SF Giants Press Clips Friday, April 13, 2018
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SF Giants Press Clips Friday, April 13, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Giants’ Mark Melancon’s latest medical procedure: stem-cell injection John Shea SAN DIEGO — Giants reliever Mark Melancon’s latest attempt to return to the mound took a turn into Dr. James Andrews’ institute outside Pensacola, Fla. Andrews is a renowned orthopedist known for performing Tommy John surgeries, but Melancon’s ulnar collateral ligament checked out fine. Andrews recommended a stem-cell injection into the pronator in Melancon’s right elbow, so Melancon had the procedure Thursday morning. There’s no guarantee this is the answer to Melancon’s medical problem, and the lack of precedent with this type of injury for a pitcher makes it tough to determine when or if he will return to norm. The Giants signed Melancon to a four-year, $62 million contract in December 2016. He blew a save opportunity in last year’s opener and finished with a 4.50 ERA and just 11 saves in 16 chances. He underwent pronator surgery in September to relieve pressure in his forearm but hasn’t fully recovered. Thursday’s procedure, performed by Dr. Joshua Hackel, was to quicken the healing process and alleviate the tightness around the pronator. The best-case scenario is for Melancon to feel well enough to begin a throwing program in about two weeks. “I think it’s good news that we don’t have to do more than that,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “I think in a couple of weeks, we’ll get him going. I can’t tell you how long he’ll be on the mound pitching for us. At least we have a better idea now than we did yesterday.” In spring training, Melancon addressed the uncertainty of the pronator surgery, saying the muscle “had 1 turned gray. It wasn’t completely dead, but over time, it was dying. The doctor was shocked when he saw the grayness. His hope is that it turns back to the normal reddish color. He doesn’t know how long it’ll take.” Melancon opened the season on the disabled list, his third DL stint with the Giants. Cueto’s sore ankle: Pitcher Johnny Cueto continued to feel soreness in his left ankle and is uncertain about making a start Tuesday. More will be known after Cueto faces hitters before Saturday’s game. “I don’t want to give an estimate,” said Cueto, who sprained the ankle April 7 doing cardio drills with hurdles. “It still hurts when I throw. I’m concerned about maybe committing to throwing Tuesday and getting hurt more.” Despite Cueto’s uncertainty, the Giants optioned Andrew Suarez, who made his first major-league start Wednesday, to Triple-A Sacramento. If Cueto is unavailable Tuesday, the Giants will need to find someone to fill the spot. Reliever Derek Law was recalled to take Suarez’s place. Another starter on the DL, Jeff Samardzija, is slated to throw 60 pitches for Class A San Jose on Saturday. San Francisco Chronicle Giants’ Chris Stratton pitches 7 scoreless innings in 7-0 win over Padres John Shea SAN DIEGO — The last time the Giants won a series here, they were on their way to the best record in the majors at the 2016 All-Star break. They’ve been going mostly downhill since then, of course, even getting bullied by the Padres, who would have finished last in 2017 if not for the Giants’ 98 losses. So it was important for the Giants set a tone for the season series, and that’s what they did Thursday night at Petco Park. In the first of 19 games between the teams, the Giants scored three first-inning runs and cruised to a 7-0 victory behind Chris Stratton. With the Giants’ top three pitchers on the disabled list, all eyes are on a mostly young rotation (except for Derek Holland), and Stratton provided a boost with seven scoreless innings of one- hit ball. Strangely, the hit belonged to Clayton Richard, a starting pitcher who got a rare pinch- hit assignment in the third inning. “I thought he had the day off,” quipped Stratton. It was the first time in 83 years a pitcher who did not start a game got his team’s only hit. The previous time was by Pittsburgh’s Mace Brown on June 28, 1935. Brown entered as a reliever. 2 Stratton was more interested in recent history, and Thursday’s start marked the first time in his career he completed seven innings — it took 101 pitches. Three times last year, Stratton was pulled after 62/3 innings. “That was definitely nice, but when you get three runs early, it makes it a lot easier as a pitcher to go out there and pound the zone,” he said. “Give the offense credit.” Stratton got himself into a fifth-inning jam by walking two of the first three batters, but he got Austin Hedges to fly out in a 12-pitch at-bat and retired his final eight batters. “He was coming in as a No. 4 starter for this club,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Now it makes him the No. 1 guy.” Who would have thought Bochy would say such a thing in the season’s first month? But with Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto shelved, Stratton is the next best thing. “Well, I mean, put (Ty) Blach in there, too,” Bochy said. “Those two are guys that we’ll be leaning on and, of course, Holland now. But the way it was lined up, it would make Stratton the No. 1 guy.” Rounding out the rotation are Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez, who made their big-league debuts in back-to-back starts Tuesday and Wednesday. “Ty and I feel comfortable,” Stratton said. “We’re out there pitching, not just throwing. We’ve come through the minors together, along with Beede and Suarez. We’re all talking to each other, all feeding off each other.” The Giants scored more runs in the first inning than in their season-opening, four-game series at Dodger Stadium, where they won the first two 1-0 (on Joe Panik home runs) before getting blanked the next two games. The inning appeared over a couple of times. Evan Longoria, who carried a .132 average into the game, stepped up with the bases loaded and nearly hit into an inning-ending double play, but he beat the throw to first and got an RBI. The Padres thought they had the next batter, Brandon Crawford, out on strikes, but it was ruled Crawford checked his swing on a low 3-2 pitch. Hunter Pence followed with a two-run single. The Giants added four unearned runs in the sixth. Third baseman Christian Villanueva fielded Andrew McCutchen’s bases-loaded, two-out grounder and threw the ball past first baseman Eric Hosmer, permitting two runs to score. Buster Posey followed with a two-run double. For a team that had just 12 hits with runners in 3 scoring position in the first 11 games, the Giants were elated to go 4-for-15 in those situations Thursday. Stratton got an immediate lift from Crawford, the shortstop who ventured well into center field to make an over-the-shoulder catch of Hosmer’s popup in the first inning. Gregor Blanco gave way to the Gold Glover, and Crawford made a difficult play look somewhat routine. Blanco was one of three Giants with two hits. Austin Jackson, the No. 1 center fielder, was out with a groin ailment and is expected to play the two weekend games when the Giants face left- handed starters. Derek Law, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, pitched the final two innings and kept the one-hitter intact. MLB.com Stratton's 7 one-hit innings lift Giants over Padres Chris Haft SAN DIEGO -- The Giants played their incumbent ace, Chris Stratton, for all he was worth in Thursday night's 7-0 win over the Padres at Petco Park. If you doubt the juxtaposition of Stratton's name with the term "ace," do the math. And watch the highlights of this game. Stratton pitched a career-high seven innings and limited San Diego to one hit -- a third-inning, pinch-hit single by pitcher Clayton Richard. It was the first time in the modern era (since 1900) that a pitcher got his team's only hit in a pinch-hit at-bat. The last time a pitcher who didn't start recorded a team's lone hit was Pittsburgh reliever Mace Brown on June 28, 1935, against the Cubs. It's easy to imagine Stratton staying in for a potential no-hitter, had he retired Richard. One person who wouldn't dwell on what might have been was Stratton himself. He reasoned that he didn't perform as well as a no-hit pitcher should. "You walk three guys," Stratton said. "You can't think of it like that. That's baseball." However, there was no denying the quality of Stratton's performance. He joins Johnny Cueto as the only Giants starter to go seven innings in a start this season. Since last Aug. 5, the Giants have won seven of Stratton's 10 starts, and he has a 2.09 ERA over that stretch. With injuries shelving San Francisco's top three starting pitchers -- Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija and Cueto -- the Giants welcome outings like Stratton's. "He's one of our guys," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, using the term that he typically 4 reserves for the most essential Giants.