Just like old times for Giants
Pence and ‘soul brother’ Sandoval back in lineup
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> No, it’s not 2014. And by all indications, there will be no even-year, umm, you know. But it sure felt like it Monday at Salt River Fields, at least for a couple innings.
Hunter Pence made his first spring training appearance since re-signing with the Giants this winter, and he was the recipient of the largest cheers of the 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks when he stepped into the box for the first time, following who other than Pablo Sandoval.
Sandoval and Pence hit 3-4 in the Giants’ order — albeit in a spring training exhibition — for the first time since July 30, 2013. It didn’t amount to much the first time through the lineup, but Pence drove in the first run of the day in the third inning.
With two outs in the third, Wilmer Flores drew a walk and Sandoval followed that up with a hard single through the hole at short. That brought Pence to the plate.
“I had a lot of adrenaline,” Pence said.
He channeled it into a line drive up the middle that brought Flores home and allowed Sandoval — or in Pence’s words, his “soul brother” — to chug his way from first to third. He would be stranded there, however, as Pence was picked off first base on the next play.
SAMARDZIJA ERRATIC, BUT EFFECTIVE >> Giants starting pitchers had run up a count of 20 2/3 innings pitched this spring without allowing an earned run. Before Monday, no starter had come out for a third inning of work yet, either.
Samardzija put an end to both those streaks. After needing 28 pitches to get through his first two innings, manager Gabe Kapler sent him back out to the mound for the top of the third.
He appeared to have settled in after missing the strike zone on six of his first eight pitches, but John Hicks put an end to that. A first-pitch slider got a little too much of the plate and Hicks put it on the berm behind the left-field foul pole.
Samardzija stayed in and recorded the final two outs of the third, finishing with a final line of three hits, a walk and a strikeout to accompany the solo home run. PENCE’S NEW SWING >> OK, so it’s not new this year. But it’s new to the Giants.
Before signing with the Rangers last offseason, Pence got in touch with swing guru Dave Matta, who’s worked with a number of other big leaguers to reform their swings.
“When you’re failing, you’re going to seek everything you can to grow,” Pence said. “Seeing several people really change their careers after a swing change … I was like, ‘Well let me see if I can learn it and apply it to myself.’ I think that was kind of the turning point for me.”
The result? Pence’s highest
average exit velocity (91.4 mph), highest percentage of hard contact (42.6%) and his first All-Star nod since the dawn of the Statcast era (dating back to 2015). In 83 games, Pence hit 18 home runs and drove in 59 runs while batting .297.
How’d he do it?
GIANTS INFIELD FLASHES THE LEATHER >> Pence didn’t get any action in two frames playing right field. But he very well could have if not for Mauricio Dubon and Wilmer Flores, who made up the right side of the Giants’ infield.
On back-to-back plays in the first inning, Dubon shifted into shallow right field and was rewarded each time. Eduardo Escobar hit a sharp grounder that Dubon
scooped up with ease, possibly only because of his positioning. The following batter, David Peralta, hit a nearly identical ball to Dubon, who this time needed to range to his left, spin and throw. It pulled Flores off the bag at first, but Flores was able to corral the throw, get the out and slap gloves with Dubon jogging off the field.
The Giants, like the rest of baseball, are utilizing shifts more than ever.
Kean Wong, who subbed in for Evan Longoria at third base, also jogged into shallow right for a handful of plays later in the game.
Flores flashed the leather one more time in the second inning, going down to one knee to snag a hard-hit ground ball off the bat of Jake Lamb. He quickly tagged first and fired to shortstop Abietal Avelino at second to double-up Kole Calhoun and end the inning.