Five things we learned in the Giants’ tie with the Brewers: Samardzija on trade talks, Dubón in center and clutch performers
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When the San Francisco Giants acquired Milwaukee Brewers prospect Mauricio Dubón at the 2019 trade deadline, the middle infielder had never played the outfield in a minor league game.
For the first time in Dubón’s professional career, the Giants sent him out to center field on Wednesday and they did it against his former club. Dubón replaced starter Billy Hamilton in the fifth inning and spent the rest of the afternoon roaming the vast outfield at Scottsdale Stadium in a game that ended in a 3-3 tie.
He also did it using teammate Jamie Westbrook’s glove.
“The (glove) that took five hours to break in, I couldn’t find it,” Dubón said.
The Honduras native said earlier this week he actually started taking flyballs in the outfield when he was in the Brewers’ organization, but Milwaukee viewed him primarily as a shortstop before sending him to San Francisco in a deal that brought relievers Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black to the Midwest.
Dubón wasn’t challenged much in the outfield on Wednesday, but he found a different way to use his athleticism to the Giants’ advantage. After drawing a walk in the seventh inning, Dubón stole third base on a throw from the catcher back to the pitch and later scored on a forceout to give the Giants their third run.
“I had it kind of mapped out,” Dubón said. “I knew if I got to second, I had a shot because he was lobbing the ball back.”
On a handful of flyballs hit to the outfield, Dubón backed up left fielder Chris Shaw and right fielder Bryce Johnson on catches and also handled a long double off the center field wall. Dubón unleashed an impressive throw back to the infield, but he missed a cut-off man because he threw the ball directly to second base on a stand-up double.
“He looked like an athlete out there, like he could think quickly on his feet,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It was interesting to see him throw behind the runner, that’s a play where we’re going to get him to hit the cut-off man but that’s just going to come with more reps and experience out there. Nothing but good came out of today for Dubón in center field.”
Shark sighting in the desert
Giants starter Jeff Samardzija made his Cactus League debut Wednesday and worked two scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.
There have been times during Samardzija’s 13-year major league career when he would peek at the scoreboard and check his velocity during spring training, but after dealing with a serious shoulder injury that ruined his 2018 season, the radar gun isn’t a primary focus.
Samardzija’s velocity topped out at 89 miles per hour against Milwaukee, but he induced a handful of swings and misses, worked in effective cutters and sliders and helped himself out with a 6-4-3 double play in the second inning. The right-hander had particularly sharp movement on his splitter against Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura as he recorded three swings and misses en route to his only strikeout.
“I want to make sure we get that (splitter) going,” Samardzija said. “It ended the year as a really good pitch for us and we just kind of feel like it can be utilized a little bit more than maybe just as an out pitch.”
Like every pitch in camp, Samardzija is looking to make an impression on the Giants’ new coaching staff, but his primary goal at this point in his career is to stay healthy so he can give himself a chance to reach the 200-inning threshold for the first time since 2017.
“I think we can take a tactical approach to it and maybe just extending here and there a little bit more to become that 200-inning pitcher like I’m used to,” Samardzija said. “200 innings is six innings an outing for 33 starts, so if you look at it that way, it doesn’t necessarily seem too overwhelming.”
In five Cactus League games, Giants starters have yet to give up an earned run and have recorded four straight scoreless outings since Dereck Rodríguez allowed a pair of unearned runs against the Dodgers on Saturday.
Brandon Crawford legs it out
For the second time this week, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford scored from first base on a double hit by third baseman Evan Longoria.
After needing a headfirst dive into home plate to beat a throw in from right center field on Monday against the Diamondbacks, Crawford had an easier time scoring on Longoria’s double against the Brewers in the first inning. After left fielder Ronny Rodríguez bobbled the ball in the left field corner, Crawford thought he would score standing up but ended up heeding a late signal from on-deck batter Brandon Belt and coming in feet first.
“I wouldn’t mind if Longo just hit a homer and I could jog one of these times,” Crawford joked.
The Giants give a daily baserunning award during spring camp and Crawford received the honor on Monday for his sprint from first to home. After the shortstop exited Wednesday’s game, he said he’ll be checking the board inside the clubhouse on Thursday morning to see if he’s the first two-time winner.
Players won’t take home the honor for a home run trot, but Crawford made life easy on himself in the third inning. After singling in his first at-bat, he turned on a pitch from Brewers left-hander Eric Lauer and launched it into the Giants’ bullpen beyond the right field fence for his first home run of Cactus League play.
Crawford, Longoria and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski are among the regulars who have had several solid swings in early spring games.
Trade talks already?
With Yankees starter James Paxton expected to be sidelined through May following back surgery and right-hander Luis Severino set to miss the season due to an elbow injury, there’s already speculation the favorites in the American League East will be scouring the trade market for replacements.
Teams looking for short-term fill-ins often target players on expiring contracts, so Samardzija is aware his name could come up in trade rumors.
“The way I look at it is you look to put yourself and the team you’re on in the best situation moving forward,” Samardzija said. “Obviously the best situation going forward would be in the playoff hunt, add talent at the break and make a run for it in the fall. That’s our No. 1 goal.”
Samardzija, who will earn $18 million in 2020, is set to become a free-agent at the end of the season and has already been traded twice in his career. The right-hander went from the Cubs to the A’s at the 2014 All-Star break and was moved from the A’s to the White Sox in December, 2014.
He envisions a successful year with the Giants and reiterated that he hopes San Francisco will be among the teams that’s talking about acquiring major league players instead of trading them this summer.
“My goal is to be in this thing, playing strong, winning a lot of games so we’re kind of talking the opposite,” Samardzija said. “Adding talent and pushing the front office with pressure to add the guys that we need to add.”
Samardzija joked if he ever did end up with the Yankees, they’d have to change some rules for him.
“Give me No. 2 and not have me cut my fair,” Samardzija said.
Clutch performers
The Giants entered the top of the ninth leading 3-0, but reliever Raffi Vizcaíno and the defense behind him made a handful of mistakes that allowed the Brewers to tie the game.
Milwaukee had a chance to take the lead with a pair of runners in scoring position and one out, but right-hander Tyler Cyr entered and recorded back-to-back strikeouts.
Cyr’s cutter-splitter combination is tough on both righties and lefties and if he stays healthy in 2020, the 26-year-old Fremont, Calif. should have a good chance of making his major league debut.
Cyr’s ninth-inning catcher, Joey Bart, was the other late standout for the Giants as Bart drilled a leadoff basehit in the bottom of the ninth and stretched as single into a double with hustle right out of the box.
Bart recognized the right fielder was shaded toward the line and took advantage of the Brewers’ defensive set-up with a smart, aggressive turn around first base that allowed him to reach scoring position. The hitters behind him couldn’t send the Giants home with a walk-off win, but Kapler was pleased with the efforts of two non-roster invitees in a challenging situation.