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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. >> Third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Willy Adames have only played a handful of Cactus League innings with one another, but Friday afternoon’s exhibition against the Milwaukee Brewers provided a glimpse of their collective value.
With no outs and the Brewers’ Brewer Hicklen on second base in the top of the fourth inning, Milwaukee’s Jimmy Herron hit a routine grounder right at Adames. Hicklen broke for third base on contact. Adames eschewed the easy out and threw to third base at an awaiting Chapman. Hicklen tried retreating to second; Chapman chased him down.
Watching the play unfold on the right side of the infield were first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. and second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald. With Fitzgerald making his first start of Cactus League play after dealing with a lower back injury, the Giants’ 9-2 victory over the Brewers at Scottsdale Stadium represented the first time San Francisco’s starting infield has played together this spring. The sample was small. The excitement was palpable.
“The whole left side is ridiculous. … It’s hard to argue with how good that infield is,” said right-hander Hayden Birdsong.
Along with Adames and Chapman exhibiting the fundamentals, San Francisco’s offense featured its share of fireworks. Chapman and designated hitter Wilmer Flores hit back-to-back homers off Brewers’ ace Freddy Peralta. Wade and Mike Yastrzemski had solo shots of their own.
Adames, who signed a franchise-record $182 million deal this offseason, drove in two runs on a fourth-inning single against his old club.While Adames wears new colors for a new team, the love for his former teammates remains strong. Not only did Adames hug Peralta prior to their matchup — Peralta got Adames to pop out — but Adames chatted and jawed with those in the Brewers’ dugout during warmups.
On the mound, the Giants’ three starting pitchers — Birdsong, Kyle Harrison and Logan Webb — combined to allow one earned run over seven innings.
Webb, making his second Cactus League start, allowed that lone run on a solo homer by Caleb Durbin but struck out four over three innings. Following Webb’s departure, Birdsong and Harrison, both competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, posted the exact same line: two scoreless innings, two hits, zero walks.
Harrison, making his first Cactus League appearance, sat in the 91-92 mph range with his four-seam fastball, occasionally touching 93 mph. Manager Bob Melvin believes Harrison’s velocity will continue to climb, noting that Harrison had a slow start to the spring due to getting sick.
“I think people are so obsessed with the idea of me and velo,” Harrison said. “I don’t need to have the velo to get the swing and miss; analytics show that. It’ll get there. I haven’t had the cookie cutter offseason. ... Now, the shoulder’s right, body’s feeling good. I don’t want to rush anything. I just want to go out there and compete. I did that today and the velo will naturally come.”