SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, April 29, 2017
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SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, April 29, 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Giants’ Madison Bumgarner doesn’t need surgery John Shea Eight days after his dirt-bike accident in Colorado, left-hander Madison Bumgarner began a prolonged rehabilitation on Friday that will extend past midseason. The Giants’ ace was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain in the AC joint of his throwing shoulder and will be shelved until soon after the All-Star break, according to head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner. Groeschner confirmed Bumgarner won’t need surgery, which wasn’t a surprise. The trainer said Monday that surgery was unlikely, and several doctors — including Giants orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki, who consulted with 49ers doctor Tim McAdams — agreed rehabilitation is the proper route. At first, the Giants weren’t certain whether the sprain was Grade 1 or Grade 2, which is more serious and involves slight ligament tears, with the collarbone partially out of alignment. A Grade 1 sprain is a mild shoulder separation with no collarbone movement. Bumgarner was hurt April 20 on the Giants’ off day in Denver. He said this week he expects he will pitch again this season: “I would certainly be disappointed if I wasn’t.” He’s on the disabled list for the first time in his career. His rehab is being overseen by Tony Reale, the Giants’ physical therapist. Briefly: Shortstop Brandon Crawford had an MRI exam shortly before the game to determine the extent of his groin injury. Crawford’s three-day bereavement leave ended Friday, and the Giants must activate him or put him on the disabled list before Saturday’s game. He returned after attending funeral services for his wife’s sister. ... With the MRI exam on Denard Span (sprained sternoclavicular joint) coming back clean, he can engage in baseball activities. John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. Leading off Adding up: Giants manager Bruce Bochy earned his 1,798th victory Friday night. Fourteen managers have 1,800-plus wins, and all but Gene Mauch and Lou Piniella are in the Hall of Fame. — John Shea On deck Saturday vs. Padres 6:05 p.m. NBCSBA Chacin (2-3) vs. Cain (2-0) Sunday vs. Padres 1:05 p.m NBCSBA Richard (2-3) vs. Blach (0-1) Monday at Dodgers 7:10 p.m. NBCSBA TBA vs.TBA San Francisco Chronicle Christian Arroyo homers in 8th, Giants win John Shea Hey, why didn’t they bring this kid up earlier? Christian Arroyo, who’s 21 going on 28, put in another night’s work at the yard, and that has been good news for the Giants. He has made contributions in every game he has played, and the rookie took it to a new level Friday night. In the eighth inning of a tie game, Arroyo smacked a home run over the left-field wall to lift the Giants past the Padres 4-3 and continue to show fans he’s no ordinary prospect. Arroyo hit his second homer in five games to go along with the three homers he hit in 16 games with Triple-A Sacramento before his promotion. Not bad for someone who homered only three times last year at Double-A Richmond. “Not that the home runs are surprising,” Arroyo said, “but I never envisioned myself getting called up and being in the big leagues and hitting two home runs in my first five games.” Nothing seems to faze Arroyo, who got his first big-league start at shortstop and right away made a nice play behind second base. He scooped a grounder by the game’s first batter, Manuel Margot, and flipped an easy throw to first. Before Arroyo was called up, the Giants talked about exercising patience and emphasized the benefit of experience at the highest minor-league level. They said they wanted him to force the issue over time. Well, he forced it in a hurry and has been a star in his first week in the majors. He moved a runner over in his first game, setting up the first run in a 1-0 2-1 win. Next game, his first hit off Clayton Kershaw. The next, his first homer. Thursday, after Buster Posey was intentionally walked, Arroyo knocked in the Giants’ only run. Then Friday’s homer off hard-throwing Ryan Buchter. “It was impressive, no matter what age, for him to come through like that in the spot he did,” second baseman Joe Panik said. “It was a great pickup for this team.” Arroyo’s strategy against Buchter, who misplaced a fastball, seemed basic. “I was not trying to hit a home run,” Arroyo said. “Just trying to get the head out, see a pitch over the plate, barrel something up, get on base, try to keep the line moving.” Mark Melancon earned a save with a spotless ninth and could thank Panik for his running catch of Yangervis Solarte’s popup in shallow center. When Panik threw out Cory Spangenberg to end it, he pointed at Arroyo and embraced him. “This is yours,” Panik said he told him. Manager Bruce Bochy, tired of minuscule offensive production, made changes Friday. Bochy rested Buster Posey and Eduardo Nuñez, his 3-4 hitters Thursday. Gave Michael Morse his first start of the year, at first base. Put Brandon Belt in left. Batted Panik first. And put the kid at short. “A couple of us heard he was 21, we kind of laughed at it,” pitcher Jeff Samardzija said. “I was thinking maybe 23, 24. He’s been really impressive.” The 1-2 hitters were Panik and Belt, and they collected five hits and ignited a rare first-inning rally that gave the Giants two unearned runs, just the third time this season the Giants scored in the opening inning, the first since April 16. Panik singled to right; Belt singled to left. Hunter Pence and Morse made outs, and the Padres would have escaped the inning had shortstop Erick Aybar fielded Arroyo’s sharp grounder. Instead, Panik scored on the E-6, and Conor Gillaspie singled home Belt. Samardzija cruised through four hitless innings. The only base runner he permitted, he picked off: Jabari Blash, who walked in the third. The magic ran out in the fifth. Samardzija hit his first batter, Solarte, and Ryan Schimpf blasted a two-run homer to center. It was Schimpf’s sixth homer of the season and his third in three games. With the game tied, Spangenberg’s single to left went through Belt’s legs for a two-base error. Spangenberg then scored on Austin Hedges’ single to put the Padres ahead 3-2. In the bottom of the inning, Morse hit a game-tying sacrifice fly to score Belt, who had doubled and advanced on a wild pitch. San Francisco Chronicle Bumgarner: Grade 2 sprain, no surgery, out until second half John Shea Eight days after his dirt-bike accident in Colorado, Madison Bumgarner began a prolonged rehabilitation on Friday that will extend past midseason. The Giants’ ace was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain in the AC joint of his shoulder and will be shelved until soon after the All-Star break, according to head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner. Groeschner confirmed Bumgarner won’t need surgery, which wasn’t a surprise. The trainer said Monday that surgery was unlikely, and several doctors — including Giants orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki, who consulted with 49ers doctor Tim McAdams — agreed rehabilitation is the proper route. At first, the Giants weren’t certain whether the sprain was Grade 1 or Grade 2, which is more serious and involves slight ligament tears with the clavicle partially out of alignment. A Grade 1 sprain is a mild shoulder separation with no clavicle movement. Bumgarner’s rehab is being overseen by Tony Reale, the Giants’ physical therapist. Manager Bruce Bochy said two hours before Friday’s game that Reale began rehabbing Bumgarner. Bumgarner was hurt April 20 on the Giants’ off day in Denver. San Jose Mercury News Bye bye, baby: Christian Arroyo’s home run lifts Giants to victory over Padres Andrew Baggarly SAN FRANCISCO – Bye bye, baby? Better believe it. Christian Arroyo cannot grow a beard. He never lived in a world without smartphones. He walked up to Giants teammate Matt Moore in the spring and gushed about how cool it was to watch him pitch with the Rays while growing up in Tampa. Moore is 27. And yet, youth continues to serve the Giants. Arroyo hit a solo home run in the eighth inning that both snapped a tie and unleashed closer Mark Melancon, and the Giants escaped last place in the NL West with a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres. The Giants might have hit Ctrl-Alt-Desperation when they promoted Arroyo from Triple-A Sacramento, but after five games, there is no denying the spark that their self-assured, 21-year-old hitting prospect has provided. Even Arroyo was not so self-assured to predict this, though. “I just never envisioned myself getting called up,” he said, “ and hitting two home runs in my first five games.” In those five games, Arroyo has collected his first big league hit against Clayton Kershaw, started a stirring comeback with a two-run homer off Sergio Romo, recorded the first multi-hit game of his career and made the Dodgers pay for intentionally walking Buster Posey. Giants manager Bruce Bochy had no reservations about batting Arroyo second or fifth, or even moving him from third base to shortstop Friday while Brandon Crawford remained on the bereavement list and slumping Eduardo Nuñez received a day off.