Smyly, Gausman look to be sharp in shorter stints
The Giants’ season opener against the Dodgers on July 23 pits not only ancient rivals, but disparate pitching philosophies for early part of this 60game adventure.
Last Monday, Opening Night starter Clayton Kershaw threw 73 pitches in an intrasquad game for Los Angeles. The Giants are not letting their starters get near that total now.
Manager Gabe Kapler and the front office are abiding by research that shows a slow ramp for pitchers decreases arm injuries. Giants starters have been throwing about 40 pitches per stint.
Drew Smyly became the first to throw three innings in a camp game Sunday when he and fellow newcomer Kevin Gausman combined to lead Team Black to a 50 victory over Team Orange in a sixinning twohitter at Oracle Park. Gausman, Jeff
Samardzija and Tyler Anderson threw two innings apiece, which has been the norm.
Kapler acknowledged the staff is not viewing the earlyseason rotation through the traditional 1through5 prism. Rather, the Giants are trying to determine how much “bulk” they can get from each pitcher so they can devise combinations of arms to get through nine innings.
Notably, three of the five projected starters threw on the same afternoon 11 days ahead of the opener. In other words, there is no rotation so far.
“I think I’ve shared over last couple of days that we don’t expect pitchers built up to take down 100 pitches or six, seven innings,” Kapler said. “We think it makes sense to keep building volume. That volume, even though we’re getting a little closer, can still come in one day. When we get a little closer, we’re going to have to spread them out.”
Whatever label they have, Smyly and Gausman looked terrific. Smyly, a lefty, did not allow a hit and struck out four of his nine batters. Gausman struck out three of six and got Pablo Sandoval (batting righthanded) to ground into a double play after Alex Dickerson lined the only hit off Gausman into center.
Samardzija was hit hard, allowing the first of two homers by catching candidate Chadwick Tromp and an
RBI double by infield prospect Will Wilson that registered 106 mph off the bat.
“Shark is just getting his arm in shape,” Kapler said. “Nobody knows themselves better than Jeff Samardzija. While his line wasn’t probably where you want it to be, it’s more important that he got his pitches and innings in. We’re just not going to pay attention to results right now for veteran players with track records.”
Anderson, the former Colorado lefthander, allowed one unearned run in two innings and Rule 5 pick Dany Jimenez overcame a leadoff double by catcher Tyler Heineman to preserve the Black team’s shutout.
Though Heineman did not score, he did something Kapler liked even more. Heineman stole third between hitters when Jimenez and the infield dropped their guard.
“Great baserunning play by Tyler Heineman,” Kapler said. “He noticed a lull in the defense and he took third base right in their face. That’s exactly what we want our baserunners to do.”
Briefly: Tromp hit his second homer off Sam Selman after a Hunter Pence single. … Heliot Ramos made a strong throw from just in front of the warning track to second base to double off Yolmer Sanchez on an Austin Slater flyball. … The game featured majorleague umpires Doug Eddings behind the plate and Bill Miller on the bases. Kapler believes that heightened the pitchers’ intensity. … Kapler said Brandon Belt’s sore right heel has improved. Kapler did not rule him out for Opening Night. … The stadium folk played the traditional victory song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” after the game.