SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, May 26, 2018
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SF Giants Press Clips Saturday, May 26, 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Giants’ Hunter Pence ‘making some good strides’ at Sacramento John Shea CHICAGO —Hunter Pence continues to make hard contact with his new hitting approach at Triple-A Sacramento, and fellow Giants outfielder Mac Williamson gave a glowing review. “We talked a lot while I was there,” said Williamson, who returned from the disabled list Friday after playing five rehab games for the River Cats. “He’s making some good strikes. He’s got the basic concepts down. “Look, he had a crash course in the middle of the season. Anybody can admire what he’s done in the middle of a season and trying to make it work while playing games.” Pence, in the minors on a rehab stint after injuring his thumb, is hitting .321 at Sacramento. His success comes after working with independent hitting instructor Doug Latta , who helped re- create Williamson’s swing in the offseason — upright stance, lower hands, aggressive leg kick. “I was there for a month and still didn’t think I had it down pat,” Williamson said of his time with Latta. Mac’s concussion: In his first interview since his April 24 concussion, Williamson said he felt extremely nauseated and dizzy at times. 1 “I never had one before,” he said. “I didn’t really know what I was feeling or wasn’t feeling. Some days I was feeling really good, and then I took the exertion test and felt awful after that.” A visit with concussion specialist Dr. Micky Collins in Pittsburgh was a turning point. Giants’ Hunter Pence takes step toward return with rehab in Sacramento “I felt a lot better coming out of that meeting and had a better idea,” Williamson said. “Half the battle is really not knowing what’s going on. You’re left in dark a little bit. It is scary. It all started to come together, and I’m happy to be back.” Asked if he’ll be extra careful of the AT&T Park bullpen mounds, where Williamson tripped and got concussed, he said, “I’ll be extra cognizant of them. The tough thing about it for me was, I felt I didn’t really do anything stupid. It wasn’t a stupid try-hard play where I dove onto the mounds or slid into the mounds. Can you imagine if I would’ve pulled up and just let that ball fall and not given an attempt? I think it would’ve been a quick ticket back to Sac.” Briefly: To create roster space for Williamson, reliever Josh Osich was optioned to Sacramento. The Giants are considering adding a reliever for the upcoming series in Denver. ... Shortstop Brandon Crawford made another flashy play, bare-handing Javier Baez ’s fourth- inning grounder (which ricocheted off third baseman Evan Longoria ’s glove) and throwing a one-hopper to Brandon Belt , who scooped it. “He probably made the best play of anybody,” Crawford said. “I’m trying to help Belt get a Gold Glove.” San Francisco Chronicle Giants fall to Cubs, expect to see a lot of Gorkys Hernandez, Mac Williamson John Shea CHICAGO — Absolutely no one had Gorkys Hernandez and Mac Williamson in the name-the- Giants-starting-outfield office pool, but there they were in Friday’s series opener at Wrigley Field. 2 Until further notice, manager Bruce Bochy plans to play Hernandez in center (“he’s been going out there every day, yeah”) and Williamson in left (“he’s going to get the lion’s share”). Who woulda thunk it on Opening Day? The Giants fell 6-2 to the Cubs on a day Hernandez homered and singled and Williamson returned to the lineup after missing a month with a concussion. The Giants are 0-3 on the trip, getting outscored 21-5. The hope is for Williamson to spark the lineup, Friday’s 0-for-4 and three strikeouts notwithstanding. Bochy said he was pleased the left fielder got a lot of swings, his first in the majors since April 24, the day he tripped over an AT&T Park bullpen mound and hit his head on a padded wall. Williamson still made an impact Friday, throwing out Albert Almora Jr. trying to score from second base in the first. Thanks to Williamson, the Cubs had to settle for one run on Anthony Rizzo’s single. “I’m excited to be back,” Williamson said. “My body feels good. It’s encouraging.” Hernandez had two hits, and his fourth-inning home run tied the score. It was his fifth homer in 96 at-bats, quite a change from last year when his homers total in 310 at-bats was zero. “I know I’m a power hitter sometimes,” said Hernandez, mentioning his eight Triple-A homers in 2016. “I know I can hit a home run. Last year, I had nothing. But last year is last year, it’s the past.” Hernandez said he was more concerned last year with putting the ball in play, and in the final month, he was slowed by a sore left wrist that was alleviated with hamate surgery. He’s fine now, as his four homers in his past 10 games and 10-for-26 run in his past seven games suggest. “If I play every day, I’m much better,” Hernandez said. “That’s not to say if I don’t play every day, I couldn’t be better. But if I play every day, I can help the team.” 3 The season opened with Austin Jackson in center and Hunter Pence in left, but Hernandez has a hot bat and is a better defender than Jackson, and Pence is with Triple-A Sacramento working on a revamped swing, which was inspired by Williamson’s. After Williamson slugged his way through spring training and at Sacramento to open the season, the Giants called him up. But he played just five games (hitting three homers) before getting hurt and didn’t miss a beat in a five-game rehab assignment, hitting two homers and a triple. “I felt pretty good the whole time,” Williamson said of his River Cats assignment, “as good as you’re going to feel after being out for three weeks. I felt pretty good with the work trying to maintain where I was before.” The Cubs scored four runs in the seventh inning, a rally gift-wrapped by Derek Holland, who plunked the first batter and walked the next (both with two strikes), and Will Smith, who issued another walk to fill the bases. Ben Zobrist smacked a two-run double to break a 1-1 tie, and Cory Gearrin came in and give up Kris Bryant’s two-run single. Holland pitched well the first six innings, surrendering an unearned run and five hits. The Giants scored their second run on Evan Longoria’s single with two outs in the ninth. The game ended when Williamson struck out with two aboard, but expect to see him in the lineup regularly. “Of course, how they play dictates playing time, as always,” Bochy said. “But as of right now, he’s going to be playing left field for the most part.” 4 San Francisco Chronicle Mac Williamson returns to Giants, explains his sometimes ‘miserable’ road to recorvery John Shea CHICAGO - Mac Williamson returned to the Giants’ lineup Friday at Wrigley Field, where bullpen mounds are safely tucked beyond the ivy-covered outfield walls. Unlike at AT&T Park, where they’re on the field. Williamson missed a month with a concussion after tripping on a bullpen mound April 24 and hitting his head on a padded wall. Asked if he’ll be extra careful of the Giants’ bullpen mounds, Williamson said, “I’ll be extra cognizant of them. The tough thing about it for me was, I felt I didn’t really do anything stupid. It wasn’t a stupid try-hard play where I dove onto the mounds or slid into the mounds. “Can you imagine if I would’ve pulled up and just let that ball fall and not given an attempt? I think it would’ve been a quick ticket back to Sac.” Not quite. Williamson’s bat is what carried him to the big leagues, and his new plate approach - upright stance, hands lower, aggressive leg kick -- is what turned him into a legitimate power threat. He hit three homers in five games for the Giants before his injury. He didn’t miss a beat in a five-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento, hitting two homers and a triple. “I felt pretty good the whole time,” Williamson said of his latest River Cats’ assignment, “as good as you’re going to feel after being out for three weeks. I felt pretty good with the work trying to maintain where I was before.” The immediate aftermath of the concussion, including times he felt extremely nauseated and dizzy, was a different story. “I never had one before,” he said, speaking publicly of his concussion for the first time. “I didn’t really know what I was feeling or wasn’t feeling. Some days I was feeling really good, and then I 5 took the exertion test and felt awful after that. … It was just miserable.” A visit with concussion specialist Dr. Micky Collins in Pittsburgh was a turning point. “I felt a lot better coming out of that meeting and had a better idea,” Williamson said. “Half the battle is really not knowing what’s going on. You’re left in dark a little bit.