SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In the lineup Thursday night for the first time five days after his contract became official, Matt Chapman’s spring debut for the San Francisco Giants was cut short by the first rainout of Cactus League play.
Chapman took one at-bat, striking out looking on a fastball at the letters, and got his uniform dirty diving for a ball at third base.
The exhibition against the Dodgers was called in the top of the third with the game in a scoreless tie.
Kyle Harrison, the Giants starter, had struck out six of the first 10 batters he faced. But he issued two walks on eight consecutive pitches outside the strike zone and was clearly struggling to gain his footing on the mound as moisture continued to fall.
“Whenever it gets like that, you’re going to be careful,” manager Bob Melvin said.
The first precipitation all spring also postponed the A’s exhibition earlier in the day, but the worst was thought to have passed by the time Harrison fired the first pitch against the Dodgers at 7:05 p.m. local time. However, rain continued to fall throughout, and the field was determined unplayable by the middle of the third inning.
Despite the rainout, Harrison was able to get in the majority of the work he was scheduled for, throwing about 50 pitches of the 60 he planned to throw. The pitchers slated to follow him — Landen Roupp, Camilo Doval, Trevor McDonald, Hayden Birdsong and Spencer Bivens — will be pushed back.
Before the mound conditions deteriorated, Harrison’s fastball sat in the mid-90s, he landed sliders for strikes and, for the second straight outing, used his changeup as an effective third offering.
“I’ve seen him a few times, but today — changeup, breaking ball, fastball — guys were having a tough time getting a good swing and (he was) using all his pitches,” Melvin said. “It’s the best I’ve seen him throw.”
With Chapman and fellow Gold Glove winner Nick Ahmed lined up behind him, Harrison was the first beneficiary of a potentially elite defensive infield.
After he surrendered a double to Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers were threatening to score in the first inning when Teoscar Hernandez lined a ball into the hole between second and third. Chapman dove to his left, coming up empty, but Ahmed picked the ball ranging to his right, forcing Rojas to remain at third.
Harrison recorded his second strikeout to end the inning unscathed, freezing James Outman with a 94-mph fastball on the outside corner.
“You want to keep that ball on the infield so the run doesn’t score,” Melvin said. “In Chappy’s case, too, that’s maybe a ball he gets to sometimes. It’s gonna be a little bit before he gets his legs underneath him, but between the two of them it seems like we can cover some ground over there.”
Top prospects highlight ‘Spring Breakout’ rosters
Many of the Giants’ top prospects will take on the best of the A’s farm system next Friday in a new twist to the spring schedule this year.
The rosters for the first annual “Spring Breakout” games were revealed Thursday, with Rayner Arias and Bryce Eldridge highlighting the Giants’ group.
Arias, 17, was one of the top international prospects when he signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2022, while the Giants drafted Eldridge 16th overall out of high school in last summer’s draft. Also slated to participate are shortstops Walker Martin, last year’s second-round selection, and Maui Ahuna, taken two rounds later.
Not limited to only recent draftees, Hunter Bishop, Farhan Zaidi’s first first-round pick, is also scheduled to play after dealing with a string of injuries to begin his career.
First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. next Friday, March 15, at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, following the Giants’ Cactus League tilt against the A’s.
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The list of tentative participants, in full: RHP Hayden Birdsong, RHP Josh Bostick, RHP Trevor McDonald, RHP Manuel Mercedes, RHP Mat Olsen, RHP Carson Ragsdale, RHP Landen Roupp, LHP Juan Sanchez, RHP Carson Seymour, LHP Joe Whitman, C Onil Perez, C Adrian Sugastey, SS Maui Ahuna, 1B Bryce Eldridge, SS Cole Foster, SS Walker Martin, SS/2B Diego Velasquez, OF Rayner Arias, OF/1B Victor Bericoto, OF Hunter Bishop, OF Vaun Brown, OF Jonah Cox, OF Grant McCray.
Notable
— UTIL Blake Sabol will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks after straining his groin Tuesday against the Brewers. Sabol was attempting to beat out an infield single when he felt the muscle pull, and an MRI early Wednesday morning revealed the sprain — and cost Sabol a rare chance to sleep in.
— RHP Sean Hjelle (elbow) also underwent imaging on his elbow, which revealed a sprain but no structural damage. While Hjelle said the timing was a tough blow, likely taking him out of the running to fill the fifth spot in the rotation, the outcome was the “best-case scenario” after feeling discomfort in his elbow in the days following his most recent outings.