SF Giants: Notes From The 1-1 Tie With The Dodgers

In the SF Giants’ third official spring training game, the orange-and-black finished in a 1-1 tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers let ace Walker Buehler and young flamethrower Dustin May throw two twinnings apiece in the seven-inning affair. The Giants, on the other hand, continued working their pitchers along slowly, using seven pitchers for an inning.

Hitters on both sides struggled to square up opposing pitching. Both sides combined for just 8 hits and 19 strikeouts. The Giants scratched a run across in the bottom of the sixth inning after a pair of singles by LaMonte Wade Jr and Jason Krizan setup Logan Wyatt for a sacrifice fly. Then, in the top of the seventh, James Outman drove in the equalizer off Dominic Leone, who surrendered a walk and two hits in his inning of work.

Notes From The SF Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers 1-1 Tie:
Logan Webb Shows Flashes

In his inning, Logan Webb showed many of the flashes he did last season with the Giants. He quickly put both Mookie Betts and Corey Seager in two-strike counts before inducing an infield popup from Betts and striking out Seager swinging. However, it took him 13 pitches to retire both hitters, with Betts fouling off one two-strike offering after another.

Then, with two outs and nobody on base, Webb hung a 0-1 offspeed pitch to AJ Pollock. While Mauricio Dubón was able to track it down on the warning track, Webb was clearly upset by the pitch. Virtually no one looks perfect in their first outing of the preseason. While there’s obvious room for improvement, a one-two-three inning against three of the Dodgers best hitters is nothing to scoff at either.

Notes From The SF Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers 1-1 Tie:
Jason Vosler Makes A Move

After an 0-4 start to the preseason, Jason Vosler showed why the Giants were willing to sign him to a big-league contract this offseason. Batting against Buehler, Vosler took a fastball on the outside part of the plate to left field (away from a shift) for an easy double. Then in his next at-bat against May, he drilled another double, this time to left-center field. Vosler’s path to the MLB roster was made exponentially harder by the Giants signing of Tommy La Stella, but he’s making a strong impression early in the preseason.

Notes From The SF Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers 1-1 Tie:
Wandy Peralta Deals

Wandy Peralta‘s unique pitch mix has captivated me since I first saw him with the Giants last season. Admittedly, his track-record shows a below-average to average pitcher, but I still believe there’s unlocked potential in the 29-year old. He showed that in Tuesday’s outing. Peralta needed just ten pitches in the fifth inning to dispose of Andy Burns, James Outman, and Ryan Noda, striking out Burns and Noda. In the grand scheme of things, it proves relatively little, but given the number of veteran relievers the Giants brought in this offseason, Peralta’s spot on the Opening Day roster is clearly up for grabs. He definitely helped his case on Tuesday.

Notes From The SF Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers 1-1 Tie
Prospect Rundown

Marco Luciano played the entire game and looked comfortable in all of his opportunities at shortstop. He did not make any highlight-worthy plays but fielded a pair of routine grounders and started a 6-4-3 double play to end the third inning. At the plate, Luciano struck out in all three of his trips to the plate. He looked comfortable against May, working a 2-2 count before locking up on a nasty breaking ball. However, the breaking ball seemed in the back of his mind in his next at-bat when he was blown away by a pair of Nick Robertson fastballs.

Camilo Doval immediately showed why he has closer potential, but also why he’s yet to make his big-league debut in his lone inning of work, issuing a strikeout and walk. He touched 97 mph with his fastball and showed his plus slider, but lacked the precision he’ll need to be a consistent high-leverage MLB arm.

Of all the prospects, Wyatt, the Giants’ second-round pick in 2019, had the most impressive moment of the day. Batting with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning and runners on second and third, Wyatt quickly fouled off a pair of pitches from Alex Vesia. In Vesia’s minor-league career, the lefty has struck out 138 batters in 100 innings and posted a 1.01 WHIP. Still, Wyatt worked the count to 2-2 before driving a ball to center that drove in Wade. It was not the toolsiest play of the day, but it showed the advanced feel to hit that made Wyatt such a highly-regarded player during his collegiate career at Louisville.

The SF Giants will have Wednesday off before returning to Scottsdale Stadium on Thursday to host the Chicago White Sox at 12:05 PM PST.