Logan Webb struggled through the first inning, but the Giants came back to beat the Brewers 13-8 Tuesday at Scottsdale Stadium by roughing up a familiar face and the NL’s reigning reliever of the year.
Webb allowed four first-inning runs to put the Giants in a hole early, then settled in to strike out the side in the second before allowing a third-inning home run to Rhys Hoskins. He has allowed at least two runs in each of his three outings this spring, but struck out six this time out, recording 31 strikes on 32 pitches.
After falling behind, the Giants hit former teammate Jakob Junis hard in the bottom of the third as Thairo Estrada and Jorge Soler had RBI singles before Wade Meckler brought them both around with his own single. An inning later, Michael Conforto hit an RBI double off two-time All-Star Devin Williams, then Wilmer Flores brought in two runs with his own double to chase Williams.
Tom Murphy, Meckler and Luis Matos each brought home a run against Milwaukee reliever Ryan Middendorf. Meckler later recorded a third RBI in the fifth inning to cap a game that started with a throwing error when he was playing center field.
Taylor Rogers gave the Giants a scoreless fifth inning after walking the leadoff batter, then his brother took over the sixth, allowed a leadoff double to Jackson Chourio and forced three groundouts (one of which scored Chourio).
Wednesday will be the Giants’ first off day since games started in Cactus League a week and a half ago. Thursday night, they’ll host the division rival Dodgers, the toast of the offseason after adding Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
HJELLE ON ICE
Sean Hjelle, the 6-foot-11 former second-round draft pick, has starting experience, but limited success – 11-21 with a 5.51 ERA in 51 starts over three seasons at Triple-A and is viewed mostly as a reliever these days.
Tristan Beck’s injury might have changed some opinions about Hjelle’s role, but now he’ll almost certainly open the season on the IL.
The Giants announced Tuesday that Hjelle has an elbow sprain and won’t throw again until he is reevaluated in two weeks. Hjelle told reporters he felt discomfort during his most recent outing last week and an MRI exam didn’t reveal any structural damage.
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“We don’t want things to linger, so hopefully it’s just the two weeks,” manager Bob Melvin told reporters before the Giants’ Cactus League game against the Brewers. “As a reliever, it’s easier to ramp up, so we’ll see where we are toward the end of camp, but it’s not ideal.”
In other medical news:
– Beck underwent successful surgery on Tuesday at Stanford Medical Center to remove the aneurysm in his upper right arm. He won’t throw for at least eight weeks.
– Infielder Casey Schmitt, who suffered a sprained left ankle last week, has been cleared to resume workouts and is listed as day-to-day.
– Winn, whose camp has been slowed by a sore elbow, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday.
