Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants and A’s will not be traveling over a bridge to play their last tune-ups before the regular season begins. They’ll navigate through cacti instead.
The Bay Bridge series will be played in Arizona this season on March 28 and 29, at 1:05 and 12:05, respectively, rather than in Oakland and San Francisco, as was the custom. This will mean less traveling for the Giants, who likely will fly out from Arizona to Seattle for their April 1 season opener, rather than returning home first.
The Giants are expecting to allow in around 750-1,000 fans per spring game, so playing at Scottsdale Stadium ensures some fans can see the action. The Giants are working with San Francisco and are hopeful that Oracle Park can host fans (at least at some point) this season, but it will be the city’s call, and the city has been among the most careful in the country.
MLB announced the revised spring schedules Friday, “which was created with health and safety considerations in mind,” trying to cut down on travel and with no split-squads scheduled. The Giants will open the Cactus League at home on Feb. 28 at 1:05 p.m. Their third game, March 2, will be against the Dodgers in Scottsdale at 7:05 p.m. March 3 and March 20 will be their only off days.
The complete spring training schedule is available here.
