AAA: Salt Lake 8, Sacramento 3

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Sacramento Notes:

  • Sacramento used eight pitchers on the day, and spent much of the day battling the strike zone.  The River Cats walked 14 batters while collecting just six strikeouts.  Meanwhile, the Sacramento hitters walked just four times while striking out 12 times.
  • Starter Trevor Hildenberger went just 2.0 innings in the start, allowing one run on a hit and two walks.  It was Hildenberger’s longest appearance since July of 2021, as he missed most of 2022 with injury.  He topped off with his 2-seam fastball going 84-87 mph 
  • Tanner Andrews made his Triple-A debut after appearing in 16 games while rehabbing in 2021, when he had a 0.92 ERA and seven walks to 30 strikeouts in 19.2 innings.  He walked four of six batters he faced, giving up a hit and three runs.  Andrews was throwing 93-95 with his fastball, but continually missed high to the arm side with it.
  • Aaron Fletcher gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 1.1 innings, without a strikeout.  Fletcher had a 1.45 ERA with the Pirates AAA affiliate in 2022 before the Giants claimed him off waivers.  He had a 15.15 ERA in 15 games with the River Cats after being claimed.
  • The other big walk trouble was Joey Marciano, walking three but not allowing any hits or runs while getting the final out for the Sacramento pitching staff.  Marciano had 33 walks to 62 strikeouts in 59.0 innings in 2022.
  • Free agent signee Nick Duron had the best day among Giants pitchers, striking out three without allowing any baserunners in his Sacramento debut.  The 27-year old had a 2.77 ERA in Lehigh Valley (Phillies) over 52 games, with 29 strikeouts to 63 walks in 48.2 innings.  Duron was working exclusively with his fastball at 92-95 mph and his 84 to 88 mph slider.
  • One of the Giants’ top relief prospects, R.J. Dabovich did walk two, but also struck out one without allowing a hit in 1.0 innings.  In 23 games at Sacramento last season, Dabovich struggled with walks, with 20 walks to 31 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.  Much like Andrews, Dabovich was missing with his fastball high on the arm side, not getting a single called strike with it, but he threw more of his knuckle curve in the low-80’s.
  • Melvin Adón struck out two while allowing one hit and hitting a batter in 1.1 innings.  Adón had a 3.65 ERA while he worked his way back up the system in 2022, from Arizona through Double-A.  He was hitting 96-98 MPH with his fastball.
  • Catcher Austin Wynns hit Sacramento’s first home run of the season, going 1-for-4 with a strikeout.  Wynns had three home runs in 33 Triple-A games in Lehigh Valley in 2022, and also three home runs in 66 MLB games with the Giants.
  • Casey Schmitt picked up his second double of the season, going 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.  In 2022, Schmitt combined for 25 doubles in 126 games, along with two triples and 21 home runs.  He has zero walks with four strikeouts through three games.  As PBO Farhan Zaidi noted during Spring Training, Schmitt was playing shortstop, after playing third base in both of Sacramento’s first two games.
  • Actually playing third was Armando Alvarez, who was 1-for-2 with two walks.  Through his first three games, Alvarez is 2-for-7 with four walks to just one strikeout.
  • Heliot Ramos was just 1-for-4, but his single was the second-hardest hit ball of the game at 106.9 mph exit velocity.  That’s three hits in three games with balls hit with a 106+ mph exit velocity.  Notably, his hit today was at that velocity despite being off a 79 mph pitch