MORE POP FOR LINEUP ON WAY?
Giants are adding Hwang to the active roster; he’s pegged to start at third base on Wednesday
SAN FRANCISCO » The Giants are calling up a six-time All-Star with celebrity status and a winning personality.
They hope Jae-gyun Hwang can play a little baseball, too.
The way their offense has gone this season, why not take a shot on someone new?
Matt Cain pitched well enough to beat the Colorado Rockies for the first time in more than four years, but the Giants offense didn’t make up for one damaging mistake in his six innings.
They rallied after Cain departed, though. Kelby Tomlinson’s pinch single scored Brandon Belt in the eighth inning tied the score, and the Giants and Rockies were knotted 3-3 in the 13th inning when this edition went to press. For the complete story,
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Tomlinson’s pinch single off Jake McGee came after Buster Posey started the rally with a base hit and ran into a bad break. He had to hold on Brandon Belt’s blooper past third base and ended up getting wiped out on a fielder’s choice after Nolan Arenado dropped the ball.
But Brandon Crawford followed with a single to put runners at the corners, and Tomlinson came through off the bench to take Cain off the hook for a loss.
Cain gave up three runs in six innings, and allowed all his damage on one swing.
Mark Reynolds followed an intentional walk to Arenado with a three-run home run in the sixth inning, and no succession of singles and sacrifices could fully make up for that one hanging breaking ball as Cain remained winless against the Rockies in his past 10 starts.
It was a much better start for Cain, and he needed it. He entered his start Tuesday with an 0-6 with a 7.32 ERA (29er, 35.2ip) in his past seven starts. And he was facing an opponent that has bossed him in recent years.
But before the mistake to Reynolds, Cain blended control with competitiveness to hold down a lineup that the Giants could not repress earlier this month at Coors Field. Cain got dialed in early when he induced double-play grounders from DJ LeMahieu and Alexi Amarista, the latter of which shortstop Brandon Crawford started with an athletic play after leaping to catch a hard bounce off the mound.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Gorkys Hernandez singled, advanced on Cain’s sacrifice and scored on Denard Span’s single.
But it came undone in the sixth. Raimel Tapia, who entered in Lemahieu’s spot after the second baseman left the game with a groin cramp, hit a single and stole second base on the second pitch to Arenado. With Cain already behind 2-0 in the count, Bochy signaled for the intentional walk.
Reynolds was 8 for 34 with two home runs against Cain, but most of those numbers came in a different time for both men. Cain was in the young prime of his career, and Reynolds was an oscillating fan in Arizona. Both home runs came in 2009.
But Reynolds appeared to be sitting on a first-pitch curveball, and Cain threw one that loitered in the zone.
The Giants made it 3-2 in the sixth when Posey walked, went first to third on Belt’s single and scored on Crawford’s sacrifice fly.
The Giants will get a new third baseman today,
The Giants are purchasing Hwang’s contract and adding him to the active roster, three days before the former KBO star could exercise a July 1 opt-out to become a free agent.
Hwang was flying from El Paso, Texas, where Triple-A Sacramento was playing a series. The Giants expected to activate him prior to Wednesday’s game and place Conor Gillaspie on the disabled list after his lower back flared up again.
Hwang will start at third base for Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against the Rockies, Bochy said.
It will be the realization of a dream for Hwang, who turned down more lucrative offers to stay in Korea so that he could sign with the Giants and take a shot at reaching the major leagues. For that reason, Bochy said he was especially excited to welcome the power-hitting infielder.
“Oh, I am,” Bochy said. “This is one of the best parts of the game for a manager. It’s when you can welcome and shake hands or even hug a guy who’s worked hard for this opportunity. We’ve had a couple (debuts) already, but for Jae, he’s worked hard and given up a lot to pursue this. I’ll be as happy as he is to see him here.”
The key date was July 1. That is when Hwang could opt out of his Triple-A contract, which he had expressed his intent to do. With KBO clubs continuing to keep in touch, there was little reason not to use the leverage available to him.
Hwang, 29, is a third baseman who has played some first base and received limited exposure in left field. His power bat off the bench could be intriguing for a team that has a lack of right-handed reserve pop after designating Aaron Hill for assignment.
There is no guarantee he will get an extended look. The club also has third baseman Ryder Jones, who was just called up on Friday and is still chasing his first big league hit.
If the Giants were to option Hwang back to Sacramento, then his opt-out would be rendered moot. But Giants officials have indicated that they wouldn’t do that to a player that is so respected and admired.
For now, Hwang’s debut is big news. The Giants were bracing for a contingent of international reporters, and the game will be broadcast live in Korea even though it will begin at 4:45 a.m. there.
Hwang remains a huge celebrity in Korea.
“It was pretty incredible,” said right-hander Kyle Crick, who played with Hwang at Sacramento before the Giants called him up June 20. “We would go to Korean barbecue restaurants and walk in and people there would know exactly who Jae was. They recognized him on the spot, almost like it was ARod walking in. They’d set up a special VIP table for us. It was ridiculous.”
Hwang is hitting .287/.333/.476 for Sacramento, and he has acknowledged pressing early in the season while he was trying to showcase his power. He has seven home runs since hitting his first on May 13, and has shown greater patience at the plate in recent weeks.
First impressions from spring counted for something, too. The players voted Hwang as the Barney Nugent Award winner, honoring the most impressive player who was appearing in his first major league camp. Not only did he perform well against big league pitchers in Arizona, but he showed the ability to laugh at himself when he arrived at the ballpark on St. Patrick’s Day wearing a ridiculous amount of green.
“He was quite the personality in spring training,” Hunter Pence said. “He was a fun guy to be around. Anybody who takes that kind of risk to chase down his dream, it’s inspiring. I look forward to seeing him come up here and join our team. I think we’ll all welcome him.”