SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, May 6, 2017

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1 SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, May 6, 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Giants embarrassed in Cincinnati, get pounded 13-3 John Shea CINCINNATI - Remember when teams used to fear the Giants? The Reds, for example. Once upon a time, the Giants would walk into Great American Ball Park and stage a wingding. They won seven of nine games here dating to 2014 and three straight elimination games in the 2012 Division Series. This year is different. Friday, the Giants made their 2017 debut along Pete Rose Way and got crushed Matt Cain coughed up nine runs on 10 hits and six walks, and his ERA soared from 2.30 to So who s the pushover now? The Reds have a winning record (15-14). The Giants record (11-19) is the worst in the National League. On a night Giants pitchers issued 12 walks, one shy of the San Francisco record for a nine-inning 1

2 game, rookie Christian Arroyo provided the lone highlight with a home run off Bronson Arroyo. The Arroyos aren t related, but both attended Hernando High School in Brooksville, Fla., graduating 18 years apart. On a personal level, it was pretty cool because I know him personally and he helped me out a lot when I was in high school, said Christian, noting Bronson prepped him before the draft on life in pro ball. It would ve been nice to get a W, but it was a pretty cool thing to experience. Arroyo the elder, 40, had his best game of the season, which is his first in the big leagues since Constantly changing speeds and arm angles, he pitched into the sixth inning and gave up three runs, two earned. Despite providing many highlights during the Giants ongoing rough stretch, Arroyo the younger, 21, suggested he could do better. He s hitting.239. I need to get back to my approach and do what I did in Sacramento, said Arroyo, speaking of the Giants Triple-A affiliate. Right now, maybe I m trying to do a little too much. I might ve regressed a little bit. Just need to worry about getting the line moving and getting on base, whether it s a walk or hit. Just trying to get something rolling and help the team start rolling, too. It gets no easier. This was supposed to be a tough month anyway, with the Giants facing the Mets, Cardinals, Cubs and Nationals, plus the Dodgers twice. This stretch of playing the Reds seven times in 10 days no longer is considered an easy part of the schedule. Friday s game was a blur of red, a clinic on running the bases, going first to third and stealing bags. The Reds collected 16 hits and four steals, two in one sequence by Billy Hamilton, who also tripled and reached base five times. Eugenio Suarez and Jose Peraza combined for six hits and seven RBIs. 2

3 Cain exited with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, and Peraza greeted reliever Cory Gearrin with a three-run triple. Obviously, the walks were ugly, and they all seemed to end up scoring, said Cain. Especially in this ballpark, you don t want to give up free passes. Five of the men he walked scored. Cain has been the Giants best starter all season, and Friday s start was a rare stinker. In defeat, he commended the Reds Arroyo for stepping back in time and showing his old mastery. He mixed it up, and that s the art of pitching, Cain said. It s impressive to watch because it s not very easy to go out there spinning it, moving it, changing the arm angles. Creativity is not something he s lacking. Those good vibes the Giants felt after winning a series at Dodger Stadium in the wake of their 9-17 April were shelved. The game was delayed by a 1-hour, 50-minute rain delay. Unfortunately for the visitors, it wasn t rained out. San Francisco Chronicle Giants Belt still getting on base John Shea CINCINNATI - Someone asked Giants manager Bruce Bochy about Brandon Belt and the importance of on-base percentage versus slugging percentage for a first baseman. Bochy turned to reporters covering the Reds and said, You guys have heard that conversation before, haven t you? One said, Every day. 3

4 Joey Votto is the Reds first baseman, an on-base machine and the focus of the great debate at Great American Ball Park. People in these parts continue to ask, Would Votto be more productive if he swung more? Belt is third in league in walks and walked four times Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. His first trip to the plate Friday, he walked on four pitches. You want to get on base. That s a big part of the game, Bochy said. That s what he s good at. That s why he s in the 2 hole. That s why you also need guys who, as I say, drive the mail, drive him home. Where he s at, we re looking at him to really do a little bit of both, which he does. You look at his extra-base hits, you look at his walks, they re pretty good. That works. Belt has 23 walks, trailing only Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt among NL hitters. Of Belt s 26 hits, 12 are for extra bases (four homers, one triple, seven doubles). He s hitting.252 with a.389 on-base percentage and.456 slugging percentage. Belt started in left field Friday, and Bochy suggested it could happen some more even after center fielder Denard Span comes off the disabled list. That would provide Michael Morse and perhaps Buster Posey more time at first base. Briefly: Shortstop Brandon Crawford (groin strain) is eligible to come off the DL on Saturday, but it won t happen. He had planned to run the bases Friday but didn t because of a wet field. The rain does make it a little bit tougher, Crawford said. The new goal is New York. Bochy is confident Johnny Cueto will make his scheduled start Sunday despite a blister on the middle finger of his right hand. John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle s national baseball writer. On deck Saturday at Reds 4:10 p.m. NBCSBA Blach (0-1) vs. 4

5 Garrett (2-2) Sunday at Reds 1:10 p.m. NBCSBA Cueto (4-1) vs. Feldman (1-3) Monday at Mets 4:10 p.m. NBCSBA Moore (1-4) vs. degrom (2-1) Leading off New guy: Since taking over Madison Bumgarner s rotation spot, Ty Blach who ll pitch Saturday has a 1.50 ERA in two starts, surrendering two earned runs in 12 innings. The Giants lost both games. John Shea San Francisco Chronicle Christian Arroyo vs. Bronson Arroyo, a high school dream John Shea CINCINNATI - Friday night s series opener between the Giants and Reds could come down to Arroyo versus Arroyo. Christian Arroyo is hitting sixth for the Giants, and Bronson Arroyo is pitching for the Reds. When I was getting drafted, Christian said, I was thinking, Maybe one day I ll face Bronson. That would be sick. 5

6 The day is here. They re not related, but they have something in common beyond their last name. Both played at Hernando High School in Brooksville, Fla., Christian graduating in 2013 a whopping 18 years after Bronson s graduation. Tim Simms coached each of the Arroyos, and Christian said, He texted us both to tell us to have fun, enjoy the moment and everyone back in Brooksville is watching. The Giants selected Christian in the first round of the 2013 draft, the highest drafted high schooler from Hernando County since Bronson was taken by the Pirates in the third round in It s pretty awesome, to be honest, Christian said. I never figured I d be here with an opportunity to face him. I talked to Bronson in high school before the draft, and he gave me valuable information about the draft process and professional baseball. Part of Bronson s advice was to keep getting good grades. That was no problem for Christian, who had a grade point average well north of Bronson also told him to take care of his body, which Christian calls the epitome of longevity. He said, That s why I ve been in the big leagues as long as I have been. I kind of took that to heart. Bronson is pitching in the majors for the first time since 2014 and will face the Giants in his sixth start of the season. He s 2-2 with a 7.20 ERA. The younger Arroyo, 21, recalled the moment he heard the elder Arroyo, 40, was making a comeback: He said he s not hanging it up. I m thinking, Man, you re crazy. But getting to know him, it doesn t surprise me at all. I know he loves to play, loves to pitch. Giants lineup: 2B Panik, LF Belt, RF Pence, C Posey, 1B Morse, 3B Arroyo, SS Nuñez, CF Hernandez, RH Cain. 6

7 Reds lineup: CF Hamilton, SS Cozart, 1B Votto, LF Duvall, 3B Suarez, RF Schebler, 2B Peraza, C Mesoraco, RH Arroyo. San Jose Mercury News Arroyo homers off Arroyo, but Giants walk 12 in brutal loss at Cincinnati Andrew Baggarly CINCINNATI When the Giants called up Christian Arroyo, one of the first congratulatory text messages the 21-year-old infielder received was from a certain 40-year-old pitcher with the Reds. Bronson Arroyo is old enough to be Christian s father. He isn t. He s not his uncle, or a distant cousin, either. They are not blood relatives, and yet they happen to share more than a surname. They both grew up in the sawgrass an hour s drive north of Tampa, and happened to come through the same Hernando High School baseball program 18 years apart. Through a series of unpredictable circumstances, their major league careers overlapped Friday night in the Reds 13-3 victory at Great American Ball Park. The protégé faced the pitcher who once dropped off batting-practice balls at his old high school, and who counseled him in the days leading up to the draft. And the young Arroyo took the old Arroyo deep. The rookie s home run in the second inning was the lone bright moment on a rainy night that only got more dreary for the visitors after the showers let up. Matt Cain matched career highs by allowing nine earned runs and issuing six walks in 3 1/3 innings, and the Reds made more speedy left turns than a NASCAR time trial. The Giants had gone four years without a starting pitcher getting charged for nine earned runs. Now they ve done it twice in a single rotation turn, with Cain s stinker coming two games after Matt Moore s epic struggle at Dodger Stadium. In both games, right-hander Cory Gearrin inherited three runners and unloaded the bases. The Giants issued 12 walks their most in a game since 2011, and one away from matching the San Francisco franchise-era record for a game that didn t go extra innings. And their minus-47 run differential is the worst in the major leagues. Giants manager Bruce Bochy posited that a flat mound might have been to blame. It was better 7

8 than considering the alternative: that his pitching staff was capable of having eight innings like this. For some reason we struggle off the mound here, Bochy said. We d had our issues. That s not to make an excuse, but 12 walks, I mean, that s not us. Matty has been throwing the ball so well and he shot himself in the foot. Leadoff walks come back to get you. It was rain and then Cain. A steady downpour delayed the first pitch by one hour, 50 minutes, and if it disrupted Cain s pregame program, he didn t do a capable job of adjusting. The Giant s UZR took a beating, too. Cain could point to a number of seeing-eye jobs among the 10 hits he allowed. But there was no excusing the five unintentional walks, including a pair of them to Billy Hamilton, who leads the major leagues in stolen bases. He swiped two of the Reds four with Cain on the mound. I just didn t make a little better pitch here or there, Cain said. I think it was closer than it was. Obviously, the walks are ugly. It seemed all of them ended up scoring. Well, just seven of 12, actually. It s tough when you re walking the fastest guy in the league, Bochy said. Matt wasn t at the top of his game holding runners. Buster (Posey) didn t have a chance at any of them. Cain entered with a 2.30 ERA and had outperformed expectations, especially while holding opponents to a total of three runs over his previous four starts. He had begun the season with a slick grip on the final place in the rotation, and turned himself into rotation bedrock again. With Madison Bumgarner out at least until the All-Star break with a separated shoulder, the Giants cannot afford for Cain to regress again. The Giants continue to waver between tightly contested games and nights when they are unwatchable. And like they did after playing series against the Diamondbacks and Rockies, they continue to marvel at the emerging young talent on the other side. They have marveled so much, their record begins to make sense. You know what? They have good, young players, Bochy said of the Reds. They ve been scoring runs. They ve been putting runs on the board. They re coming off a good series against the Pirates. Cain already trailed 6-1 entering the fourth inning, when he faced four batters and only recorded one out and needed the Reds to run themselves into it. Second baseman Joe Panik played it smart when he cut off a throw and noticed Eugenio Suarez slowing into second base 8

9 as Adam Duvall retreated back to it. He held the ball and ran toward both runners, tagging Suarez to ensure that Joey Votto would not start from third base on a rundown. All of that effort resulted in zero run prevention. Cain s last act was not an act. He issued an intentional walk to Scott Schebler, which under the new rules, only requires that he stand on the mound and not try to tackle the runner. Then Gearrin entered and gave up a three-run triple to Jose Peraza. The Giants played janitorial staff for the remainder of the night, and the final innings took place in a deserted ballpark. Bronson Arroyo pitched into the sixth inning and held the Giants to a pair of runs to qualify for the 148th victory of his 16-year career. On the afternoon when the Pirates drafted him in the fifth round in 1995, Christian Arroyo was five days old. They both played for Tim Sims at Hernando High in Brooksville, Fla., but hailed from different parts of the state. They won t see each other at family reunions. But they re brothers in another sense. He texted me when I got called up, Christian Arroyo said. He said, `Everybody in `Brooks- Vegas will be watching. Bronson Arroyo would come back to Brooksville in the offseason, where he had a home, and attend practices. Christian and his buddies would play basketball at his house. One of Christian s friends is a country music singer and often jams with Bronson, a noted guitarist, when he plays the local clubs. When Christian was preparing for the draft in 2013, Sims had Bronson talk to him to prepare him for the process. Bronson used to drop off buckets of batting practice balls and spare bats for the Hernando High team to use, too. He helped me out a lot in high school, said the Giants rookie, who lined out in his other Arroyo vs. Arroyo confrontation. To face him tonight was pretty cool. It d be nice to get the W, but it was a cool thing to experience. Christian said he never expected to get the chance to face his high school s most accomplished baseball alumnus. But Bronson returned from a series of what otherwise could ve been careerending injuries as he makes a last hurrah for the Reds. And Christian got called up earlier than expected because the Giants had a rash of injuries. So here they were, the two unrelated Arroyos from Hernando High, overlapping in one more sense. 9

10 Heater, and I just tried not to do too much, said the Giants Arroyo, asked about the pitch he hit out. He throws everything for a strike. I just tried to stay inside a pitch. Putting aside their alumni affiliations, Bochy was intrigued by the matchup. I thought this would be a little tougher matchup for him maybe, because you know (Bronson) Arroyo will throw the kitchen sink at you, Bochy said. The kid has done a nice job. He s got good balance. He doesn t do a lot of chasing. For a young kid to show that kind of discipline, and of course, that bat speed tell you what, this kid is a ballplayer. That s what confidence does. There s no nerves involved and you can see that. San Jose Mercury News Giants Notes Andrew Baggarly CINCINNATI Johnny Cueto continues to manage a blister on his pitching hand and is expected to take the ball in Sunday s series finale here against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. But he might not have Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford behind him. Crawford is eligible to be activated from the 10-day disabled list on Saturday, and his strained right groin is making progress. But there is rain in the forecast both for Friday s series opener and most of Saturday. Starting Crawford on a wet field wouldn t be a good idea, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. And besides, Crawford is still dealing with some discomfort. The last thing the Giants want is for him to aggravate the injury, or make it worse, and end up missing more time as a result. Bochy acknowledged that Crawford s injury would have put him on the old 15-day DL, if it hadn t been shortened to 10 games. So it sounds as if the Giants would be fortunate to have Crawford back by Monday s series opener against the Mets at Citi Field. In the meantime, Bochy is putting Michael Morse at first base and Brandon Belt in left field for Friday night s opener here on the banks of the Ohio River. Bochy acknowledged that he could have Belt in left field on more than an occasional basis even after Denard Span returns from his sprained shoulder, since he wants to get Morse and Buster Posey some starts at first base. When Crawford returns, you ll probably see Eduardo Nuñez in left field a fair amount as well 10

11 especially if rookie third baseman Christian Arroyo continues to have good at-bats and find ways to produce. This game will be a thrill for the young Arroyo, because the Giants face Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo. The two Arroyos are not related, but they played at the same high school in Florida and they have known each other for a long time. Much more on that here. The tarp is on the field and it s drizzling, but Friday s forecast looks better than Saturday s. Here are lineups for the scheduled 3:40 p.m. PDT first pitch: San Jose Mercury News Christian Arroyo and Bronson Arroyo aren t related, but they share special bond Andrew Baggarly CINCINNATI Bronson Arroyo is 40 years old. He starts for the Reds against the Giants on Friday. He is old enough to be Christian Arroyo s father. He s not his father. Or his uncle. Or even a distant cousin. But as we approach the first Arroyo-Arroyo matchup in major league history, the Reds veteran and the Giants 21-year-old rookie are most definitely related in a non-blood sense. They attended the same high school, Hernando High in Brooksville, Fla., less than an hour s drive north of Tampa. They played for the same coach there, Tim Sims. Both of them moved to Brooksville from other parts of the state. They won t see each other at family reunions. But they re brothers in another sense. He texted me when I got called up, Christian Arroyo said. He said, `Everybody in `Brooks- Vegas will be watching. Bronson Arroyo was an established big leaguer when Christian was in high school. He d come back to Brooksville in the offseason, where he had a home, and attend practices. My buddies and I used to play basketball at his house, Christian Arroyo said. But it was during the season so he wasn t there. Another of Christian s friends is a country music singer and has jammed with Bronson, a noted guitarist, in local clubs. When Christian was preparing for the draft in 2013, Sims had Bronson talk to him to prepare 11

12 him for the process. Bronson used to drop off buckets of batting practice balls and spare bats for the Hernando High team to use, too. He s just a really great guy, Christian said. Christian said he never expected to get that chance. But Bronson made it back from a series of what otherwise could ve been career-ending injuries as he makes a last hurrah for the Reds. And Christian got called up earlier than expected because the Giants had a rash of injuries. So here they are, the two unrelated Arroyos from Hernando High, about to have their careers overlap. So what will it be like to face him? It ll be different for sure, Christian said. He s had a great career. I ll be facing someone I ve always looked up to. MLB.com Name game: Arroyo homers off Arroyo Andy Call CINCINNATI -- It was Arroyo vs. Arroyo in the second inning Friday night, and the identity of the winner was clear. San Francisco third baseman Christian Arroyo belted a home run off the pitcher with whom he shares both a name and an alma mater, veteran Cincinnati right-hander Bronson Arroyo, during the Reds' 13-3 victory over the Giants at Great American Ball Park. Full Game Coverage "I guess if I was going to give up a homer to anybody, I'd give it up to him," Bronson Arroyo said. "I'll take that. I can look at the back of his baseball card when I'm not playing any more and say, 'Well, I gave you one.'" "It's still baseball," Christian Arroyo said. "On a personal level, it was pretty cool, because, like I said before, I know him personally, and he helped me out a lot when I was in high school." 12

13 Christian Arroyo, 21, and Bronson Arroyo, 40, are not related, but both are graduates of Hernando High School in Brooksville, Fla. "There is a whole new generation of people in that school who know Christian but who probably don't know me," Bronson Arroyo said. Bronson Arroyo fired an 84.7 mph fastball on his second pitch to Christian Arroyo, who clubbed it mph, the ball landing in the seats in left-center field. It was Christian Arroyo's third homer of his rookie season. "I was behind 1-0, and I tried to throw a fastball down-and-away and it just leaked back middle in-and-up probably the worst pitch I could have thrown anybody in that lineup," Bronson Arroyo said. According to Statcast, Christian Arroyo's homer was the hardest-hit and farthest-hit (406 feet) ball of his young big league career. Bronson Arroyo said he met with Christian Arroyo and his family while the latter was in high school to "give them clarity" about the draft process and life in the Minor Leagues. They faced off again in the fifth inning. This time, Christian Arroyo was retired on a fly ball. "Getting to face him tonight was pretty cool," Christian Arroyo said. "It would have been nice to get a 'W,' but it was a pretty cool thing to kind of experience." MLB.com Cain struggles to hold runners in tough loss Chris Haft CINCINNATI -- Matt Cain knows that he can't ignore his performance in the Giants' 13-3 loss Friday night to the Reds. The numbers that testify to his outing won't allow it. But Cain doesn't believe that he has to dwell on his unsightly 3 1/3 innings. After all, the 23 innings he pitched in his previous four starts were so much more pleasant for him and 13

14 productive for the Giants. Full Game Coverage So when Cain makes his next start, most likely Wednesday at New York as the Giants end their three-city, nine-game trip, his thoughts will be buffered by the 1.17 ERA he compiled in his four games preceding this one -- not the nine runs he allowed and six walks he issued against the Reds, which matched career highs. "You try to look back on the positive things happened and try to keep building from [them], not harp on the bad things and beat yourself up to where it carries over," said Cain, whose overall ERA more than doubled from 2.30 to Giants manager Bruce Bochy agreed with that approach. "He was just a little off tonight," Bochy said. "It was one of those nights where they did everything right. Matty has done so well. He just has to put this behind him." Bochy did cite a technical flaw of Cain's: denying basestealers. The fleet Billy Hamilton stole second and third in the second inning, when the Reds scored twice to lengthen their lead to 5-1. In all, Cincinnati stole four bases off Cain. "Matty wasn't quite on top of his game witih holding runners," Bochy said. "Buster[Posey] didn't have a chance with any of them." Cain praised opposing starter Bronson Arroyo, the 40-year-old right-hander who limited the Giants to three runs (two earned) in 51/3 innings. "He's mixing it up," Cain said. "That's the art of pitching, and he's really working it. It's impressive to watch, because it's not easy." Interestingly, that echoed what observers said about Cain as he stymied hitters by locating his two-seam fastball expertly and mixing in his breaking pitches. Until Friday. 14

15 MLB.com Rookie Arroyo continues tear, but Giants fall Chris Haft and Andy Call CINCINNATI -- The Reds waited for an hour and a half of showers to pass to begin their series opener Friday night against the Giants. By contrast, Cincinnati's offense developed instantly in a 13-3 rout. The Reds, who have won five of their past six games, maintained a balanced offense against the Giants. They scored in each of the first six innings. Billy Hamilton, Zack Cozart andjoey Votto, the first three batters in Cincinnati's order, combined to score eight runs.eugenio Suarez and Jose Peraza each collected three hits and drove in seven runs between them. Full Game Coverage Giants pitchers issued 12 walks. Seven of those baserunners scored. "For some reason, it seems like we struggle off this mound, and I can't tell you why, but we've had our issues pitching here," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's not to make an excuse, but for some reason we have trouble commanding the ball. I mean, 12 walks -- that's not us." Giants rookie Christian Arroyo provided an oddity along with some offense by homering off Reds starter Bronson Arroyo, who isn't related to him but graduated from the same high school -- Hernando H.S. in Brooksville, Fla years before Christian did. Bronson Arroyo earned the victory, lasting 51/3 innings while yielding five hits and three runs (two earned). "To get off to a good lead like that makes your job so much easier," Bronson Arroyo said. "My arm was normal today for the first time all year. I felt fine today." Giants starter Matt Cain, who compiled a 1.17 ERA in his previous four starts, matched career highs by walking six and allowing nine runs during his 31/3-inning stint. "We laid off some good pitches by Cain early in the game and made him work," Reds manager Bryan Price said. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Suarez starts off in clutch: The Reds established themselves immediately by collecting three consecutive two-out singles in the first inning. The first, by Suarez, drove in Cozart with the inning's second run. Cincinnati amassed four hits in that inning, a total the Giants wouldn't 15

16 match for four innings. Peraza finds his stroke: Batting.248 entering the game, which contrasted with the promising.324 average he posted in 2016, Peraza immediately set the tone for his three-hit, four-rbi night by singling home Suarez in the first inning. Peraza also showed off his speed by stealing second base in the third and legging out his fourth-inning triple. SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS When Austin Brice entered the game to work the top of the eighth inning, he became the 19th pitcher to appear in a game for the Reds this season. With a time of seconds, Hamilton's triple in the 6th inning is the fifth-fastest triple in MLB this season. The fastest was by the Twins' Byron Buxton on May 3 at seconds. WHAT'S NEXT Giants: Left-hander Ty Blach will make his third start in place of Madison Bumgarner in Saturday's 4:10 p.m. PT encounter on MLB.TV. Blach, who will face Cincinnati for the first time in his career, owns a 1.26 ERA at home and 8.10 on the road. Reds: The Reds will start Amir Garrett in Saturday's 7:10 p.m. ET battle of rookie left-handers on MLB.TV. Garrett had one forgettable start against Milwaukee, but a combined 2.03 ERA in the other four. MLB.com Giants waiting to activate Crawford from DL Chris Haft CINCINNATI -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy affirmed Friday that shortstop Brandon Crawford will not be ready to leave the 10-day disabled list on Saturday, the first day he's eligible for activation. However, Crawford's strained right groin may have healed enough to enable him to return to the lineup soon. He has continued to perform baseball-related activities. Full Game Coverage The inclement weather expected this weekend provides Bochy with a solid reason for delaying Crawford's comeback. One false move, and the shortstop could aggravate his injury by slipping. "Weather can play a part in it," Bochy said. 16

17 According to some forecasts, the rain is expected to stop on Sunday. Even then, Bochy is likely to remain cautious and wait at least until Monday's opener of a three-game series in New York to activate Crawford, who hasn't played since he sustained his injury on April 25. Worth noting First baseman Brandon Belt has seen his offensive value enhanced by his propensity for drawing walks, according to fangraphs.com. Entering Friday, Belt had coaxed 22 walks, fourth-highest in the Major Leagues, and 12 of his 26 hits had gone for extra bases. Hence, Bochy said that he's likely to use Belt in left field, as he did Friday, at least occasionally. That would enable Buster Posey or Michael Morse to play first base and potentially bolster the offense. Belt's critics have said that he doesn't hit enough home runs to be a legitimate offensive threat. Bochy defended Belt's ability to fill more than one offensive role. "You do need guys who, as I say, carry the mail -- drive in runs," Bochy said. Citing Belt's ability to draw walks, Bochy added, "We look for him to bring both." Bochy said that right-hander Johnny Cueto will make his scheduled start Sunday against his former Reds teammates, despite the blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. "He's got it under control, and that's a good thing," Bochy said. MLB.com Rookie Blach, Giants battle Reds Andy Call Amir Garrett turned 25 Wednesday, and the early returns indicate this could be a very special year for him. The Reds' rookie left-hander will start Saturday at Great American Ball Park against the Giants. San Francisco will counter with left-hander Ty Blach (0-1, 2.55 ERA), who will be making his third start since moving into the rotation to replace the injured Madison Bumgarner. Full Game Coverage 17

18 Garrett (2-2, 4.50 ERA) has been impressive in four of his five starts, throwing strikes and keeping the ball low in the zone. "In all of my starts except the one in Milwaukee, I was able to locate my pitches really well," Garrett said. "I have been able to execute my pitches really well in my other four starts, and they turned out great. I feel like I showed my potential." The Brewers jumped on Garrett for nine runs over 3 1/3 innings on April 24. His combined ERA in his other four starts is Reds manager Bryan Price noted how effective Garrett has been keeping the ball low in the strike zone after he allowed two runs (both on solo home runs) over seven innings during Monday's 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh. "When you are a left-handed starter, quite often you are going to face a stacked right-handedhitting lineup," Price said. "When that happens, boy, if you can hit that down-and-away corner when you need to, that's a blessing." Price also said Garrett has been throwing strikes and has demonstrated an effective changeup to go with his fastball and sinker. Garrett fired 56 percent strikes against Milwaukee, but 68 percent in his other starts. Blach has also stepped up to the challenge with a 1.50 ERA in his first two starts, compared to a 4.76 ERA in his seven previous relief appearances. He shut out San Diego over seven innings Sunday, allowing three hits. Three things to know about this game Garrett began the season as the No. 2 prospect in the Reds' organization, according to MLBPipeline.com, while Blach was rated No. 11 among Giants prospects. No batters on either side have faced tonight's starting pitchers in the Major Leagues. The Reds came into Friday's game with a record against San Francisco since 2008, the best winning percentage of any Giants opponent in that span. 18

19 Fangraphs.com Brandon Belt rightly resists the revolution Craig Edwards On Wednesday night, Brandon Belt came to the plate six times. He drew four walks, struck out once, and put one ball in play, a single in the 11th that drove in a run. Of course, the combination of all those walks and the relative lack of homers sometimes leads to spurious criticisms not unlike those leveled at Joey Votto. While most understand that Votto is a great hitter and many understand that what Belt does is good, Belt s reputation likely suffers more than Votto s for a few reasons. 1. He s not as good as Joey Votto. 2. He hits relatively few homers for a first baseman. As to that first point, there s no shame in failing to rival Joey Votto. As to the second, it really is hard to overstate the effects of Belt s home park. Despite what Barry Bonds might have led everyone to believe, it s incredibly difficult to hit homers in San Francisco. Despite what Barry Bonds might have led everyone to believe, it s even more incredibly difficult for lefties to homer there. Brandon Belt isn t without power. He has posted ISOs well above league average throughout his career. Since the beginning of 2015, his.226 ISO on the road is 23rd best in baseball among the 160 players who ve recorded at least 500 away plate appearances. He s within 10 points of Joey Votto; he s right behind Josh Donaldson, Brian Dozier, and Daniel Murphy; and he s just ahead of Miguel Cabrera and Jose Bautista. In 580 away plate appearances since the beginning of 2015 roughly a season s worth of playing time- Belt has 28 home runs, having hit them at a greater rate than Kris Bryant and Paul Goldschmidt. His numbers are good in high-leverage and low-leverage situations. He s good with runners on and the bases empty. He s consistent, too, as the chart showing his 100-game rolling ISO shows. He s also never hit more than 18 homers in a season and doesn t seem likely to do so this year. In addition, look at Belt s ISO compared to first basemen as a whole the last few seasons. Belt s power figures have remained roughly the same, even as the league around him has boosted its power. Belt s overall offensive line has remained just as good relative to the rest of the league, however, thanks to an increase in walks. There has been much theorizing about the 19

20 increase in offense over the last few years. One of the more prominent theories concerns the effects of ever higher launch angles, as hitters try to boost their power numbers by hitting the ball in the air more often. Would that work for Belt? Probably not, actually. Not because he would lose something else as a hitter, but because it wouldn t necessarily help him in San Francisco. Belt actually did hit more fly balls last season; his power numbers barely moved, though. As a lefty hitter hitting in a park that suppresses power particularly for left-handed hitters it s not really clear that maximizing launch angle would provide Belt with much benefit. It s tough to show exactly how much worse it is for lefties to hit in San Francisco than in other parks, but it is probably best to start with park factor. The graph below shows the park factor for home runs by left-handed hitters. The higher the number, the easier it is to hit them out of the ballpark. San Francisco is last by quite a bit. It s a good park for triples, but those don t really happen often enough to make a huge difference. And it s still in the bottom third for doubles. Going beyond park factor, we can see just how this problem plays out using Statcast. Baseball Savant now carries xwoba as part of the available metrics. xwoba utilizes exit velocity and launch angle to determine what the woba on any given play likely would have been. We can isolate by left-handed hitters and venue to get a better sense of what happens when lefties hit the ball in each park. For this search, we will look at Barrels that is, batted balls with the sort of launch angle and exit velocity that typically produces a batting average of at least.500 and slugging percentage of at least Since the beginning of 2015, every park has seen around 200 barreled balls from left-handed batters. The average woba on these balls is and the expected woba on these balls is 71 points lower, so across the league, lefties generally exceed their expected woba when they barrel a ball. The graph below shows the difference between expected woba and actual woba since 2015, with a higher number meaning batted balls are underperforming what we might expect. In the smaller parks in Milwaukee and Cincinnati, the thin air of Colorado, and the notoriously short right field of Yankee Stadium, lefty hitters outperform their expected woba. Detroit is an average park for left-handers hitting homers, but is considerably more difficult for doubles. 20

21 Kansas City is a hard park in which to homer, and the club s defense might play a role there, as well. San Francisco is one of just three parks where barreled balls produce considerably worse results for lefties compared to the rest of baseball. The disparity is there for Giants hitters and their opponents. To provide another perspective on the data above and remove defense from the equation entirely we can take all of the barreled balls by park and look at the percentage of those batted balls that go for homers. League average is 55% for left-handed batters. It s hard for lefties to hit homers in San Francisco. When a hitter barrels a ball in Yankee Stadium or Dodger Stadium, it goes out of the park two out of every three times. When it happens in San Francisco, it s a homer roughly half as often. This is true both for the Giants and their opponents. Brandon Belt doesn t hit a lot of homers because San Francisco doesn t let him. It doesn t allow any lefty Barry Bonds excluded to hit a lot of homers. Brandon Belt is a good hitter with power. His walks have allowed him to keep pace with the rest of the league offensively, as increasing his power numbers would likely be a fool s errand. Brandon Belt doesn t hit for a high average or hit a lot of homers. He s not fast on the bases. He doesn t need to do any of that, however, to be very good. He walks a lot and he hits for power, even if the ball doesn t leave the yard. That s all he needs to do to be one of the top-25 hitters in baseball. ESPN.com In first month of season Rays improvements on defense stand out Mark Simon We ve picked a Defensive Player of the Month for several years, and sometimes it can be challenging to do so because the sample is small and the standouts can be few. A couple of plays made or not made can skew the results and thus your evaluation. So we re going to do something a little different this month and give a collective award for the defensive work of three members of the Tampa Bay Rays -- who lead the majors in defensive runs saved through the first month of the season -- and more specifically salute their overall defensive excellence. What has made the Rays so good? 21

22 The usual suspect, plus one If the Rays are faring well defensively, it s a virtual certainty that their Gold Glove center fielder is doing amazing things, and so far Kevin Kiermaier is up to his usual tricks with seven defensive runs saved, onew behind Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell for most in the majors. But the guy standing to his left been pretty good, too. Right fielder Steven Souza Jr. is hitting and fielding like a high-end All-Star. Check out these three fantastic catches he made in last Friday s win over the Blue Jays. It s his best defensive work since the play he made to preserve former Nationals teammate Jordan Zimmermann s no-hitter. But those three plays combined for only one defensive run saved, per Baseball Info Solutions calculations, and Souza has four defensive runs in just over a month, so it s more than just a game s worth of greatness. Having Kiermaier around helps both corner outfielders. [Our left fielder and right fielder] follow everything we give them, and Kevin fills in the gaps, Rays bench coach Tom Foley said. Here s a stat to keep in mind about the Rays' outfield: Entering Saturday, 67 batted balls that stayed in the ballpark were classified by Inside Edge (a video-review service that provides data to teams and media) as "hard-hit outfield line drives or fly balls hit from center field to the right-field line." The Rays have turned 34 of those into outs. The average team s conversion rate would have resulted in 25 outs. That s a lot of big hits that Souza and Kiermaier are saving. Evan Almighty Third baseman Evan Longoria is off to a good start in reversing what has been a three-year numerical decline in his defensive performance. He has six defensive runs saved, the most at the position. Longoria rates positively in fielding balls hit down the line and into the shortstopthird base hole. Most Defensive Runs Saved 2017 Season (Through Tuesday) Rays 33 Twins 17 Rangers 15 Cubs 13 Red Sox 12 Astros 11 22

23 Reds 11 Longoria is a constant, Foley said. I m not going to say the (past) numbers are right or that the numbers are wrong. I ve seen it with my eyes. He knows what he s doing. We ll include Longoria with Kiermaier and Souza in our defensive awarding, but his success likely speaks to something bigger. The value of positioning In 2016, the Rays ranked second in the majors in the number of shifts on balls put in play. However, they also ranked last in how frequently they turned ground balls and bunts into outs. That data didn t scare them off, though. This season, they ve shifted even more frequently, and this time it is working. Their fielders rank ninth in the majors in ground ball and bunt out rate (74 percent), an increase of 4 percentage points. If maintained over a full season, it would mean the Rays would allow about 80 fewer hits than last year s defense would have allowed against the same number of ground balls and bunts. But it s not just shifts. The numbers show the Rays have made a modest level of improvement at converting outs when the shift is off as well. And this isn t an infield defense you d call flashy or wow-inducing. Educated guess: They ve improved on their ability to make educated guesses about where the batter will hit the ball. And so long as they field those balls, they re in good shape. We re making all the routine plays, Foley said. We re going to put guys in positions for when they do hit the ball on the ground; we re going to be in those spots. They re also doing better at getting two outs rather than one. The Rays average almost a double play per game this season, which would put them about 30 ahead of their 2016 total. Second baseman Brad Miller takes his lumps for not having great range, but he has acclimated fine after moving from shortstop to first base to second base in the past two seasons. At the latter, he has converted 23 double plays on the first 25 opportunities he s had to get one (the average second baseman turns two-thirds). What it means The Rays are hovering around.500, so their great defense doesn t necessarily make them a 23

24 winning team. But look at it this way. If their defense had performed this April the way it did in 2016, the Rays would probably be looking at three to four fewer wins. And that team would look a lot like last year s team. Can it be maintained? What should we watch for? Watch our consistency, Foley said. I believe if you make the routine plays, the great plays will take care of themselves. They ve done that. We don t want to give opponents any extra outs. 24