The San Francisco Giants found themselves down five runs after the first inning but rallied to beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-5, in their spring training opener on Saturday afternoon in Peoria Ariz.
The Giants (1-0) ended up putting together an offensive showcase, with Harrison Bader leading the way with two hits. San Francisco is counting on production from Bryce Eldridge, and he went 1-for-1 with an RBI. Shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald went 1-for-3 and drove in two runs.
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Here are three takeaways from the game.
Hayden Birdsong Blown Up
The Giants gave their young right-hander the ball for the first spring training game and the Mariners got to him immediately. He only recorded one out.
He allowed three hits and five runs, along with two walks, as he threw 26 pitches, only 14 of which were strikes. He gave up a grand slam to Mariners slugger Miles Mastrobuoni, which essentially ended his outing.
Spring training isn’t always about results. One can’t make the team with one outing. But Birdsong’s short, ineffective outing might have put the onus on him to bounce back in a big way in his next outing or risk ending up in Triple-A to start the season.
Some Early Bryce Eldridge Pop