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It was brand new, even if didn’t quite feel that way.
“Wasn’t really nervous, I’m kind of settled in now. So, it was kind of just, went out there and played,” reported Jaylin Davis after his Oracle Park debut and fourth game in the majors, a 6-4 loss to the Pirates on Monday night.
Davis, whose Triple-A legend was well-earned with 10 home runs in 27 games with Sacramento following the Sam Dyson trade, had never stepped foot in the Giants’ home park before he arrived there Monday. He grew up in North Carolina, debuted in St. Louis and then played in a game in Los Angeles before finally getting a taste of what he hopes will become his new mailing address.
“It was really nice just to get on the field and hit BP today and look around,” he said of a park that the Giants have struggled in mightily this season. “We did catch balls at the wall and stuff so we could see kind of how it plays.”
It is not the easiest outfield to play, and right field can be especially difficult with the amount of space to roam. He said Austin Slater took him around and showed him positioning tips as well as how to read the elements and to beware of the bullpen mounds.
“Just told me, ‘Don’t look at the flagpoles back there. Look at the ones above the stadium for judging wind, stuff like that,’” Davis told KNBR after going 1-for-3 with an infield single, a hit by pitch and his first career RBI, achieved on a ground out.
Davis had a ball encased in his locker, but it was from his first hit — he didn’t know where the lucky RBI ball wound up.
He showed off good speed, even if he was caught stealing second, and a cannon, even if his throw home in the ninth inning escaped Buster Posey’s glove. His power has not yet been on display, with too many hard-hit balls going on the ground instead of in the air.
“There’s enough on his plate,” Bruce Bochy said before the game, asked if the Giants have talked to Davis about his swing. “One, he’s trying to get comfortable and dealing with the nerves. We like his swing.”