SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It wasn’t Coors Field, but the Rockies and Giants offenses sure made Salt River Fields at Talking Stick look like it on Saturday afternoon.
LaMonte Wade Jr., Garrett Hampson, Wyatt Mathisen, Steven Duggar, and Ricardo Genovés each blasted home runs into the outfield lawn stretching from foul pole to foul pole. After two innings, the Giants led 6-2 and each team had five hits.
Over bettors at Casino Arizona down the street rejoiced.
The offensive burst came one day after San Francisco got no-hit through seven innings in its Cactus League opener. Even during live bullpen sessions, at Scottsdale Stadium, hitters have rarely made solid contact. But in their 8-5 win over the Rockies, the Giants slapped 11 hits and went just one inning without a baserunner.
Wade Jr. got the scoring going immediately, launching Frank Duncan’s first pitch of the game down the right field line for a triple. He hit the showers after two at-bats, with a triple and home run to his name — cycle hopes be damned.
“No,” Wade Jr. said with a smile when asked if he wanted to stay in and go for a cycle. “Not at all. That never crossed my mind.”
It is, after all, just spring training. But the triple was Wade Jr.’s first live at-bat since flying out since striking out looking against Max Scherzer in Game 5 of the NLDS. The outfielder said he lost plenty of sleep over that ninth inning at-bat this winter.
“I lost a lot of sleep over that,” Wade Jr. said after leaving the game. “It also helped me motivate me for this offseason and then make these cues and get better and improve myself. I grew from it and I learned from it. I look forward to that at-bat this year.”
The Rockies answered San Francisco’s one-run first inning with two of their own, powered by Hampson’s solo shot and a string of singles.
Of course, part of the offensive output came from poor pitching. For the Giants, Beede fell behind in counts during his two-inning start. He appeared to work slower than SF’s coaching staff may like, and his changeup proved more effective than his curve (Hampson turned on a curve for his homer).
Beede told reporters he was happy with his start, and that although he knows he’s out of options, he’s approaching this spring like any other. The past two years have been tough for him, as he underwent Tommy John surgery after pitching the best he’d ever had in 2019.
“I’m just going out there to try to just get better each outing and each bullpen. And stay within myself,” Beede said.
San Francisco’s coaching staff and Beede have been working on simplifying his approach to help him regain his 2019 form; he posted a 2.34 ERA for the River Cats that year.
“The mood that we’re striking with Tyler is one step at a time, simplified approach, lots of strikes,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “Not a lot of mechanical cues. Not a lot of pitch mix changes. Fewer things to think about. Go out and do it. Be athletic, be yourself.”
Beede has taken that to heart. He can focus more on breathing, seeing the catcher’s mitt and attacking the zone. More than anything, he’s just excited to be back and healthy with a chance to break camp on the 40-man roster.
“You’ve just got to be yourself,” Beede said. “No matter what position you’re in: if you’re out of options, you have options, you’re going to Triple-A or you’ve already made the team. You need to come and just continue to do your job and prepare for the season. Get your body in the best position you can for the length of the season. And whatever happens, whatever the outcome is, wherever I end up, if I’m with the team, if not — I’m doing the best I can to stay in the moment and prepare each day to be on this team and to be the best that I can be to contribute to the team if that decision’s made.”
Emptying the bench
- Will Wilson replaced Thairo Estrada at shortstop after just one inning. Estrada got hit by a pitch — in the elbow or forearm region — in the top of the second, but stayed in the game. He told The San Francisco Chronicle after leaving the game that he’s going to the doctor to get it checked out.
The Giants expect Estrada to be a major contributor to the big league club this year, particularly early in the season as Tommy La Stella rehabs from his Achilles injury. - Mathisen’s homer was the hardest-hit of the day, per Baseball Savant, with an exit velocity of 110.4 mph. The former second-round pick also hit a double. The shots from Genovés and Duggar each traveled 427 feet.
- Duggar also made a magnificent play in the field, taking a one-hopped line drive in center field and gunning down Alan Trejo, who was trying to advance from first to third. His assist landed perfectly into third baseman Alex Blandino’s glove. Beede may or may not owe him a steak dinner for that one.
- Righty Mauricio Llovera tossed two perfect innings with three strikeouts for San Francisco. The Giants signed Llovera to a minor league deal right before the lockout struck in early December; the 25-year-old spent the first seven seasons of his professional career with Philadelphia.
- Brett Auerbach, one day after playing catcher, slotted in at second base and drilled a triple into the right field corner. Then he scored on a passed ball. Auerbach is still young and has a ways to go before reaching the high levels of minor leagues, but his versatility, athleticism and contact skills make him an impressive prospect.
- Not everybody hit. San Francisco’s three most intriguing prospects up for Saturday’s game — Patrick Bailey, Luis Matos and Will Wilson — combined to go 0-for-7 from the plate.