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LaMonte Wade, Casey Schmitt, and Blake Sabol homer in SF Giants spring opener

The SF Giants fell to the Chicago Cubs 10-8 in their first official spring training game. LaMonte Wade Jr. and a trio of prospects went deep.
Marc Delucchi|
LaMonte Wade, Casey Schmitt, and Blake Sabol homer in SF Giants spring opener
LaMonte Wade, Casey Schmitt, and Blake Sabol homer in SF Giants spring opener

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San Francisco Giants

The SF Giants lost their first official game of 2023, falling to the Chicago Cubs 10-8 in their spring training opener. Of course, preseason baseball is less about the final score and more about individual performances.

Offseason minor-league free agent signing Stephen Piscotty drove in Thairo Estrada in the top of the first inning, giving San Francisco an early 1-0 lead. Tristan Beck (Giants #19 prospect) received the starting nod and worked around four hits and a walk in two innings of work, allowing just one run. He did not record a strikeout.

While Wade, Rule 5 acquisition Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect), and versatile prospect Shane Matheny all blasted homers, it was Casey Schmitt (Giants #3 prospect) who had the most memorable drive of the day. Schmitt clobbered a 3-1 fastball from Adrian Sampson well over the left-center field wall.

One of the best prospects in the Giants system, Schmitt showed off his elite defensive ability as well, by spearing a hard-hit line drive down the third base line. Schmitt seamlessly fielded the grounder and used his cannon of an arm to throw out Brennen Davis.

Southpaws Sam Long and Erik Miller (Giants #31 prospect) were probably the Giants most impressive pitchers on Saturday. Long struck out Cody Bellinger and Eric Hosmer in his one inning of work, although one run scored on an error. Miller issued a pair of walks in one shutout inning and struck out two.

Young outfielder Grant McCray (Giants #5 prospect) tripled in his first career plate appearance in an MLB spring training game. The 2019 third-round pick showed off his standout speed as he raced around the bases.

On the other side of things, Drew Strotman had an outing he will hope to forget. Strotman did not record an out, surrendering four hits, two walks, and six earned runs.

It is just the first game of the preseason, but Giants fans will surely notice one concerning part of the boxscore: 6 errors. It's not uncommon for players to be rusty defensively early in the spring. Nevertheless, Estrada, Schmitt, Michael Gigliotti, Michael Stryfeller, Clint Coulter, and Tyler Fitzgerald (Giants #20 prospect) all committed errors. Given San Francisco's defensive struggles last season, it remains to be seen whether they will find stability before Opening Day.

Most important of all, SF Giants baseball is back! The Giants will be back in action tomorrow, hosting the Cincinnati Reds at Scottsdale Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 PM Pacific.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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