Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
PHOENIX — Thus far in spring training, Johnny Cueto has pitched one day ahead of Kevin Gausman, which has seemed a signal of how the Giants’ top of the rotation will take shape to begin the year.
For this week at least, neither is following the other.
Kevin Gausman was announced as Monday’s starter at Camelback Ranch against the White Sox, while Logan Webb will take a turn Tuesday in Goodyear against Cleveland. Cueto, meanwhile, will throw a scheduled five- or six-inning sim game at Scottsdale Stadium on Monday.
Either could get the ball April 1 in Seattle, and the other is expected to go April 2. Following that duo would be Anthony DeSclafani and then possibly Webb, with Aaron Sanchez (who’s a bit behind) and Alex Wood (who had an ablation procedure on his lower back) additional options.
There is a certain cachet about Opening Day (or, in the Giants’ case, Opening Night), though. Gausman is the higher-octane pitcher at this point in his career, but Cueto is a 35-year-old entering his last guaranteed year of his Giants deal.
“I’ll share that information in the next few days,” Kapler said Sunday of who will be his starter. “…There’s no hide-the-ball here — it’s just more wanting to have all the right conversations, check all the boxes and get all the way through the finish line.”
Chadwick Tromp made his 26th birthday count.
The catcher stepped into a Jose Martinez fastball that got too much of the plate and crushed it to left for a seventh-inning grand slam in the Giants’ 10-4 win over the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch.
It was a no-doubter, and Tromp admired his work.
A BIRTHDAY GRAND SLAM ?@trompicalstorm | #SFGSpring pic.twitter.com/or9AMxEeq6
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) March 21, 2021
The reserve catcher is expected to open in Sacramento.
Giants pitchers who helped their cases for the Opening Day roster Sunday:
— Nick Tropeano, who is a solid bulk-innings option and has appeared to hammer down a spot. He struck out five in two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk.
— Jimmie Sherfy, who struck out the side — Matt Davidson, Sheldon Neuse and Gavin Lux — in the sixth. He has had command issues and walked five in 6 2/3 innings, but he took a step.
“He has his two pitches,” Kapler said of Sherfy’s fastball and slider. “Both are high-octane and both are max-effort. Both are good enough to get major league hitters out. So the key is getting in the zone, staying in the zone, getting leveraged counts and putting hitters away.”
Giants pitcher who hurt his case for the Opening Day roster: Silvino Bracho, who was tested against the regular LA lineup and walked Max Muncy and allowed a double and single to Lux and Ruiz, respectively. He’s had a nice camp, but it was a small step back.
Evan Longoria hit his fourth homer in 20 spring plate appearances. He hasn’t played the field yet because of plantar fasciitis — he DH’d and ran hard during a double — but his swing is ready.
Mike Yastrzemski also went deep, taking a 3-1 pitch the other way over the left-center field fence for this second homer of the spring, then tacked on a triple.
Kapler said Heliot Ramos, who was sent to minor league camp Saturday, needs to refine a few parts of his game. Ramos impressed thoroughly at the plate but made a few errors in the field. As a reminder, he’s 21.
“I think there’s some upper-level experience that will be really valuable for Heliot, and not just the plate appearances,” Kapler said of Ramos, who has played 25 games at Double-A. “…I think it’s his all-around game that requires just a bit of fine-tuning. There’s no denying his talent and his physical tools, and a lot of those physical tools have been on display in this camp.
“But there are some minor tweaks that we want to see happen before he reaches the major league level for us. Because when he gets there, we’d like to see him hit the ground running and stay in the big leagues for us for a really long time.”