Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE — The four starters who project as the Mariners’ best options are all southpaws, from Marco Gonzales to James Paxton to Yusei Kikuchi to Justus Sheffield.
There are a lot of reasons for Austin Slater to see his name in a few lineup cards when the Giants’ season opens in Seattle on April 1, and the righty-hitting outfielder gave the club one more reason on Saturday.
In his first start since tweaking his hamstring, Slater didn’t need to show off his running skills when he belted a deep, three-run shot to right-center in the Giants’ technically 5-4 win against Cleveland at Scottsdale Stadium (in which the Giants tacked on two more theoretical runs in the bottom of the ninth, without an umpire).
Righty Zach Plesac struck out Slater in his first at-bat, but Slater was looking up in the zone in his second look and rocketed one the other way.
See you sLATER! #SFGSpring pic.twitter.com/2DXhqt06VE
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 13, 2021
Slater had been out of the lineup since Feb. 28, when he made a turn at first and tried to accelerate and his hamstring “grabbed on me.” He was removed from the Cactus League opener and was out of games for nearly two weeks, but his swing and hamstring have looked healthy.
He started in right, which is an encouraging sign for his elbow, which kept him from playing the field in the late games of 2020. A PRP shot is allowing him to unleash again, and he becomes a valuable platoon option with Mike Yastrzemski in right and Alex Dickerson in left, and the Giants may give him looks at center, too.
They won’t give him looks in the infield. The former do-everything fielder has had those duties crossed out of his job description as a way of trying to ensure his health and allow him to narrow his reps. The Giants have a pretty deep infield at the moment anyway.
“It was nice to know that I can just focus on outfield and defense and just focus on hitting,” the 28-year-old said over Zoom.
Reyes Moronta, in his first professional game since his Aug. 31, 2019, injury, was back on a mound.
The big righty successfully made his return from shoulder surgery and pitched a clean inning with a strikeout, but his velocity is an early concern.
A fastball that had lived at 97 mph in ’19 sat at 92 Saturday and touched 94 mph once, according to the stadium gun.
Gabe Kapler was happy with his poise and execution but acknowledged the radar concerns.
“When Reyes is at his best, he’s throwing a little bit harder than that,” Kapler quote of Moronta, who is expected to speak with media Sunday.
Rule 5 pick Dedniel Nunez, who left Friday’s outing with what the team called a wrist injury, has posterior inflammation in his right elbow. There was no further update before he was examined further.
Starter Alex Wood will have his next spring start pushed back because of back stiffness.
The Giants were winning 5-4 after 8 1/2 innings, but they played the bottom of the ninth anyway because Cleveland wanted to give a reliever more work, which gave batters such as Heliot Ramos (hit and steal), Joey Bart (walk), Joe McCarthy (single) and Jason Vosler (single) extra at-bats.
“Thought their catcher did a nice job of calling balls and strikes,” Kapler said of Beau Taylor.
Ricardo Genoves was called out on strikes, and Arismendy Alcantara‘s check-swing was rung-up by a nonexistent first-base coach. If the half-inning counted, the Giants would have won 7-4.
The Giants were winning going into the bottom of the ninth, but they’re playing it anyway — with no ump. Ricardo Genoves just apparently struck out, I think. Here’s Jason Vosler padding his stats (if this counts?) pic.twitter.com/Q9vhnsfUU0
— Mark W. Sanchez (@MarkWSanchez) March 13, 2021
Curt Casali jumped on 98-mph heat to slam a no-doubt homer to left. After offseason hamate surgery, the backup catcher looks healthy.
The Giants and Scottsdale have expanded the attendance for the games and have additional chalked-off sections in the left-field berm. The announced attendance was 1,510.
Infield prospect Will Wilson hit one 428 feet when 430 was required. Center fielder Ben Gamel smashed against the wall to steal extra bases from him.
Righty Rico Garcia threw his first inning of the spring, living around 97 mph, according to the stadium gun, in a scoreless, one-hit frame.
Caleb Baragar (hamstring) threw against live hitters with “good zip on his fastball,” Kapler said. Both manager and lefty were happy with his day.
Lefty reliever Jose Alvarez, in his first time in camp throwing against live hitters, looked “a little rusty,” Kapler said. He’s got time.