-and-see thing.

The Giants didn’t announce a corresponding move to make room for Buster on the 25-man roster. But we can assume that Tim Federowicz will be designated for assignment. The Giants hope he clears waivers and will return to Sacramento for added depth.

Before Wednesday’s game with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was noncommittal about the prospect of skipping Matt Cain’s spot in the rotation next week when the Giants have off days around a two-game series in Kansas City.
But the Giants beat writers seemed pretty certain that they would.

Bochy non-committal about skipping Cain next time, but regardless of how he pitches tonight, it’s a pretty obvious move.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 12, 2017

 

Giants still considering skipping fifth starter next week (I think they will). Would give Bumgarner two starts on road trip.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) April 12, 2017

 

Has anyone told #royals fans the first pitcher they’re probably going to see in #SFGiants series Tuesday is probably the last one they saw? https://t.co/xsT24BJ66F

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) April 13, 2017

But I was less certain.

#SFGiants beat writers seem convinced No. 5 spot in rotation to be skipped next week as “obvious move”.

Also seems like un-Bochy-like move

— Tim Martinez (@MoreSplashHits) April 13, 2017

In fact, I wasn’t even so sure that if Wednesday’s game had been rained out – it was a soggy, windy night – that Bochy would not have skipped Cain and started Madison Bumgarner on his normal rest on Thursday.

But the game was played and afterwards Bochy was unequivocal – Cain will start next Tuesday in Kansas City after giving up one run on five hits and three walks over five-plus innings of work.

“I think you have to (change your thinking), the way he threw the ball,” Bochy said. “His command, he had four pitches going tonight, he had a good curveball along with the changeup and the fastball command. If you look at his last few games, here he gives up a run but he just bowed his neck and went out there and pitched very well. He found a way to get it done.

“I thought that was just a huge outing for him and a good one to build on.”

In his report for the San Jose Mercury News, Andrew Baggarly hit the nail on the head when he wrote “When a manager has a predilection for loyalty, he doesn’t need to see much to be convinced.”

Bochy said of Cain: “Well, I think it’s something he’s earned. You look at what he’s done for us. We’ve got some championships because of this guy. Some guys earn certain things.

“I go back to Barry Zito. He had his ups and downs, but we stayed with him, and he helped us win a World Series (in 2012), with those starts at St. Louis and then against Detroit. I feel the same about Matty. I think we all do. He’s well-liked. He’s a Giant. He’s a big part of our success. He deserves a longer look.”

But it’s more than loyalty. Yes, Bochy has struck with struggling veteran pitchers with a long track record with the club like Cain, Zito and Barry Zito. But in the past, he has also chosen not to skip the No. 5 spot in the rotation regardless of who is pitching in that spot. He just doesn’t like to do it.

But in this particular case, it seems to make good sense, even before Cain’s solid effort on Wednesday.

By staying on turn and pitching Cain next Tuesday – and again a week from Sunday — it means the Giants will send their top four into the series against the Dodgers – Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Matt Moore and Jeff Samardzija. That includes two lefties against the lefty-vulnerable Dodgers.

Looking even farther into the future, if the Giants stay one turn, they would throw Moore, Samardzija and Cain against the Dodgers on May 1-3 in Los Angeles.

Bochy has said that, while he prefers to keep his pitchers on turn, he would consider inserting lefty Ty Blach into the rotation in certain situations. May 3 in Los Angeles could be such a situation.

But that’s a long way off. And for now, with Cain in the rotation, it allows Blach to remain in the pen as the Giants’ lone lefty.

While Cain, the Giants and Bochy were buoyed by Cain’s start on Wednesday, it’s important to remember that in recent years the key to Cain’s success has been his ability to keep the ball in the yard.

On a cold, wet, windy night, the chances of anyone hitting the ball over a wall were not good. And that helped Cain.

Last season, in starts in which he did not allow a home run (excluding an injury-shortened start in Colorado), Cain was 2-1 with a 2.59 ERA. His lone loss came in a game in which he got “Cained” – the Giants lost 3-0.

So pitching at home helped Cain. But dating back to 2015, Cain has allowed 18 home runs in his last 15 road starts, excluding the injury-shortened start.

Cain’s next two starts come on the road – in Kansas City and (gulp!) Colorado.

We hate to say “we told you so” but we told you so.

Tuesday, the San Francisco Giants placed Buster Posey on the 7-day concussion disabled list and called up Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Sacramento.

To make room for Federowicz on the 40-man roster, pitcher Clayton Blackburn was designated for assignment.

We sort of predicted this move on Monday.

The one surprise in this move is the choice of Clayton Blackburn as the player to be DFAd.

A 16th-round pick out of Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe High School, Blackburn became one the Giants’ top pitching prospects. Prior to the 2013 season, Baseball Prospectus listed him as the 95th best prospect in baseball.

After posting a 10-4 season with a 3.37 ERA with Triple-A Sacramento in 2015, it was thought that Blackburn could see time with the Giants in 2016. That didn’t really materialized, although Blackburn did spend four days with the big club last May, never seeing any game action.

Blackburn went 7-10 with 4.36 ERA for the RiverCats last season.

It’s not unheard of that players DFAd could clear waivers and return to Sacramento. It happened to Chris Heston two seasons ago. He later returned to throw a no-hitter for the Giants.

In the meantime, it will be Hundley as the Giants’ No. 1 catcher with Federowicz the backup for at least the next week.

Here’s another prediction. The best-case scenario for the Giants is for Posey to spend the next week resting up and be ready to return April 18 in Kansas City. Posey could then DH for two games before returning behind the plate on April 21 in Colorado.

The worst-case scenario? Well, with concussions, it’s hard to say.

It was yet another Happy Home Opener for the Giants on Monday. Well mostly happy.

It got a little scary in the first inning when Buster Posey was hit on the top of the head with Taijuan Walker fastball.

The ball hit Posey on the top, back part of the batting helmet. He sat on the ground for a while, adjusting his jaw. Trainer Dave Groeschner talked to Posey for a bit, then escorted the Giants catcher off the field, walking under his own power.

Given the Giants’ experience with concussions – last season Joe Panik had a DL stint after being hit in the head with a pitch from Matt Moore when the lefty was pitching with the Rays – it was not surprising for the Giants to take the cautious approach.

After the Giants’ game – a 4-1 win over over the Diamondbacks – Giants manager said Bruce Bochy said Posey was “doing good, he’s doing fine,” adding that if Posey weren’t a catcher, he might have been OK to stay in the game.

Translation: Given the number of foul tips catchers take off the mask in a normal season, the Giants were taking no chances with a pitch to the noggin.

Bochy said Posey is likely to sit out Tuesday game. And considering that backup Nick Hundley has been catching Matt Cain, Wednesday’s starter, most of the spring, we can expect the Giants to take the very cautious route and give Posey Wednesday off as well.

“It’s a scary moment, dangerous moment,” Bochy said. “It’s one of the worst sounds you can hear in baseball, the ball hitting the helmet. It’s a scary moment. There’s been a lot of damage to hitters hit in the head.”

True, and sometimes that damage is not quickly revealed.

When Panik was plunked in the head by Moore, he bounced right up and headed down to first base, remaining in the game. It wasn’t until eight days later when Panik complained of not being able to track pitches that the Giants placed him on the concussion disabled list. He spent a month on the DL.

So if Posey ends up just missing two-plus games, that would be great. But don’t be surprised if the Giants decide in a day or so  to place Posey on the 7-day concussion DL. That would sideline him through the last six games of his homestand and be ready to return on April 18 for a two-day series at Kansas City.

It would also require someone the Giants clearing a spot on the 40-man roster to clear room for catcher Tim Federowicz, who is currently at Triple-A Sacramento.

We’ll wait and see.

Also we learned that Aaron Hill is next in the line of catchers for the Giants behind Posey and Nick Hundley.

“He just found out today,” Bochy said. “Found out late.”

In the meantime, we’ll celebrate another win in the home opener, making it eight wins of the past nine.

Matt Moore was excellent, limiting the Diamdondbacks on one run on three hits over eight innings. Mark Melancon came on in the ninth to record his second save in two days.

Moore also had the biggest “hit” of the season.

Coming to the plate with the bases loaded and one out, Moore hit a swinging bunt to the right of the mound. Walker fielded the ball and threw wildly to the plate in an effort to get Brandon Crawford trying to score. The wild throw allowed Joe Panik to score. Catcher Jeff Mathis’ errant throw trying to get Panik allowed Jarrett Parker to score all the way from first on a ball that traveled 45 feet.

The play was set up by Parker drawing a walk right before Panik. Parker later added his first hit of the season in the sixth.

The Giants also went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position. But the Giants got the win, and that’s all the matter.

And we’ll just wait and see about Buster.

It’s been eight years since the San Francisco Giants have opened the season at home.

That’s by choice by the Giants. They’d rather play games at home later in the season than earlier, so they are willing to give Opening Day to other clubs.

But it’s worked for the Giants. In the seven home openers since the Giants’ last Opening Day at home, they have won six times — twice in walk-off fashion.

What kind of excitement will the home opener in 2017 bring? Who knows, but let’s take a look at the past seven home openers.

April 7, 2016 – GIANTS 12, DODGERS 6

Jake Peavy made the start as the Dodgers took a 4-0 lead in the fifth before the Giants scored three in the fifth and four in the sixth to rally. Joe Panik and Buster Posey were 3 for 5, and Hunter Pence went deep.

April 13, 2015 – ROCKIES 2, GIANTS 0

After seven games on the road in Arizona and San Diego (sound familiar?), the Giants hoisted their 2014 World Series championship banner. Then they were shut out by Eddie Butler and four relievers as the Giants would lose their first five home games of 2015, part of an eight-game losing streak.

April 8, 2014 – GIANTS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 3

The Giants scored twice in the first inning, Brandon Belt hit a two-run home run — batting in the No. 2 hole — and Tim Hudson won his AT&T Park Giants debut.

April 5, 2013 – GIANTS 1, CARDINALS 0

The Giants raised their 2012 World Series banner, then shut out the Cardinals as Barry Zito re-created his gem from Game 5 on the National League Championship Series from the previous fall.

April 13, 2012 – GIANTS 5, PIRATES 0

The Giants scored twice in the first inning and Matt Cain did the rest, throwing a one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts.

April 8, 2011 – GIANTS 5, CARDINALS 4, 12 inn.

The Giants hoisted their 2010 World Series banner, then pulled out the first of two back-to-back walk-off wins as Aaron Rowand, again, singled home Nate Schierholtz in the bottom of the 11th.

April 9, 2010 — GIANTS 5, BRAVES 4, 13 inn.

Trailing 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Edgar Renteria offered a preview of future heroics with a two-run home run off Braves closer Billy Wagner to tie. In the 13th run, Aaron Rowand singled home Juan Uribe with two outs for the walk-off win.

Almost one week into the season, the San Francisco Giants have discovered that maybe Chris Marrero isn’t their best option in left field against left-handed pitching.

Heading into Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres, Giants left fielders collectively — and that includes Marrero, Jarrett Parker, Gorkys Hernandez and Aaron Hill — are 0 for 20 with 10 strikeouts, one walk and one sacrifice fly.

By comparison, Giants pitchers are 3 for 10 with just four strikeouts.

With other options like Michael Morse and Mac Williamson still battling injuries and maybe a month away from being options, the Giants continued to seek out alternatives.

On Saturday, they found one in Melvin Upton Jr. (aka B.J. Upton).

Upton was released by the Blue Jays out of spring training last week. And when that happened, the Giants didn’t appear interested. Instead, they signed Drew Stubbs, who released by the Twins.

But when Marrero’s early struggles led manager Bruce Bochy to give Aaron Hill his first career start in left field on Friday, it became clear the Giants would need to explore other options.

And that led them to sign Upton.

Upton has had a very up-and-down career. After a solid start with the Rays, his move to the National League was a disaster during his two seasons with the Braves, with whom he hit .184 and .208 in 2013 and 2014.

Things got better when he moved to San Diego, where he hit .259 in 2015 and .256 with 16 home runs and 45 RBI in 92 games with the Padres before being traded in a deadline deal to Toronto. Things didn’t go so well there. He hit just .196 in 57 games for the Jays before being released at the end of spring training this season.

Upton not only gives the Giants a right-handed hitting option to throw into the left field mix, but he’s also made more than 1,112 career starts in center, providing some needed depth there.

According to Twitter reports, Upton signed a minor-league deal with the Giants and will report to Triple-A Sacramento to shake off some of the rust.

An interesting dialogue occurred before Wednesday’s game between the media and Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

The topic of discussion was the manipulation of the starting rotation for the Dodgers series on April 24-27.

Most interesting was that Bochy didn’t respond to the media inquiry by saying: “Dudes! I’m worried about today’s game, not one three weeks away.”

But the skipper took a different tact and fielded the questions.

The question revolved around whether Bochy would use two off days that bookend a two-game series in Kansas City on April 18-19 to skip the No. 5 spot in the rotation (currently occupied by Matt Cain) to set up the possibility of the Giants sending their top four starters into that series vs. their NL West rivals.

If the Giants stay on their regular turn, the Giants would send Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Matt Moore into the April 24-27 series at AT&T Park.

Bochy responded that he generally doesn’t like to monkey with the rotation so that his pitchers stay on their normal routines. And that’s true. In his years as Giants skipper, Bochy has rarely used off days to skip spots in his rotation, unless injury forced his hand.

However, Bochy added that he would consider having Ty Blach start in place of Cain in certain situations. One of those situations could be against the Dodgers, who struggle notoriously against lefties. That was evidenced by their shutout loss against the Padres’ Clayton Richard on Tuesday.

But another thing to consider is that Giants have two series against the Dodgers over the next few weeks. San Francisco travels into Chavez Ravine for three games on May 1-3.

If the Giants skipped Cain in Kansas City and started their front four in the April series at AT&T Park, it would mean they would start Moore, Jeff Samardzija and the No. 5 spot in the May series.

However, if they stayed on turn, then it would be Cueto, Moore and Samardzija.

So, either way, the most lefties that Giants could throw at the Dodgers over those seven games is four, and both would involve swapping Blach for Cain.

Bochy did qualify his remarks by adding that the Dodgers series was still a long way off.

And he’s right. We don’t what decision the Giants may arrive at, or be forced to arrive at, by then.

Cain’s first two starts of the season will come Friday in San Diego and next Wednesday at home vs. Arizona.  If those two starts don’t go well for the veteran, the Giants could use the off days around those Kansas City dates to reassess their starting rotation, regardless of potential matchups against the Dodgers.

Wednesday’s takeaways

Hot takes after the Giants’ 8-6 loss to Arizona on Wednesday.

• Many fans were upset that Brandon Belt’s error in the fifth inning that allowed Arizona two score two runs cost the Giants the game. But remember that on Tuesday it was an Arizona error on a potential inning-ending double play ball off the bat of Cueto that sparked the Giants’ five-run inning. So you win some, you lose some.
• I was actually surprised that Bochy send Matt Moore out to pitch in the sixth. The error notwithstanding, the Diamondbacks were starting to make solid contact in the fifth when they tied the game. At 85 pitches and having to labor through the fifth in his first start of the year, I would have thought Bochy would have hooked Moore and gone to the pen. Remember, he pulled Bumgarner after 88 pitches on Sunday, although that was after seven innings of work. Moore may have been pulled had the Giants not gone 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth. Moore was slated to bat fourth that inning. As it was, Moore was charged with two more runs in the sixth, although the bullpen didn’t help him with inherited runners.
• The struggles in left field continued Wednesday as they went 0 for 5 with two more strikeouts, making LFs 0 for 14 with 10 strikeouts on the season. Chris Marrero should get the start against Thursday against lefty Robbie Ray.
• The Giants signed another veteran outfielder Wednesday. Drew Stubbs was signed to provide organizational depth at center field. The Giants currently carry two true center fielders in Denard Span and Gorkys Hernandez, although Jarrett Parker can play center in a pinch. Justin Ruggiano is at Triple-A Sacramento and can play all three outfield positions. Stubbs, who was recently cut by the Twins, can make $1 million plus bonuses if he gets called up by the Giants. He’ll start at extended spring training before joining Sacramento.

 

 

It’s early. Two games. And as such, it’s easy to read too much into early stats and trends.

But there’s one that could be a worrisome harbinger for the San Francisco Giants.

Coming into the 2017 season, the Giants had one unsettled position in their starting lineup: left field.

And while many Giants fans had hoped the team would improve that position through free agency or trade, the Giants preferred to fill that spot from within — with Jarrett Parker or Mac Williamson or both.

The Giants entered camp with that intention, bringing in some veterans for support.

By the end of spring, all had performed well — Parker, Williamson, Mike Morse and Chris Marrero. Williamson (quad) and Morse (hamstring) had their springs ended early by injury and aren’t expected back until late April at the earliest.

That left the Giants to open the season with a left-field platoon of Parker and Marrero, but early results have not been good — proving once again that success in spring training does not always translate into success in the regular season.

In 10 plate appearances in the first two games of the season, Giants left fielders — which includes Gorkys Hernandez — had struck out eight times.

Eight Ks in 10 PAs.

The left fielders have represented 42 percent of all Giants strikeouts in the first two games of the seaso (8 of 19).

By comparsion, Giants pitchers (Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto) have not had a single strikeout in six plate appearances in two games.

Here’s how they compare:

• LF 0-9, SF, RBI, 8 Ks, 0 BB
• SP 3-5, 2 HR, 3 runs, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K

Again, it’s early. A 3-for-5 game can change these numbers quickly for Giants left fielders. But the lopsided nature of all those Ks is disturbing.

The Giants will see a mixed bag of righties and lefties over the next few days.

Arizona

• RH Taijuan Walker (Parker)
• LH Robbie Ray (Marrero)

San Diego

• RH Luis Perdomo (Parker)
• RH Jhoulys Chacin (Parker)
• LH Clayton Richard (Marrero)

The calendar says 2017, but it still feels a lot like 2016.

The San Francisco Giants blew a major league-high 32 saves in 2016.

So far in 2017, they have two blown saves, and they’ve only played one game.

Derek Law gave up the tying run in the bottom of the eighth against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

And then after the Giants seized the lead back in the top of the ninth thanks to a Joe Panik triple, the Giants blew another save in the ninth when new closer Mark Melancon gave up two runs – all with two outs – as the Giants fell to the Diamondbacks 6-5.

Yes, 6-5 – the same score that ended the Giants’ 2016 campaign.

All of this overshadowed a history-making day by Madison Bumgarner when the big lefty became the first pitcher in major league history to hit two home runs on Opening Day.

He became the first Giant to hit multiple home runs on Opening Day since Barry Bonds in 2002.

He became the fifth Giant since 1920 to hit multiple Opening Day home runs, joining Bonds, Matt Williams, Willie Mays and Bob Elliott.

But all of that was long forgotten because the Giants have not yet solved their bullpen issues.

It started in the eighth when Bumgarner was pulled after seven innings and 88 pitches.

Manager Bruce Bochy’s first option out of the pen was Derek Law. That’s not a bad choice looking at Law’s 2016 body work. Law was 4-2 with 2.13 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 55 innings with 0.964 WHIP.

But Law has looked off this spring, posting 5.06 ERA in 10.2 innings.

Yes, we know that spring stats don’t mean anything. But it also must be taken into consideration that just because games go from being exhibitions to counting doesn’t mean that a struggling pitcher can just flip the switch and be good again.

Law walked almost as many batters in 10.2 innings this spring (8) as he did all of last season (9).

Even Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was surprised that the Giants sent Steven Okert to the minors instead of Law to open the season, just to give Law a little more time to find his touch.

But no. The Giants kept Law. And then to put a cherry on top, Bochy put him into the first game as the eighth-inning set-up guy.

And guess what? I didn’t work out.

Law gave up two crisp singles to AJ Pollock and Chris Owings. Then he gave up a seeing-eye single to Paul Goldschmidt to tie the game. Three batters, three hits, no outs.

Lefty Ty Blach came in to face Jake Lamb and got Lamb to hit into a double play. Hunter Strickland entered and got Yasmani Tomas to hit a comebacker. Inning over.

The Giants went up 5-4 in the ninth and brought on new closer Mark Melancon to close it out. Melancon got two quick outs before giving up a double to Jeff Mathis (aided by some less-than-stellar outfield defense by Gorkys Hernandez, in the game for his defense), a single to Daniel Descalso, a single to Pollock and a game-winning single to Owings.

Ouch.

Of course, all of these bullpen struggles could have been a non-issue if the Giants also have brought out another big piece of their 2016 woes – batting with runners in scoring position.

The Giants were 1 for 10 with RISP on Sunday, and that doesn’t even include the two outs they made that scored runs – sacrifice flies by Panik and Conor Gillaspie.

The Giants had the bases loaded and one out in the ninth off a struggling Fernando Rodney with Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford coming up. But Posey flied to shallow right and Crawford hit a one-foot groundout in front of the plate.

Ugh. Enough with 2016 already.

Let’s move on with 2017. The season continues Tuesday.

Opening day is less than two weeks, there appears to be one position battle that appears to be over.

Barring some unforeseen turn of events, Jarrett Parker will be the starting left-fielder for the San Francisco Giants in 2017.

Parker came into spring training expected to battle Mac Williamson for the left-field job. They both put on spirited battle this spring.

The numbers (through Sunday)

Parker – 12 for 38 (.316), 4 HR, 12 RBI, 7 BB, 10 Ks, .435 OBP, .658 SLG

Williamson – 11 for 34 (.324), 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 7 Ks, .378 OBP, .559 SLG

Considering that Parker is out of minor league options (and Williamson still has one left) and the fact that Williamson is now hampered by a quad injury, it would only take an injury by Parker in the last couple weeks of spring to keep him out of the Opening Day roster.

Ever since he was drafted in second round out of Virginia in 2010, Parker has been a free-swinging, all-or-nothing power hitter who struck out nearly 30 percent of the time in six minor league season.

But this spring, Parker has displayed greater discipline at the plate, resulting in .435 OBP.

“His discipline has improved so much,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy told the San Jose Mercury News. “Even though he’s shortened up, he’s not sacrificing power. It’s maturing as a hitter, and he’s doing that. Coming into this spring, he knew what was at stake and he’s doing the job.”

The biggest question remaining for Parker is can he be an everyday left-fielding.

He has a.267/.371/.494 slash line in 205 big league plate appearances over the past two seasons. But his splits against righties and lefties remain a concern.

Vs. righties: .294/.411/.532 in 151 PAs.

Vs. lefties: .200/.259/.400 in 54 PAs.

And that makes the decision regarding the backup outfielder positions key.

Assuming Williamson starts the season in Triple-A (because he has the option) or on the DL, Michael Morse appears to be the frontrunner in the home stretch to secure a reserve role. Morse has 2 HRs, 6 RBI and is hitting .276 this spring, and has the edge of the fading Chris Marrero.

The question regarding Morse is whether makes the team depends on what decision the Giants make regarding the bullpen.

In past season, Bochy has opted to leave Arizona with an eight-man bullpen, leaving four position players on the bench.

If the Giants do that, a four-player bench likely means a four-man outfield. And if the Giants go with Hunter Pence, Denard Span, Parker and Morse, it will leave them on shaky ground in center.

Span is not the most durable center fielder, and Parker has only logged 11 innings in the majors in center.

That leads you to believe the Giants would lean with someone with center field experience. And that leaves Gorkys Hernandez and Justin Ruggiano, neither of whom is impressing at the plate this spring. Even so, Hernandez would have the edge here.

But if the Giants go with a five-player bench, they could break camp with Pence, Span, Parker, Morse and Hernandez.