Giants return to Oracle Park for simulated games after Covid testing issues

A collective sigh of relief could be heard from Oracle Park this week. After canceling their workout Tuesday, the remainder of the Giants Covid-19 tests from Saturday came back, all negative. The Giants were one of the multiple teams who have experienced issues with the testing process.

The Giants returned to practice Wednesday after missing just one practice. Manager Gabe Kapler spoke to the media and was not too worried about the hiccup:

“I feel as confident today as I did yesterday, I understand that there’s going to be hiccups along the way. I think our club does, as well. Our players and staff are included in that. I still have confidence for sure.”

Wednesday’s practice was made available to the media at a later time than usual. The Giants held a simulated game in the morning, and a second in the afternoon.

Pitcher Domination

Wednesday’s simulated game consisted of 11 “innings” if you want to call it that. The pitchers had a good day, only surrendering one run on 10 hits, while striking out 17 batters.

• Kevin Gausman: 7 batters faced, 4 Ks, 32 pitches
• Drew Smyly: 7 batters faced, 1 H, 4 Ks, 32 pitches
• Logan Webb: 8 batters faced, 1 H, 3 Ks, 2 BBs, 31 pitches
• Tyler Anderson: 3 batters faced, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 17 pitches
• Sam Coonrod: 3 batters faced, 1 H, 1 K, 16 pitches
• Trevor Gott: 4 batters faced, 1 H, 1 K, 14 pitches
• Andrew Triggs: 4 batters faced, 2 H, 1 K, 17 pitches
• Tyler Rogers: 5 batters faced, 2 H, 3 Ks, 15 pitches

Infielder Donovan Solano had the best day at the plate with three hits. Brandon Crawford had a productive day at the plate, putting together multiple long at-bats including a hit and a walk. Top outfield prospect Heliot Ramos knocked in a run on an RBI double to center field.

After practice, Kapler met with the media and talked about what stood out to him in Wednesday’s sim-game:

“Logan Webb continues to impress with the shape of his breaking ball, and the fastball and a lot of confidence. Tyler Anderson’s velocity came back from his previous outing, that was especially encouraging. [Sam] Coonrod, one of the things we challenged Sam with, after his last outing, was to really attack the strike zone with all of his pitches. He did that, and showed all of the great stuff he normally does … Drew Smyly was awesome today. His cutter is really getting a lot of horizontal movement, he’s dropping his curveballs in for strikes, his velocity is right where it needs to be. I asked him after his outing how his body felt, and specifically his ankle, and he just feels great right now. That’s really encouraging. The pitchers across the board did a really nice job today.”

Notes

• Kapler announced that first baseman Brandon Belt is dealing with some pain in his heel and will be re-evaluated in 5-7 days.

• Buster Posey was not at the stadium today, as he is back home addressing a personal issue, which initially kept him out the first day of camp.
• Alyssa Nakken, one of the Giants many new coaches, was seen coaching first base today. Kapler said that they were giving her some looks as she was working in and out with the outfielders. Nakken was hired this offseason, making her the first full-time female coach in MLB history.