Cactus Fever

Sunday, March 10
San Francisco 3 at Seattle 8
Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria
Temp: 78 at 1:10 first pitch

Polanco’s Solo and Slam Slays Giants

Jorge Polanco roughed up San Francisco starter Tommy Romero for five RBIs with a pair of long balls in the first two innings, sending Seattle to an 8-3 win. Polanco’s first-inning blast, a solo shot, cleared the yellow HR line on the black backdrop in center by three feet. His next blast, a grand slam, came an inning later, landing beyond the Cutwater Shirts sign in left after a one-out single by Taylor Trammell and costly walks to Michael Papierski and Dylan Moore. Starter George Kirby picked up the win with two-and-a-third innings of four-hit, two-run ball with 5 strikeouts.

The Mariners’ second baseman also factored in the Mariners seventh run in the fourth. Giant pitcher Carson Seymour was not about to allow a third HR to Polanco when Jorge stepped to the plate with two out. Seymour plunked him but Cal Raleigh made him pay, belting a double to drive in Polanco with his third run of the afternoon. Jorge’s 2-for-2 day has him ripping the ball at a .500 clip (7-for-14) this spring. Raise your hand if Polanco’s fantasy ranking at #236 suddenly became a tempting flyer.

Seattle’s final run was a hard lesson learned for Giant first baseman Tyler Locklear. Jonny Farmelo led off the eighth inning with a high fly foul that sent Locklear angling toward the stands at first. A few feet short of the first row, he reached out and the ball skipped off his mitt. The very next pitch, Farmelo went several barns deep with a homer to right center, prompting a fan behind me to bellow, “That’s on you, 87. Catch the ball!”

The Giants scored two runs in the second when the first three batters, Luis Matos, David Villar and Casey Schmitt, went double-double-single against Kirby. With a wink and a glow, Schmitt’s ninth-inning replacement Jimmy Glowenke went yard in his first spring training at bat for the Giants final run.

Ballpark Buzz … There was a Panda sighting in the sixth inning as 37-year-old Pablo Sandoval, looking very svelte, hit a flare to right for single in the sixth before going down on strikes in the eighth. … Cal Raleigh (6-for-17) went 2-for-3, including a first-inning triple that Giant CF Jung Hoo “Gung Ho” Lee almost ran down in right center, but couldn’t squeeze. … Today’s ballpark shanty of choice was the Deschutes IPA delightfully diluted with Mountain Dew. … Grin and bear it — T-Shirts in the Mariners / Padres Team Store have reached the $45 mark. No supply chain issues there. … Time of game: 2:42. Attendance: 7,572. … It’s great to be back in Cactusville! Stay tuned. I’ll be filing reports Tuesday the 12th (DBacks @ Padres) and Thursday the 14th (Reds @ Rangers).