SF Giants Press Clips Monday, August 27, 2018
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SF Giants Press Clips Monday, August 27, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Giants’ Bochy: Rookie Aramis Garcia ‘ready to catch here’ Henry Schulman The Giants’ tradition of shifting coaches and executives to new responsibilities rather than firing them does pay dividends. One example is former first-base coach Bill Hayes, whom they retained as a minor-league catching instructor. Hayes worked extensively with Aramis Garcia this season, helping the 25-year-old improve his defense, the weaker part of his game early in his development. That helped Garcia get to the majors for the first time Sunday to take Buster Posey’s roster spot. “I credit a lot of the defense to Bill Hayes,” Garcia said. “Defensively, this is the best I’ve caught in my career, and that gives me a lot of confidence.” Manager Bruce Bochy said Giants evaluators have reported improvement in Garcia’s ball blocking, receiving and throwing. “He’s ready to catch here,” Bochy said. “His hitting is a work in progress.” Garcia, the club’s second-round draft pick in 2014, batted .233 with 11 homers in 80 games for Double-A Richmond, Va., where he spent most of the season. In 10 Triple-A games, he hit .237 with one extra-base hit in 38 at-bats. Do not expect to see much of Garcia on the field in the short term. His matriculation to the majors will involve a lot of discussions with new starter Nick Hundley and lessons on how the catchers, pitchers and coaches go over hitters before a game. Bochy will have Garcia sit alongside bullpen catcher Eli Whiteside during games to analyze what they are seeing. In the clubhouse, Garcia will dress between Posey (when he returns from surgery) and Madison 1 Bumgarner, whom he caught in a rehab game. Garcia also caught much of the staff in spring training. “It’s a little different when guys are getting their arms in shape as opposed to the way they throw during the season,” Garcia said. “That was my role in spring training, right? Learning as much as possible.” Briefly: Jeff Samardzija, who was shut down again with recurring shoulder pain, will consult Wednesday with Stanford orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tim McAdams. The Giants have not publicly discussed surgery as an option. … With a great play on both ends, Brandon Crawford (diving stop) and Brandon Belt (pick at first base) robbed Adrian Beltre of what would have been his 3,141st career hit. The play saved a run. San Francisco Chronicle Giants beat Rangers to take series — Diamondbacks next Henry Schulman “Spoiler” is a pejorative word around AT&T Park. No team that has three World Series wins in its recent past can feel comfortable playing the role of fly in the ointment for playoff contenders. So, for the moment, the Giants are not going there mentally, even if Sunday’s 3-1 victory in their series decider against the Rangers moved them no closer to the National League West lead or a wild-card spot. At 65-67, they are eight games back of Arizona, seven behind Colorado and 5½ behind Los Angeles. They also stand eight games out for the second wild-card berth. If the Giants are in denial, it’s a benign one, and the Dodgers and Rockies might be pleased to learn that the Giants believe they still have their sights on October. The Giants can help Los Angeles by beating the first-place Diamondbacks during a three-game series that opens Monday night. “Until we’re eliminated, we’re going to believe we’re in there. That’s just the way we carry ourselves,” pitcher Derek Holland said after he beat his original team, which he admitted he enjoyed. They gave up on him after 2016, then clocked him in two starts with the White Sox last year. Holland held the Rangers to a run on three hits over 61/3 innings Sunday before what he calls his “seventh-inning curse” got him. He hasn’t had a seven-inning start since May 2017. “Obviously, a win is great,” Holland said. “To go against my former teammates, it is a little bit better because now maybe I can say some stuff to them.” 2 Two loud swings pushed Holland to his seventh win. Evan Longoria hit a first-inning triple against former Milwaukee right-hander Yovani Gallardo and scored on a passed ball. Steven Duggar, who looks increasingly comfortable at the plate, broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth with a two-run triple. Duggar’s drive was just left of Triples Alley. One of these days, if he hits one 421 feet, he might sprint home with his first inside-the-park homer since high school. “I wish I had that kind of speed,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s a gift. He’s a gifted defender and his bat is only going to get better. He’s a guy we talked about quite a bit before he came up. He should have a great career here.” Tony Watson, Reyes Moronta and Mark Melancon finished, with Melancon earning his second save in two days. Will Smith was off limits after pitching in three consecutive games, and will be Monday as well. Holland pitched for the first time since his racially insensitive skit on MLB Network on Wednesday, for which he has apologized multiple times. He reiterated it was wrong and said he was touched that the fans gave him an ovation when he walked off the mound in the seventh inning. “That meant a lot to me,” he said. “For the fans who have my back and understand, and hopefully with my apology to them, they (know) those were not my intentions. To have that ovation felt really good. I appreciate them for doing that.” The Rangers were impressed by their former mate, who has held his past three opponents to two runs over 16 innings. “He got ahead a lot and was being aggressive,” said Elvis Andrus, who hit an RBI double on his 30th birthday for Texas’ run. “It was much more like he was in 2012 and 2013, and his changeup was much better. There is some deception to it now. Before, there really wasn’t anything to it.” The Giants’ schedule gets a little tougher, and more critical, at least for their opponents. They play 21 of their final 30 games against contenders. San Jose Mercury News Holland thanks Giants fans for having ‘his back’ after racial controversy Paul Gackle 3 SAN FRANCISCO — After a week of public apologies, Derek Holland finally got to let his left arm do the talking. Holland capped off a tumultuous week in which he stirred up racial controversy by returning to the diamond Sunday and putting together one of his best performances of the season in a 3-1 Giants win over the Texas Rangers at AT&T Park. When Holland (7-8) walked off the mound with one out in the seventh, he received a standing ovation from the crowd at China Basin. “With the stuff that happened off the field, that meant a lot to me,” Holland said. “Hopefully, with my apology to them, they have my back and understand that (racist jokes) were not the intentions. But to have that ovation, that felt really good, and I appreciate them for doing that.” The veteran left-hander out-dueled Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo (7-3), who’s tied for the most wins in the majors (7) since June 23, giving up just one earned run off three hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings pitched. The stingy outing came just four days after Holland set the baseball world ablaze by performing an Asian caricature alongside Giants massage therapist Haro Ogawa on MLB Network’s “Intentional Talk.” During the interview, Holland made a string of racially insensitive jokes at the expense of Ogawa, who appeared to be playing along with the skit. Holland later apologized, acknowledging that his attempt at humor “crossed the line” and was personally “embarrassing.” He didn’t give his former-squad anything to laugh about during his start Sunday either. Holland’s lone blemish came in the third when he walked Rougned Odor with two outs and allowed him to score by coughing up a double to Elvis Andrus. The veteran left-hander got himself into trouble in the seventh, giving up back-to-back singles to Joey Gallo and Isiah Kiner- Falefa, but reliever Tony Watson got him out of the jam by striking out Robinson Chirinos and thwarting Odor’s attempt at a bunt single. The win was particularly gratifying for Holland, coming against the team he pitched with during his first eight Major League seasons, including 2014 and 2015 when he nearly had his career derailed by injuries to his left knee and left shoulder. With a 2.22 ERA over his last 48 2/3 innings pitched, Holland is convinced that his career is in the process of being reborn with the Giants. “That was one of the (teams) that let me go as if they didn’t see me continuing,” Holland said. “I wanted to be able to show that I could still pitch.” 4 Holland took extra pleasure in retiring future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre twice. “I walked him, but when I got him out we did get to exchange words and have fun with that,” Holland said. “That’s what the game’s all about.” The Giants allowed Holland to pitch with a lead by scoring in the opening frame for the third game of the weekend set.