Oroville Mercury-Register

Pitcher Wood prefers Posey behind plate

- By Kerry Crowley

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> When new Giants starter Alex Wood signed with the club in January, he said throwing to catcher Buster Posey was one of the primary reasons he was looking forward to the 2021 season.

After his first spring training outing in the Giants’ 3-1 win over the White Sox on Thursday, Wood revealed another example of why he’s excited about his first year in San Francisco: He doesn’t have to try to get Posey out.

“He’s one of the most frustratin­g people ever to face because he can beat you in so many different ways,”

Wood said.

Posey owns a career .269 average against Wood and he’s never homered in 26 career at-bats against the southpaw, but their head-tohead matchups stand out for good reason.

“I almost would rather have ( Posey) have a homer off of me because he’s gotten so many hits on my changeup that’s he’s just dumped into the outfield,” Wood said. “I’ve beat him, and he just gets hits.”

In his second start at catcher this spring, Posey struck out twice in two atbats, but helped Wood and new reliever Jake McGee to quick and stress-free innings in their spring debuts.

“A good first outing is good mentally as well as physically,” Wood said. “I was happy with my stuff and I still get nerves going out there, especially for the first start of the spring, especially on a new team, but I felt great and it was awesome to get in a game with Buster.”

BELT APPEARS, RUF HOMERS >> The Giants haven’t shared much news on Brandon Belt’s absence this spring as Kapler has said he’s dealing with an illness that’s “not COVID-related,” but the manager was finally able to provide an update on the first baseman’s status Thursday.

elt began participat­ing in baseball activities on the Giants’ off day Wednesday before playing catch and taking some swings in the batting cage on Thursday. Belt is still recovering from a heel injury, and it’s not clear when he’ll be able to play in a game, but Kapler said the Giants have set Opening Day as a target for him to be healthy and available.

One of the players who could provide depth behind Belt at first base this season, Darin Ruf, launched his first home run of the spring in the fifth inning of Thursday’s win. After designated hitter Joe McCarthy homered to right center off of White Sox reliever Connor Sadzeck, Ruf hit a two-run homer onto the left field berm at Scottsdale Stadium.

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