Near-perfect: What did Robbie Ray do after leaving his last spring start with a no-hitter intact? He retired all 15 batters he faced Sunday, punching out six, but Giants pitchers didn’t stop there in a 7-1 win over the Brewers. Carson Seymour, Tristan Beck and Matt Gage didn’t allow a base runner, either. The Giants came one out from the first spring training perfect game since 2000. They lost the perfecto, the no-no and the shutout when Gregory Santos walked one batter and allowed Blake Burke, one of Tony Vitello’s players at Tennessee, to rip an RBI double down the right field line. No less encouraging for Ray, who has strung together nine no-hit innings his past two starts.
Jerar and the Giant Blast: At 115 mph off the bat and an estimated 463 feet, Jerar Encarnacion delivered the Giants’ most gargantuan home run of the spring. In a twist of irony, Encarnacion went deep on a pitch that would have been called a ball. He fell behind in the count by unsuccessfully challenging a pitch closer to the plate. The out-of-options slugger has turned it on as attention has turned to those on the 26-man roster bubble: He has nine hits in his past 20 at-bats, four of them for extra bases.
Double-double: Matt Chapman continued his strong spring with three more hits in three at-bats, raising his average in Cactus League play to .448 with a 1.310 OPS. He went the other way for ground-rule doubles in his first two at-bats.
Caught my eye: Christian Koss and Grant McCray both showed what they could bring to the Giants’ bench, with Koss making an over-the-shoulder snow-cone catch on a pop-up behind second base and McCray bunting his way on and stealing two bags. However, McCray was caught leaning between second and third, and Koss was picked off for the second time in three games.
Up next: The Giants travel to Peoria, Arizona, on Monday to face the NL West-rival Padres for the second and final time this spring. Including Saturday’s 8-7 loss to the Diamondbacks, they will play each of their divisional foes over the final week of Cactus League play.
