A tropical playlist hummed through the Giants’ clubhouse, with “Mexico” by James Taylor a particularly fitting choice.
After Thursday’s game against the Cardinals, the Giants are grabbing their passports and hopping on a flight to Mexico City for a two-game series against the Padres. The day game is the final of an eight-game home stand — San Francisco’s longest of the season.
On the home stand, the Giants have gone 5-2, including five straight victories. They returned two key outfielders in Austin Slater and Mitch Haniger and received strong pitching from the staff overall.
The winning streak has brought the Giants to 11-13 on the year.
“Early in the season, we weren’t getting the job done,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said after Wednesday’s win.
“At that point, you know that you’re not really that team. You get Haniger and Slater back, Conforto is back in your lineup regularly, Joc Pederson is back in your lineup regularly. All of the sudden, your bench is deeper. We knew that our pitching staff was performing well, but they were giving up home runs and that was causing games to go in the other direction. Things have turned the other way, and a lot of that is just getting healthy and our true talent emerging here in the last five games or so.”
In Mexico, Sean Manaea and Alex Cobb are set to pitch in Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium. That park has an elevation of 7,349 feet, which is roughly 2,000 feet more elevated than Coors Field.
That won’t make Manaea or Cobb’s job easy. But the Giants as a whole are eager for the trip. And in particular, the ballpark environment, with its 20,000 seat capacity.
“It’s going to be loud,” Giants veteran Wilmer Flores said. “I know that. You get that every game in Latin countries. There’s a lot of people that come to the games who are huge baseball fans. It’s not like in the US.”
Flores, a Venezuela native, played in the Venezuelan winter league from 2010 to 2014, so he knows about what to expect.
“It’s always fun,” Flores, who homered Wednesday, said. “Only like 5,000 people (at those games), but they’re loud. It’s cool. I’m excited.”
Fans in attendance this weekend will get to catch live mariachi performances in the concourses. In the Bay Area, the Giants are hosting free watch parties in the Mission and in San Jose.
Some of Flores’ family is coming with him to Mexico, and they’re in charge of the plans, he said.
Manager Gabe Kapler has visited Mexico many times, but has never been to Mexico City. The avid traveler said he’s heard great things about the city.
“I’ve heard great things about the culture, the monuments, the food obviously, and the music,” Kapler said. “I’m interested in kind of understanding the culture of the city. Those are probably the things that stand out most.”
Multiple team sources have said that MLB has advised the Giants and Padres players to avoid eating some local cuisines that may be tainted. Multiple sports leagues, including the NFL, have made similar measures for Mexico because some contaminated meat could cause positive performance-enhancing drug tests.
Friday, an off-day, is Kapler’s opportunity to immerse himself in the city.
“I really just want to take a couple hours and go walk, get lost in the city,” Kapler said.
- J.D. Davis, who turned 30 on Thursday, could get two days off in a row if he’s not sprung into action off the bench against the Cardinals. The third baseman, whose improved defense has made him an everyday player for SF this year, had played in nine of the last 10 games.
Davis said he’s been feeling a bit fatigued recently, and Kapler called him last night to decide how to best find him a blow.
Davis is hitting .276 with five home runs on the year, though his average has dipped the past two games when he went 0-for-7, likely due to his increased work load.
- Replacing Davis at third and hitting eighth is David Villar, who has gotten off to a slow start at the plate this year.
Villar, 26, is hitting .143 with a .256 on-base percentage. His 9 home runs in 52 games last year earned him a lot of runway, and his defensive versatility has been a welcome development for SF.
“Obviously he’s not swinging the bat the way he wants to swing the bat right now,” Kapler said. “This is pretty typical for a developing young player — you see lots of ups and downs through the early stages of their career. Sometimes longer periods than that. Not too concerned about it, trust in David’s ability and his track record…His teammates believe in him, the front office believes in him, the coaching staff believes in him.”
- Mike Yastrzemski, who got scratched from Wednesday night’s lineup due to left side tightness, is back in the order on Thursday. The Giants will closely monitor him, Kapler said.
San Francisco is also hoping to get Joey Bart healthy enough to come off the bench, the manager added, which has been the public posture since he injured his groin on Monday night. Bart didn’t have his groin wrapped in the clubhouse or on the field pregame like he did in the past few days.
