© Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
SAN DIEGO — It’s been over a year and a half since Will Smith last saw a mound in the major leagues, but he made a big step towards returning to the San Francisco Giants with an encouraging outing at Class-A San Jose on Thursday.
“He looks good,” Bruce Bochy said. “He threw 17 pitches. Velocity was good. Command was good. It was a good day for him.”
Smith entered the game in the fifth inning. He went on to allow two hits and one run with a strikeout over one inning of work.
After being traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Giants in August 2016, Smith appeared in 26 games for San Francisco; posting a 2.95 ERA with 26 strikeouts.
However, that’s all Smith has done in a Giants uniform as he opted to undergo Tommy John Surgery that kept him off the mound for all of last season. The 2018 season is the final year of his contract with the Giants.
Smith is expected to return on May 1, which puts him at just over three weeks from rejoining the club. Bochy said he doesn’t see any reason why he won’t make that date.