SF Giants Press Clips Friday, April 14, 2017

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1 SF Giants Press Clips Friday, April 14, 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Giants fall to 0-3 in Madison Bumgarner starts with loss to Rockies Henry Schulman As good as the Giants looked toward the end of spring training, they have to be disappointed with seven losses in their first 11 games, especially with three of the defeats in Madison Bumgarner starts. No. 3 came Thursday night in the first of four against the Rockies, a 3-1 loss at AT&T Park that ended a rotten day for the organization, personally and competitively, and again showed how vulnerable the Giants can be when two of their mainstays are out. With catcher Buster Posey on the concussion list and shortstop Brandon Crawford on the bench after a family tragedy took him to Los Angeles and back, the offense looked weak against Colorado Opening Day starter Jon Gray and four relievers, who combined on a five-hitter. The Giants got two of the hits as they loaded the bases with one out in the ninth against closer Greg Holland before Eduardo Nuñez hit a sharp one-hopper to second baseman DJ LeMahieu to start a game-ending double play. The Giants took the field knowing that Crawford had driven to Los Angeles and flown back, all since late Wednesday night, after learning about the death of a sister-in-law, Jennifer Pippin, one of his wife Jalynne s sisters. 1

2 He surprised manager Bruce Bochy by arriving back at AT&T Park in time for the game and saying he wanted to play despite nearly zero sleep. Crawford grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. It was a tough 24 hours for him, Bochy said. I feel for him, what he had to deal with. Here he comes up to join us and wants to help us win a ballgame. That says a lot about Brandon. He didn t have to be here. I used him to pinch-hit and told him to get out of here. Crawford was dressed and left quickly after the final out. It s terrible, Bumgarner said. There aren t really any words I can give for that. We re thinking about him and his family and praying for him. It s a bad deal. Bumgarner failed to earn a win within his first three starts for the first time since 2011, when he did not win until his ninth. He was throwing to Tim Federowicz, only the second time in the past 69 starts Bumgarner has not worked with Posey. Bumgarner allowed three runs in six innings, two on one bad fastball down the pike to a badly struggling Trevor Story in the fourth inning. Story sent it to the left-field seats, putting the Giants in a 2-0 hole from which they could not emerge on a night of silent bats. I just didn t make a whole lot of great pitches tonight, Bumgarner said. I did OK keeping us in the ballgame. Obviously, I d like to be a little better for us than that. Bochy had to credit Colorado left-hander Chris Rusin, who entered in the fourth after Gray was forced out with a recurrence of the foot injury he first sustained in a spring training game against the Giants. Rusin maintained the shutout until the seventh, when Brandon Belt ended an 0-for-18 with a line single off Story s glove to start a rally that resulted in the Giants run, which scored on a Nuñez sacrifice fly. The Giants have not won when trailing after eight innings since May They have had 2

3 decent chances this year, including Thursday, when infield hits by Joe Panik and Hunter Pence (on his 34th birthday), plus a walk to Conor Gillaspie, loaded the bases for Nuñez. Nuñez hit the ball hard, just to the wrong spot. You feel good about the way the inning unfolded, Bochy said. The only thing you can do is take a good swing and drive the ball. Nuny did that. Like I ve said, we owe ourselves two or three comebacks because we lost a couple of tough ones. We d like to think we had that one tonight, but we came up short. San Francisco Chronicle Giants Crawford out of lineup after sister-in-law s death Henry Schulman Shortstop Brandon Crawford has flown back from Los Angeles and will be at AT&T Park for Thursday night s game against the Rockies, but he will not be in the lineup. The Giants said only that Crawford left for a family emergency, and while they would not elaborate, Crawford s wife Jalynne posted on Instagram the devastating news that one of her sisters died. Jennifer Pippin was a mother of two and apparently died of an asthma-related cause, according to the post. Crawford informed the team Wednesday night through head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner then accompanied Jalynne to Los Angeles, her family s hometown. This news comes one day after the death of Orlando Cepeda s wife, Mirian, and less than two weeks after former league official Katy Feeney, the daughter of the late Giants executive Chub Feeney, died suddenly in Maine. This has been a very rough time for the Giants family, to say the least. Eduardo Nuñez will play shortstop as he did two nights ago, when Crawford was given a game 3

4 off. Conor Gillaspie will be at third. Posey progressing: Manager Bruce Bochy had more good news on Buster Posey, who is on the seven-day concussion list and eligible to return in Kansas City on Tuesday. Posey was to step up his activity Thursday with cardio and strength work. I talked to Buster today. He s doing well, Bochy said. He s going to ramp it up and we ll see what happens. It s good to see him doing well. You never know with these things, but I m going to be optimistic. Tim Federowicz will catch Madison Bumgarner on Thursday night. Nick Hundley caught Tuesday and Wednesday after replacing Posey in the first inning Monday. Arenado vs. Giants: Nolan Arenado is in the Rockies lineup against the Giants on Thursday night, as usual batting third. His career slash line against the Giants is.309/.361/.621. He has 19 homers and 61 RBIs, both the most against any team. And he hit eight of the homers, with 25 RBIs, at AT&T Park. Arenado has faced Bumgarner more than any pitcher besides Clayton Kershaw. Bumgarner has found a way to solve Arenado, holding him to a.212 average,.732 OPS and two homers (Kershaw:.333,.952, two homers). Bumgarner is seeking his first win of the year. He has not gone more than three starts without a win since 2011, when it actually took him nine starts to win. Cain II: Bochy dropped the "Z" word on reporters Wednesday as he explained again why Matt Cain's history with the club (as well as the way he pitched Wednesday night) gives him a longer opportunity to stay in the rotation. "You go back to Barry Zito," Bochy said, recalling how bad Zito was for most of his time with the Giants yet saved their season in Game 5 of the 2012 NLCS against the Cardinals before pitching them to a Game 1 victory against Detroit in the World Series, with a little help from Pablo Sandoval. 4

5 "I feel the same way about Matty," Bochy said. "We all do. We're all pulling for him." "We" being the folks in the clubhouse and the majority of Giants fans. Then there is the minority that hoped Cain would get shelled Wednesday night so the Giants finally would get rid of him. We here from these fans. A lot. Good fans, they are. Root against one of your players and hope your team falls to 3-7 and loses the series. Cain III: Cain said the three strikeouts that Cory Gearrin got in the sixth inning with two Cain runners on base was the "turning point" of Wednesday's 6-2 win. "It was exciting," Gearrin said. "I loved going out after the work Cain did. It was fun to watch. He set the tone. It was fun to come in after that." Bochy wanted Gearrin to deliver a double-play ball, but his sinker was moving so much the Arizona hitters couldn't even put them in play. His offspeed stuff was just as nasty. "It's nice to be back in San Francisco where the balls can sink more a little bit, aft Arizona," Gearrin said. Bochy said Thursday he is going to stick with his bullpen setup, which has Gearrin in the middle innings, George Kontos in the seventh and Derek Law in the eighth. More rings: Those are lovely World Series rings the Cubs got, although I would have thought the "C" on top would have been done in a blue stone instead of red. The rings bear 108 diamonds, representing the years between World Series titles. The Cubs distributed the rings to their players in a pregame ceremony Wednesday night. Two players were not around because they were in the Giants clubhouse preparing to face the Diamondbacks Reliever Neil Ramirez pitched in eight games last year for the Cubs, his original big-league team, for whom he also played in 2014 and Catcher Tim Federowicz was a Cub for 17 games last 5

6 year. Neither was on the postseason roster. Ramirez said he was pleasantly surprised when he got a call from the Cubs over the winter asking for his ring size. "I was there for most of the turnaround," Ramirez said. "I'm super happy for those guys. My focus now is getting a ring here. It was great I could see the atmosphere there knowing those people were starved for a championship." LINEUPS ROCKIES (vs. LH Madison Bumgarner) Blackmon CF LeMahieu 2B Arenado 3B Gonzalez RF Reynolds 1B Story SS Cardullo LF Garneau C Gray P GIANTS (vs. RH Jon Gray) Span CF 6

7 Panik 2B Belt 1B Pence RF Gillaspie 3B Nuñez SS Parker LF Federowicz C Bumgarner P San Jose Mercury News Giants remain winless in Madison Bumgarner s starts, ninth-inning rally comes up short in loss to Rockies Andrew Baggarly SAN FRANCISCO The Giants do not have to win every time Madison Bumgarner takes the mound. It s not as if he is propping up a makeshift rotation all by himself. They did not even need Bumgarner to be a stopper Thursday night against the Colorado Rockies. They had just taken their first series of the season, winning two of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks. But when you don t ask your ace to be a stopper, you ask him to help you build momentum. And the Giants got thrown in reverse in a 3-1 loss at AT&T Park. They are 0-3 in Bumgarner s starts the first time that has happened to start a season since he was an overgrown 21-year-old in And their ninth-inning rallies continue to provide no more than a tease. They loaded the bases on infield hits from Joe Panik and Hunter Pence off Rockies closer Greg Holland, followed by a 7

8 disciplined walk from Conor Gillaspie. But Eduardo Nuñez sharply grounded into a double play for a team that continues to look for its first successful ninth-inning comeback since May of They were 0-62 when trailing after eight innings last season. It s a tough way to end the game, when you hit a ball that hard, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. But hey, you keep fighting. We just needed a break there in the end. Bumgarner met the minimum standards of a quality start, giving up three runs in six innings, but the night didn t come close to his own personal standards. He paid for a mistake pitch that Trevor Story pounded for a two-run home run in the fourth inning. The Rockies added a run when they strung together three singles in the sixth. The bigger issue was a Giants lineup that lacked Buster Posey (concussion list) and Brandon Crawford, who had traveled to Los Angeles late Wednesday night because of a family emergency. Crawford grounded out as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. It would be understandable if baseball were not at the forefront of his mind. He drove Los Angeles late Wednesday night to join his wife, Jalynne, and her family. Jalynne Crawford posted to her Instagram account that her oldest sister, Jennifer Pippin, had passed away. The Giants Gold Glove shortstop took a flight back to San Francisco on Thursday afternoon. But even if he had arrived well before the 7:15 p.m. first pitch, Bochy said he had not planned to change the lineup. He said he was ready for anything, but it s been a tough 24 hours for Brandon, Bochy said. You feel for what he s had to deal with. It says a lot about Brandon. He didn t have to be here. He pinch-hit and I told him to get out of here. The Giants managed just one hit through the first six innings, and a foot injury to Rockies opening day starter Jonathan Gray might have worked against them. It brought left-handed long man Chris Rusin out of the bullpen in the fourth inning to face a lineup with five lefthanded batters. Not even Bumgarner s bat could resuscitate the Giants. He popped up and grounded out. Then again, they also lost the opener in Arizona when he hit a pair of home runs. Story put the Rockies on the board in the fourth inning. The shortstop might have been the hottest player in the major leagues as a rookie at the start of last season, when he hit seven home runs in the first six games, but he entered Thursday with a.129 average. His shot off 8

9 Bumgarner was his first of the season. Bumgarner did not act as if one pitch ruined his night. He knew he got away with several other mistakes over the plate. I didn t make a whole lot of great pitches tonight, Bumgarner said. I kept the team in the ballgame, but I d like to be better for us than that. I maybe wasn t as sharp with the command as I wanted to be. Bumgarner still struck out eight in six innings, issued just one walk, and came within inches of holding the Rockies to just the two runs. But Mark Reynolds foul fly was just a step beyond third baseman Gillaspie s diving attempt, and Reynolds followed with an RBI single up the middle. The Giants snapped the shutout in the seventh after Brandon Belt hit a leadoff single that snapped an 0-for-18 streak in which he scalded plenty of outs. He almost got denied again by Story s diving attempt up the middle, but the shortstop couldn t hold onto the ball. Pence, who was celebrating his 34th birthday, replaced Belt with a fielder s choice. Then he took third on Gillaspie s single and scored on Nuñez s sacrifice fly. The replay crew was another rally killer. It appeared that Nuñez reached to begin the fifth inning when third baseman Nolan Arenado made a wide throw that pulled Reynolds off first base. But umpire Mike Everitt called Nuñez out, and after a 2-minute review, the replay official determined that video evidence was inconclusive. Right-hander Neil Ramirez threw two of the bullpen s three scoreless innings to give the Giants a chance to rally, and they did. They just couldn t complete it. San Jose Mercury News Giants lineup: Brandon Crawford grieves a loss in his wife s family Andrew Baggarly SAN FRANCISCO Brandon Crawford is not in the Giants lineup on Thursday but was expected to arrive at AT&T Park prior to the first pitch and be available off the bench. It would be understandable if baseball wasn t at the forefront of his mind. Crawford drove to Los Angeles late Wednesday night to join his wife, Jalynne, and her family. 9

10 Jalynne Crawford posted to her Instagram account that her oldest sister, Jennifer Pippin, had passed away. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Jalynne and the Dantzscher family. The Giants Gold Glove shortstop took a flight back to San Francisco on Thursday afternoon. But even if he arrives well before the 7:15 p.m. first pitch, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he did not plan to change the lineup. Lineups follow for the series opener between the Giants and Rockies, who meet for the first time San Jose Mercury News Giants catcher Buster Posey starts working out, reports feeling good Andrew Baggarly SAN FRANCISCO Three days after getting hit by a fastball to the helmet, Buster Posey s condition and progress are encouraging to Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Posey already has begun exercising, and elevating his heart rate has not brought on any concussion symptoms, Bochy said. The manager was more optimistic than ever, but not wholly convinced, that Posey would be activated from the 7-day concussion list when eligible on Tuesday. He did cardio and some lifting today and he s doing good, Bochy said. We ll ramp it up a little bit here. It s good to see him doing well. You never know with these things, but right now he s progressing like we hoped. With the Giants beginning a two-game interleague series in Kansas City on Tuesday, Bochy could use Posey at designated hitter. He also could have Nick Hundley catch the three-game series at Denver the following weekend; Hundley knows Rockies hitters well after being teammates with them last season. Hundley drew raves from Matt Cain following the right-hander s solid start in Wednesday night s victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. 10

11 MLB.com Homer keeps Bumgarner winless in 2017 Thomas Harding and Michael Wagaman SAN FRANCISCO -- The Rockies absorbed losing starting pitcher Jon Gray when he aggravated a left big toe injury in the third inning and overcame eight strikeouts by Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner en route to a 3-1 victory at AT&T Park on Thursday night. Gray appeared to tweak the toe -- originally injured during a March 19 Spring Training game -- when making a leaping grab of an Eduardo Nunez chopper in the third. Gray left after walking the leadoff man in the fourth and his next start is in jeopardy. But lefty Chris Rusinrescued the Rockies by holding the Giants to two hits and a run in 31/3 innings. "He was the key to the game," Rockies manager Bud Black said of Rusin, who has had three stellar performances when replacing an injured Rockies starter over the last three seasons. "Jon gave us three zeros up there. Chris gave us good middle-to-long relief and was very efficient on a cool night." Bumgarner yielded Trevor Story's first home run of the season with two out in the fourth. The Rockies added three hits and a run, on Mark Reynolds' one-out, two-on single in the sixth -- Bumgarner's final inning of six-hit pitching. "I didn't make a whole lot of great pitches tonight," Bumgarner said. "I did OK to keep us in the ballgame but obviously I would like to be a little better for us than that. I thought my stuff was there. Just maybe not as sharp with the command as I wanted to be." Before coming to The City by the Bay, the Rockies went 15-for-90 while losing two of three at home against the Padres. But they've also beaten two heavyweight lefties -- the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw in Friday's home opener and Bumgarner -- and are 7-4. "Pretty much any guy you face is going to be tough, but we have a very confident team and take that attitude out on the field with us," Story said. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED The challenge, and the answer: Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez entered with a.321 batting average and five homers against Bumgarner -- a hard-to-explain run of left-on-left success. Gonzalez fanned with two on in the first. With bases empty in the fourth, Bumgarner's first pitch buzzed near the chin of Gonzalez, who dropped to his back. But Gonzalez lined the next pitch past Bumgarner for a single, and Story homered two batters later for a 2-0 lead. 11

12 Ottavino puts up a Big 0: The Giants scored on a Nunez sacrifice fly in the seventh and had lefty hitter Jarrett Parker up against Rockies righty Adam Ottavino with two out. Lefties had hit.250 with a homer against Ottavino going into the game. However, Ottavino's stuff has sharpened with each appearance, and it took him five pitches to fan Parker. Ottavino struck out two in 1 1/3 innings to run his season total to 10 in six innings. "Today I had more fun out there than usual," Ottavino said. "I'm usually like, 'Have fun after the fact.'" Giants' woes cashing in runners continue QUOTABLE "Just be loose and be ready. Always be ready for something like that." -- Rusin on the secret to replacing an injured starter. On three such occasions over the last three years, Rusin has replaced an injured starter and yielded just one run in 102/3 innings on those occasions. SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Bumgarner is winless after three starts for the first time since 2011, when he went 0-6 in his first eight starts. Ottavino, lefty Mike Dunn and closer Greg Holland (sixth save) combined for 22/3 scoreless innings. When pitching with a lead, Rockies relievers have a 1.18 ERA with 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. UPON REVIEW The Giants lost their challenge on a close play at first base in the fifth. Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado grabbed Nunez's bouncer and was uncharacteristically lackadaisical while short-hopping his throw to first baseman Reynolds, who couldn't glove the ball. As Reynolds fell, he grabbed the ball with his bare hand. Umpire Mike Everitt ruled that Reynolds possessed the ball with his foot in contact with the bag, and replay officials ruled the play stands. A sliding catch by Giants center fielder Denard Span, on a soft Story liner in the eighth, was ruled it would stand after a challenge from the Rockies. Replay showed that Span skimmed his glove under the ball before it hit the turf. WHAT'S NEXT Rockies: Lefty Tyler Anderson is usually a strike-thrower, but he had an out-of-character four walks in five innings and gave up five runs and five hits while losing to the Padres in his last start. He'll try to return to the strike zone and regain his groove against the Giants at AT&T Park on Friday at 8:15 p.m. MT. 12

13 Giants: Right-hander Johnny Cueto, who opposes Anderson at 7:15 p.m. PT, has also had some minor control issues this season, though it hasn't hurt him. Cueto walked two or more in each of his first two starts this year. He had more than one walk in back-to-back games only three times in all of MLB.com Giants woes cashing in runners continue Michael Wagaman SAN FRANCISCO -- For a brief moment in the ninth inning of Thursday's 3-1 loss, it looked like the Giants were finally ready to break out of their season-long funk with men in scoring position when they loaded the bases with one out against Rockies closer Greg Holland. Manager Bruce Bochy certainly liked the way things stacked up for his ballclub -- right up until Eduardo Nunez grounded into a game-ending double play that dropped San Francisco to 4-7 on the young season. "You feel good the way that inning was unfolding," Bochy said. "The only thing you can do is go up and take a good swing and hopefully barrel up the ball, and Nuney did that. He just hit it right at them. He's a tough man to double up, but he hit that hard [enough] that they got him." Nunez's final at-bat was symptomatic of what's gone wrong for the Giants' offense this season. They've done well getting men on base. Getting them across home plate has been another matter. Not much changed against Colorado, either. Denard Span singled leading off the first but was erased on a double play. The Giants didn't get another hit until Brandon Belt's leadoff single in the seventh. Hunter Pence later scored in the seventh on Nunez's sacrifice fly but that was small consolation for a team that has struggled at the plate with runners in scoring position this year. "We owe ourselves two or three comebacks because we've lost some tough ones," Bochy said. "You'd like to think tonight that was going to happen, but we came up short." All five hits against the Rockies were singles. Both hits in the ninth inning were infield singles 13

14 by Joe Panik and cleanup hitter Hunter Pence. "Tonight we pitched really well and played defense, too," Rockies manager Bud Black said. It didn't help that San Francisco was missing two of its top hitters. Catcher Buster Posey remains on the seven-day concussion list while shortstop Brandon Crawford was limited to a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning after joining the team late following the death of his sister-in-law Wednesday. The top of the Giants lineup accounted for all five hits against the Rockies, although Pence struck out twice. Belt, the No. 3 hitter, went 1-for-4 and is batting.190 this season. MLB.com Cueto brings impressive history into clash with Rox Michael Wagaman Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto looks to keep his recent dominance of the Rockies going while Colorado counters with lefty Tyler Anderson when the two teams continue their fourgame series Friday at AT&T Park. Cueto (2-0) has won five consecutive decisions against the Rockies, his last loss to Colorado coming May 25, Since then, the two-time All-Star pitcher has been masterful when facing the Rockies while compiling a 5-0 record with a 1.33 ERA over his last seven starts against them. In four games against Colorado in 2016, Cueto allowed just four earned runs over 30 1/3 innings. Anderson (1-1) doesn't have the history against the Giants that Cueto does with the Rockies. Anderson is making just his third career start against San Francisco and second at AT&T Park. Anderson is trying to bounce back after getting tagged for five runs in five innings against the Dodgers on Sunday. The 27-year-old left-hander battled control issues most of the day and set a career high with four walks. Things to know about this game 14

15 Cueto is the first Giants pitcher since Matt Morris in to win his first two starts in back-to-back seasons. If he wins Friday, Cueto will be the fourth pitcher in franchise history to win his first three starts in consecutive years. As a rookie last season, Anderson held opponents to the lowest average exit velocity, 85.1 mph, of 174 pitchers who allowed 200 balls in play. However, he has an 8.44 ERA through his first two outings of 2017, over which his average exit velocity allowed is 88.5 mph. The game will be Bud Black's 155th against the Giants as a manager. Now with the Rockies, Black earned his first win as a manager at AT&T Park on April 3, 2007, while with the Padres. Third baseman Nolan Arenado isn't looking for a break, even though he's one of only two Colorado players to have started every game so far this season. Arenado also played in the World Baseball Classic, and despite the Rockies playing their first 14 games in 14 days, the veteran infielder feels fine. "To be honest, early in the season I just want to keep playing," Arenado said. "You need those days off later in the year. Right now we just want to get playing, keep going and get our swings down." Leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon has also started all 11 of the Rockies games this year. MLB.com Giants optimistic as Posey begins workouts Michael Wagaman SAN FRANCISCO -- Buster Posey has resumed physical activities and Giants manager Bruce Bochy remains optimistic that the Giants' Gold Glove catcher will come off the seven-day concussion list when first eligible. "Yeah, I am, but that's me," Bochy said prior to Thursday's game against the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park. "I try to stay optimistic. I can't say it's going to be the case but I'm being optimistic." 15

16 Posey has been out since Monday when he was hit in the head by a 94 mph fastball from Arizona pitcher Taijuan Walker. Although he said he felt fine that night and was able to drive himself home, Posey began experiencing symptoms associated with concussions the following morning and was placed on the disabled list. The Giants initially wanted to give Posey a few days to rest but scrapped those plans when Posey began feeling better more quickly than anticipated. "He did some yesterday, we're going to increase it today," Bochy said Thursday. "He'll do some cardio and a little lifting today. He's feeling good. I just finished talking to him and he's doing well. We're going to ramp it up a little bit and see how he does. "It's good to see him doing well. You never know with these things. Right now he's progressing like we had hoped." Tim Federowicz, called up from Triple-A Sacramento when Posey was placed on the concussion list, was scheduled to start Thursday against Colorado. Nick Hundley, who signed with San Francisco in the offseason, had started each of the past two games. Crawford a late arrival: Shortstop Brandon Crawford was not in the starting lineup after leaving the team to be with his family following the death of his sister-in-law, although he was expected to arrive at AT&T Park before the game. The Giants offered no details and said Crawford was dealing with a family emergency. Crawford's wife, Jalynne, posted on Instagram that her sister had passed away. "He's not in the lineup but he will be here for the game," Bochy said. "That's all I can give you right now. I'll talk to Brandon once he gets here but he'll be here for the game." Bochy said he was notified of the situation by head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner late Wednesday night. 16

17 CSNbayarea.com Giants again fail to complete nint-inning comeback attempt Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO One of these nights, the Giants will complete a comeback in the ninth. Maybe. In theory. I mean, it has to happen eventually, right? Thursday was not the night, not when Eduardo Nuñez hit by far the hardest ball of the comeback attempt and ended up with a game-ending double play. The Giants lost 3-1, falling to 0-6 this year when trailing in the ninth. Since the start of the 2015 season, they are when they re behind after eight. They have lost 120 straight. The latest halted rally came against Greg Holland, the new Rockies closer and a pitcher the Giants briefly looked at before signing Mark Melancon. Holland ran into trouble, but it wasn t necessarily his fault. The Giants loaded the bases on two infield singles, a fielder s choice grounder, and a walk. Nuñez, one of Bruce Bochy s hottest players this month, scalded a ball right at second baseman DJ LeMahieu. You feel good when that inning starts to unfold, Bochy said. We got some breaks there on a couple of groundballs. Really the only thing you can do is take a good swing and Nuney did that. He s a tough guy to double up but he hit it that hard. The rally was one of few on a night when two aces didn t get as deep as expected. Jon Gray departed in the fourth with a toe injury and Madison Bumgarner was gone by the seventh of a game where his command was off. Bumgarner paid dearly for one pitch, a fastball across the heart of the plate that Trevor Story crushed to left for a two-run shot that ultimately held up. I certainly would like to have it back, he said. I don t know, I just didn t make a whole lot of great pitches tonight. I did OK to keep us in the ballgame, but obviously you would like to be a little better. The Giants couldn t complete their latest comeback attempt, dropping to 4-7 on the season. They re winless in Bumgarner s three starts, though he has pitched well and contributed two homers at the plate. Bumgarner said he s not letting that gnaw at him. All you can do is control what you can control, he said. You go out there and do your job. --- Brandon Crawford arrived at the park around 5:15 p.m. and pinch-hit in the eighth. Crawford s wife, Jalynne, posted on Instagram that her sister, Jennifer, passed away suddenly. The Crawfords drove to Los Angeles on Wednesday night and Brandon took a flight back Thursday afternoon. 17

18 He said he was ready for anything, ready to pinch-hit, Bochy said. It s been a tough 24 hours for Brandon. You feel for him with what he s had to deal with. It was a long night last night. Here he is, trying to help us win a ballgame. It says a lot about Brandon. He didn t have to be here. For him to show up tonight, I really was surprised. Save a good thought for the Crawfords tonight. Our condolences go out to Brandon, Jalynne and their family. CSNbayarea.com Intant Replay Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO The Colorado Rockies entered the season as a dark horse to contend for the National League West title. They made a bit of a statement on their first night at AT&T Park. Playing without their ace for most of the night, the Rockies held on for a 3-1 win on a night Madison Bumgarner made his home debut. The Giants have made a habit of nearly coming back, and they loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. Eduardo Nunez hit into a doubleplay. A battle of Opening Day starters didn t last long, but not because of what hitters were doing. Jon Gray had his usual good stuff and he allowed just one hit through three, but he was pulled one batter into the fourth with a left big toe injury. Gray came out of a spring training start against the Giants with the same injury. Gray left with a two-run lead thanks to Trevor Story. The shortstop hit 27 homers as a rookie and he got his first of 2017 when Bumgarner grooved a fastball in the top of the fourth. Bumgarner wormed his way through traffic all night, and the Rockies scraped across another run in the sixth on three singles. With two on, Bumgarner ended his night on the mound by striking out Story and getting Stephen Cardullo to fly out. The Giants did practically nothing to take advantage of Gray s sudden absence. In 3 1/3 innings, lefty reliever Chris Rusin allowed just two hits and one run. The Giants fell to 4-7. Starting pitching report: Bumgarner took the mound to No Leaf Clover by Metallica and the SF Symphony. You will be missed, Fire On The Mountain. Bullpen report: Bruce Bochy had been looking for an opportunity to push Ty Blach a bit. The young lefty pitched Tuesday and warmed up Wednesday, and he came in for the top of the ninth Thursday. Blach continues to pass every test; he pitched a perfect frame. 18

19 At the plate: Belt snapped a line-drive-filled 0-for-18 when he hit a liner in the seventh that ticked off Story s glove. In the field: Belt made the same difficult play twice in the top of the seventh. Both times, he traveled deep into foul territory to snag a pop-up. Check that UZR in the morning. Attendance: The Giants announced a crowd of 41,915 human beings who gave Brandon Crawford a very warm ovation when he pinch-hit in the eighth. Up next: Johnny Cueto makes his first home start of the season, which is always a good time. He ll face lefty Tyler Anderson. Foxsports.com The African-American talent pool remains troubling problem for baseball Ken Rosenthal A few weeks back, in casual conversation, a player agent told me that he had learned something shocking. One of his clients, the agent said, was the only African-American pitcher in his team s entire farm system. This is crazy, said the agent, who requested anonymity for both he and his client. It s terrifying. I responded that the situation almost certainly was not unique, that every other major-league club probably was experiencing a similar void. So, I contacted all 30 clubs, asking them to disclose the number of African-American pitchers in their respective farm systems. I also asked each to reveal the number of African-American catchers in its organization, knowing that such players were in rarer supply. Every club responded. And the results were not surprising for a sport that continues to face a shortage of African-American talent as it celebrates on Saturday the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. The shortage is particularly severe with pitchers and catchers, who occupy the positions of greatest responsibility on the field. The 30 major-league teams opened the season with a combined total of 54 African-American pitchers in the minors, or less than two per team. The total number of African-American minor- 19

20 league catchers in all of baseball was five, or one every six clubs. The numbers are low, but it is not a phenomenon that is shocking to me, commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday when I informed him what the clubs had reported. We re aware of the fact that the numbers are low. That s why we have in place programs that are designed not only to increase the number of African-Americans playing the game, but also to specifically address the pitcher-catcher issue. Those programs include the inaugural Dream Series, an event that was attended by a diverse group of more than 60 high-school pitchers and catchers in January in Tempe, Az., all expenses paid. Such development camps take place mostly in obscurity, but the focus on baseball s efforts could rise sharply if Hunter Greene, a pitcher-shortstop from Notre Dame (Ca.) H.S., becomes the first African-American pitcher since 1991 chosen first in the amateur draft. Greene, the No. 1 draft prospect according to MLB.com, is a product of a number of baseball s youth programs, including Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) and the Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Ca. His arrival will be welcome, to say the least. Seven teams opened the season with neither an African-American pitcher nor catcher in their minor-league systems. Eight had one African-American pitcher and zero catchers. Half the clubs, in other words, were practically barren at those spots. The numbers reflect a snapshot in time the Athletics, for example, had zero African-American minor-league pitchers at the start of the season after graduating one to the majors, righthander Jharel Cotton. Seven more African-American pitchers and one catcher are in extended spring training, recovering from injuries in some cases, awaiting assignment to minor-league clubs, the teams said. Still, the numbers show that baseball s initiatives are years away from making a significant impact at the major-league level. 20

21 Major-league rosters on Opening Day included 13 African-American pitchers and one African- Canadian catcher, the Blue Jays Russell Martin. The overall percentage of African-American or African-Canadian major leaguers was 7.73 percent, down from 8.27 percent in 2015 and 16, according to MLB. The difference in those percentages is four players, and Ian Desmond, David Price and Tyson Ross are among the African-American players who opened the season on the disabled list. The numbers, then, are essentially flat, as they have been for at least 10 years. The United States in 2015 was 13.3 percent African-American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau s Population Estimates Program. Baseball peaked at 19 percent African-American in 1986, according to Mark Armour from the Society of American Baseball Research, whose work was cited by the New York Times. Some ask, why does any of this matter? Why is the racial makeup of the sport significant at a time when Opening Day major-league rosters and disabled, restricted and suspended lists featured a record number of players born outside the U.S. 259 of 868, or 29.8 percent? The answer is simple: Every professional sport wants to attract the best athletes, and in turn the widest possible audience. And baseball, as the first major professional sport to integrate, traditionally has embraced a higher level of social responsibility. In 2016, baseball spent approximately $30 million on youth development for underserved communities, according to league officials. What is the end game? What is the goal? Numbers in this area, they have another word for them they re called quotas, Manfred said. I don t think that is something we should embrace as an institution. Quotas are divisive and have questionable legality. I think about our goals in two parts. No. 1, we want to do everything that we can within the limits of our economic resources to make playing opportunities available to kids in diverse communities and underserved areas. No. 2, we want a diverse workforce, particularly at the 21

22 major-league level, that is representative of American society. And we want that diverse workforce because we believe that diversity is good for business. The question is, why? Pirates right fielder Andrew McCutchen, in a MLB Network roundtable airing Sunday at 8 p.m. (ET), issues a telling response when host Harold Reynolds mentions that teams rarely include as many as six black players anymore. The question is, why? McCutchen says. He then raises his right arm and rubs his thumb against his other fingers, making the universal gesture for money. This right here, this right here, McCutchen says, continuing to gesture. This is the main reason that you don t see it anymore. It starts at a young age in the game of baseball. If you can t afford it, if you can t pay for it, we re thrown away, we re thrown out, we move to something else. McCutchen is talking about the culture of youth baseball, which is shutting out low-income players of all races due to the rising costs of showcases and travel ball. MLB, while dealing with circumstances beyond its control, is trying to combat the problem. In March 2015, Manfred appointed former Angels general manager Tony Reagins, an African-American, as the league s senior vice-president for youth programs. Reagins became the point man that MLB was lacking, league officials say, and his agenda includes creating programs for underserved youth to receive top-level instruction as well as exposure to professional scouts and college recruiters. Over the past two years, baseball has joined with USA Baseball to establish showcase-type events that young players can attend at no cost. The Dream Series was one. The Prospect Development Pipeline, an invitation-only series of 17 events across the U.S., is another. The Elite Development Invitational, an annual two-week 22

23 camp for more than 200 minority or underserved players ages 13 to 17 in Vero Beach, Fl., is a third (the players union is a partner in the invitational as well). In addition, Reagins said, baseball is working with private scouting and development companies like Perfect Game to incorporate young African-Americans even if the players cannot afford the fees for tournaments and other events. Perfect Game has been willing to scholarship under-served kids in those programs. We did that last year, and we re going to do that this year as well, Reagins said. We re trying to take that financial piece out of it, so that these kids have access to the things that the kids with means have access to. Reagins said the idea is to broaden the talent pool. Darrell Miller, an African-American and former major leaguer who is baseball s vice-president of youth and facility development, said the goal is to reach critical mass. If baseball achieves that objective, an increase in the number of African-American pitchers and catchers naturally will follow. Miller said that African-American pitchers and catchers do not suffer from the same stigma that once held back black quarterbacks in the NFL an institutional belief that such players are not intelligent enough to handle decision-making positions. The bigger problem, in Miller s view, has been baseball losing such athletes to other sports. Case in point: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, a pitcher/outfielder whom the Rangers could not persuade to play baseball after selecting him in the 15th round of the 2012 draft. Slowly, though, the momentum might be shifting. In the past five drafts, 20.2 percent of the first-round picks were African-American. Five of those 34 selections (Marcus Stroman, Touki Toussaint, Justus Sheffield, Dillon Tate and Justin Dunn) were pitchers. None was a catcher. The Dream Series, which included a number of African-American instructors former pitchers Dave Stewart, LaTroy Hawkins and Darren Oliver, former catchers Charles Johnson and Lenny Webster showed a different kind of progress. It was just mind-blowing to me that there are so many African-American kids out there who 23

24 taking an interest in pitching and catching, Hawkins said. Miller, too, said he senses the tide turning at those positions. Guys are actually buying in, Miller said. They re beginning to understand that you re running the game if you re a pitcher or a catcher. You re the quarterback. You re in charge. The young African-American players we re seeing are embracing that. What else can be done? Every year around Jackie Robinson Day, it s the same refrain. Baseball is trying harder. Baseball is doing better. Baseball is finding more African-American talent. Yet, the raw numbers in the majors indicate little change. Skepticism is warranted. Some within the sport remain frustrated. An issue that did not surface overnight will not disappear overnight, and is too complex for anyone to identify one cause or one solution. Still, there are a number of additional avenues for baseball to explore: *An increase in college scholarships. MLB wants this to happen; the NCAA allows only 11.7 scholarships per institution for Division I baseball, compared to 13 for men s basketball and 85 for football. How damaging are the limits for baseball? Consider that 74 percent the players in last year s draft came from four-year schools and junior colleges, according to league officials and that only 3.3 percent of Division I players in were African-American, according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. Baseball is willing to spend millions to fund additional Division I scholarships for those in need, if only the NCAA would allow it. It s extraordinarily difficult, given the NCAA s rules on amateurism, for a professional sport to directly provide scholarships, Manfred said. We have had conversations with the NCAA about scholarship programs and we haven t been able to come to an agreement that was workable given the NCAA regulations. 24

25 Those conversations will continue, Manfred said. MLB and the NCAA would need to determine how to properly distribute the scholarships. Title IX requirements likely would necessitate that MLB fund an equal number of scholarships for both softball and baseball. *An adjustment in the draft. Baseball introduced spending restrictions on domestic amateurs with the 2012 collectivebargaining agreement, prompting agent Scott Boras to say that the new rules would drive elite athletes to other sports. While it s difficult to prove Boras point, the bonuses in the NFL and NBA drafts are capped at higher numbers than the bonuses in baseball. What s more, NFL and NBA picks begin their earning cycles immediately, without spending time in minor leagues. The draft-pool system remained intact in baseball s new CBA, but why not consider a change that would entice players from underserved communities, perhaps by allowing a certain number to sign for unrestricted amounts? *The construction of more urban youth academies. Nine such academies currently are in operation or in development in the U.S. But some players note that major-league teams operate a far greater number of facilities in Latin American countries. Infrastructure. That s the main thing, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones says in the MLB Network roundtable. MLB, all the teams, you go to the Dominican, Venezuela, those respective countries, they re out there searching. Their facilities in the Dominican and Venezuela are outstanding. The baseball fields in Baltimore are horrible. The money that they pour into RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) is great. But the money they pour into Latin America is grand. *An expansion of the White Sox model. Every team sponsors youth initiatives, but the White Sox, with their Amateur City Elite (ACE) program, have set the standard for what teams might accomplish in developing young African- American players. 25

26 The White Sox spend more than $400,000 per year on their program, which includes approximately 180 inner-city youths who play on teams ranging from 12-and-under to 17-andunder, according to Christine O Reilly-Riordan, the executive director of White Sox charities. The Sox pay for uniforms, coaches, facilities and extra equipment, and since the program s inception in 2007 have added educational support and strength and conditioning programs, O Reilly-Riordan said. The results have been stunning. One-hundred forty-eight of the program s participants have earned college scholarships, O Reilly-Riordan said. Outfielder Corey Ray is poised to become the biggest success story from ACE, if he isn t already. The Brewers selected Ray out of the University of Louisville with the fifth overall pick in last year s draft. *A renewal of outside-the-box thinking. Hawkins, a seventh-round pick of the Twins in 1991 who spent 21 years in the majors, said his own story is instructive. I think teams have to go off of the normal path and find guys, Hawkins said. I think about myself. I wasn t a pitcher. I was a thrower. I just played baseball. But there were guys who looked at me and said, You know what? That kid has a chance to be a pitcher. And they took a chance on me. I don t think teams are taking enough chances on African-American guys who are good athletes, or giving them a chance to find themselves once they do get them in an organization. The bottom line: Baseball can always do more. Come June, the sport can showcase Greene as an example of what the sport s diversity initiatives can accomplish, particularly if he is selected first by the Twins. That will be a catalyst for kids to say, What the heck? I can do that? Miller said. He s not only a great talent, but he s a really good human being. 26

27 Baseball also can promote itself as a safer alternative to the NFL, which faces ongoing concerns about the long-term health of its players. Baseball officials do not typically comment on problems that other leagues face. Still, it s not exactly a secret that the NFL s issues are creating opportunity for other sports. The question that must be asked, on Jackie Robinson Day and every other day, is whether the man who broke the sport s color barrier would be satisfied with the current state of affairs. Baseball cannot stop until the answer is yes. 27