SCOTTSDALE — Aaron Sanchez has never been happier to get knocked around.
He was hit hard in a lengthy first, Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos stringing together singles before a Eugenio Suarez double, all on solid contact. He faced three hitters in the second and retired just one, allowing another single and hitting Max Schrock before he was pulled to ensure he could go back out for the third inning. His last frame was crispest, thanks to a double play, but it involved a second hit batter (Jonathan India) on a curveball that didn’t curve.
And yet, Aaron Sanchez was back on a mound and competing, opponents in the batter’s box. That had not happened since Aug. 20, 2019. Shoulder surgery, a pandemic and a lost season later, he officially has launched his comeback.
“This is my first game in a year and a half, so I was actually really, really pleased with how today was,” Sanchez said after 2 1/3 innings, in which he was charged with three runs on five hits. “I threw a lot of strikes, almost too many strikes. There were a couple curveballs that did stay up in the zone when I had a chance to go and put them away.
“Obviously, that’s some of the things that I wasn’t happy about. But for now, being out of the game for a year and a half — that was exactly what I wanted to see.”
He felt healthy, he felt energized, he felt “wired and ready to go” from the second he woke up, he said. The 28-year-old was a star with the Blue Jays, having led the AL in ERA in 2016, before a blend of blisters and injuries and ineffectiveness took hold. He was dealt to Houston in 2019, where he only pitched in four games before the surgery arose, which wiped out his 2020, too.
At his best, Sanchez had a mid-to-upper 90s fastball to pair with a big curveball and changeup. In his first start of the spring, the velocity was not there, as he acknowledged, his fastball living about 91-92 mph, according to the stadium gun. He didn’t mind. He said he wasn’t reaching back at all, instead focusing on buzzing around the plate — which he did.
He was ahead consistently but had trouble putting guys away. His curveball remained up a few times, and his changeup was his best pitch on the night.
“I didn’t want to come out guns blazing and be all over the map and throw tons of balls,” said Sanchez, before adding his reasoning that there will be more firepower in those guns. “I think it’s just reps, but also stepping on the gas pedal a little bit more than what I did tonight.”
Gabe Kapler came away encouraged, too, for both what he saw and what he believes is in the right arm.
“We know there’s another level in there,” the manager said after the 6-2 loss to the Reds at Scottsdale Stadium. “He did lose a little bit each inning, and that’s to be expected. The first time out, we got him through three, and he was a healthy, athletic guy on the mound who delivered a ton of strikes.”
Sanchez thinks he’ll be ready for the start of the season, and he should have two more outings to build up so he would become a five- or six-inning starter the first week of the season. Because of the off days, the Giants wouldn’t need a fifth starter for the first week and a half, but it’s possible he and, say, Nick Tropeano are used as a tag-team the first week of the season. He was late to sign with the Giants and had been training enough that he does not feel as if he’s behind.
The looking ahead is for tomorrow, though. Aaron Sanchez was back on the mound, where he belongs.
“This is what I do,” he said.