SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Earlier this week, Major League Baseball finalized its regular season schedule, shifting things around to make up for the lost first two series of the season.
The lockout casualty games are now back as zombie contests, splattered strangely across the 162-game schedule.
For the Giants, the rescheduled series include a four-game road trip to San Diego and a three-game series in Milwaukee. To make room for them, San Francisco is losing off-days and cramming series into small windows.
Every ballclub has to deal with the revised schedule. The Giants, though, face some tough challenges.
Three of the four Padres games will be tacked on to the end of the schedule in early October. That’s the easy part.
The other Padres game from early April got moved to July 7, smushed between a series finale in Arizona and a previously scheduled series at Petco Park. So instead of a July 7 travel day, SF will play an extra game against the Padres — who will likely have Fernando Tatís Jr. back by then.
The Brewers series rescheduling is trickier. The first make-up game will come on April 25, breaking up an east-to-west flight from Washington back to the Bay. Instead of flying all the way for the Bay Bridge Series starting April 26 at Oracle Park, the Giants will make a pit stop in Milwaukee for one game. It was supposed to be an off-day.
The rescheduling now forces SF to start their season with 19 games in 20 days. Their first road trip of the season grew from 10 games to 11, from three cities to four.
“It’s a big deal,” manager Gabe Kapler told reporters Thursday. “It’s going to be incredibly challenging. I think we’re going to be up for the challenge. We also start at home. We have our first games at home, and that’s an advantage. So as much as it’s going to be challenging to deal with that first road trip, we also get to have a few series at home first.”
The final two Brewers games will be made up as a doubleheader on September 8. Including those two games, SF starts the month with 14 games in 13 days — against a gauntlet of Dodgers, Phillies, Braves, Brewers and Cubs. Eight of those 14 games will be away from the China Basin.
“It’s going to be quite a challenge,” Kapler said. “The schedule, it’s going to be tough. I think every club around the league right now is looking at it like, ‘Wow, we have some major challenges.’ We’re definitely no exception to that. But that’s what happens. When you have challenging times for the league, for the players, we share in that challenge and we kind of have to game up. As a group, take on that challenge and that responsibility.”
- Kris Bryant signed a seven-year, $182 million deal to stay in the NL West and play for the Colorado Rockies. The Kris Bryant era in San Francisco lasted 51 games and featured at-times head scratching defense ups and downs at the plate and an impressive NLDS performance.
“Happy for Kris,” Kapler said. “Obviously got to know him well. Wanted to see him go to a place that feels comfortable for him, where he can thrive. It sounds like the Rockies are the right fit for him.”
- Joc Pederson will wear No. 23. He wore 22 with the Braves, 24 with the Cubs, 31 with the Dodgers and 10 for Palo Alto High School. Other Giants to wear No. 23: Bryant, Jeff Francoeur, Ellis Burks, Jose Uribe, Felipe Alou and the Shot Heard ‘Round The World hero Bobby Thomson.
- Kapler said Tommy La Stella may surprise people with his recovery from his Achilles injury. La Stella is already running and performing baseball activities, including hitting in the cage, Kapler said.
But in the meantime, one second baseman to watch for is Jason Krizan. SF has plenty of options at second base, including Thairo Estrada, Mauricio Dubón and Wilmer Flores, but Krizan “can really hit,” Kapler said. The 32-year-old posted a career-best .859 OPS for the River Cats last year.
“He is very assertive, very confident in the batter’s box,” Kapler said of Krizan. “He has excellent bat-to-ball skills. He has excellent strike zone judgement. He can get the ball in the air consistently. He hits good pitching. And he is an excellent teammate.”
- The Giants open their Cactus League schedule on Friday against the Chicago Cubs in Scottsdale Stadium. Logan Webb will start on the mound and will likely throw two innings. Prospects also expected to pitch include Brian Brickhouse, Raynel Espinal, Luis Ortiz, Gray Fenter, Nick Avila, Solomon Bates, Patrick Ruotolo and Juan Moreno. Kapler said some regulars from the 2021 big league club will play.
