Tauchman a ‘mess,’ then he hits threerun homer
ANAHEIM — What an incredibly strange day for Mike Tauchman.
Going into Wednesday’s game, the Giants outfielder had a gamewinning grand slam to his credit but had done next to nothing at the plate otherwise until the 13th inning against the Angels. Then, after five strikeouts on the day, he crushed a threerun homer, snapping an 0for14 funk.
What was his approach there, after such a rough day? “Please God, put something in play,” said Tauchman, who described himself as “a jumbled mess” Wednesday.
His travails can be explained. He came over from the Yankees in April and has been working on numerous swing adjustments — hand position, lower body position, proximity to the plate, swingpath changes — without the benefit of spring training. Trying to do all that while facing bigleague pitching is tremendously difficult, but as Tauchman said after Wednesday’s 93 win, “You’re only as good as your last atbat.”
It’s even tougher with less than frequent playing time. Tauchman started 23 of the Giants’ first 24 games after they acquired him. Since then, he’s started just 13 of 25. Until Wednesday, he hadn’t appeared in the starting lineup for eight days.
Manager Gabe Kapler said before the game that Tauchman “is not at his best right now,” but he showed his player tremendous support by leaving him in the entire way. Asked if he’d considered using a pinchhitter for Tauchman, Kapler responded, “We trust our players . .... He’s in the lineup to take down those atbats today, especially late in the game. I don’t want us to get too emotional about a tough string of atbats.”
Tauchman is considered a player who has good atbats, but just seeing a lot of pitches isn’t enough. He is 11 for his past 78 with 29 strikeouts and has just one walk over his past nine games. “I’m not sure how he fits at this point,” one NL scout said recently. “They have better options who are good defenders and bring more offensively.”
He’s out of options, however. To replace Tauchman on the roster, San Francisco would have to risk losing him on waivers. The best chance he might have to stay is if the Giants need to place Brandon Belt, who left in the eighth inning with a knee injury, on the injured list and recall LaMonte Wade Jr. to play first.
Most clubs don’t carry six outfielders, as the Giants do now. Once they’re done in Anaheim, where they can use a DH, it’s possible they’ll drop down an outfielder.