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Behind home plate at Raley Field during the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Giants.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy ponders how to deal with key injuries to the team heading into the 2018 opener.

Fans wait along the first base line for Giants players to sign autographs before Saturday’s game.

Pablo Sandoval and Joe Panik behind the batting cage before Saturday’s game.

New Giants’ third baseman Evan Longoria signs autographs for fans at Raley Field.

Former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen hopes to help the Giants compete for the NL West Division title in 2018.

Veteran Austin Jackson figures to be the Giants starting center fielder on opening day.

River Cats manager Dave Brundage (front) returns for his second year leading Sacramento.

The 2018 Sacramento River Cats take batting practice at Raley Field prior to the March 24 exhibition against the Giants.

Saturday’s game was broadcast live by KMAX-TV (CW31). Foreground is Henry Wofford of partner station CBS13.

Hunter Pence singles to right field in the top of the fifth inning Saturday night at Raley Field.

River Cats designated hitter Kyle Jensen rounds third and heads for home after his second-inning homer put Sacramento ahead 2-1.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is looking to rebound from an injury filled 2017 season.

Omar Balderas, Matthew Sanchez and Kadence Sanchez (covered) try to stay warm from their perch beyond the right field foul pole at Raley Field Saturday night.

Giants players Brandon Crawford, Evan Longoria and Austin Jackson wait for their turns in the cage during batting practice.

Dusk at Raley Field Saturday night.

Jerry Sands launches the sixth-inning home run to right field that proved to be the game-winner as the River Cats bested the Giants 6-5.

Matt Mariani (far right) with, left, niece Angelina Mariani, daughter Mia Mariani and niece Grace Mariani.

Giants-River Cats Meet at Raley Field and Head into a New Season

Back Web Only Mar 30, 2018 By Steve Martarano

The smell of spring and anticipation of a new season is palpable on a Saturday afternoon at Raley Field in West Sacramento, as fans file in for the River Cats-Giants exhibition on March 24.

Whenever the Giants come to town — this is the second pre-season meeting at Raley Field since Sacramento became the Giants’ top minor league affiliate in 2015 — it is a highly anticipated event. The Giants still retain many recognizable faces from those beloved teams of 2010 to 2014 that claimed three World Series titles, including manager Bruce Bochy, and players Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, Joe Panik and the “Brandons,” Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt. To complete a 2018 rebirth, the team added former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen, and three-time American League All-Star Evan Longoria.

Two injury disasters hit the Giants just days before they have arrived in Sacramento and the team’s optimism to turn around last year’s 98-loss, last-place finish — the Giants’ second-worst season since moving to San Francisco in 1958 — was dealt a severe blow. The unthinkable had happened: Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija, two of the team’s top starting pitchers, suffered significant injuries that would sideline each player indefinitely to open the season.

Ace Bumgarner’s injury was the most devastating. Making his last appearance of spring training on Friday, the announced Opening Day starter’s left pitching hand was hit by a line drive, breaking his pinkie finger. He had surgery and will be fortunate to be back playing by July. This came after Bumgarner, the 2014 World Series MVP, missed several months last season after an April off-day dirt bike accident.

“He was really locked in,” an exasperated manager Bruce Bochy says about Bumgarner before today’s game. “That’s the thing that makes me sick about this. He was looking as good as I’ve seen him.”

As expected, Bumgarner and Samardzija, who suffered a strained pectoral muscle earlier in the week, didn’t make the trip to Sacramento. But fans are also disappointed that catcher Posey, one of the Giants’ most popular players in history, hasn’t make it to Raley either, opting to travel ahead to the Bay area where the Giants are scheduled to play the Oakland A’s the next day.                                       

Despite the cool, jacket-worthy evening, the game proves to be an entertaining matchup, with Sacramento first baseman Jerry Sands hitting a two-run sixth-inning home run, while River Cats closer Reyes Moronta strikes out the side to stave off a ninth-inning Giants rally as the Cats knocks off their parent club 6-5.

The Giants opened the 2018 season March 29 in L.A. against the rival Dodgers, while the River Cats, also recovering from a last place finish in 2017, will finalize their roster before opening league play April 5 in Tacoma. Sacramento’s opener at Raley Field is set for April 10 against the Reno Aces.

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