PEORIA, Ariz. -- For the first time this spring, Denard Span was in center field with new teammates Angel Pagan in left and Hunter Pence in right Wednesday afternoon. The Giants' projected starting outfield was making its debut, getting in some important quality time toward becoming a cohesive unit come Opening Day.
Unfortunately for Span, the familiarity session didn't last as long as he'd like. Span came out just four innings into the Giants' 9-6 loss to the Mariners after feeling discomfort in his right shoulder in the third inning after diving for a ball on a Robinson Cano triple.
"I jammed it a little bit, so it's a little sore right now," Span said later with an icepack on his shoulder. "We'll see how I feel in the morning. I came down on it pretty good."
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Said manager Bruce Bochy: "It was bothering him. That's why he came out."
The Giants and Span have their fingers crossed it's not a serious matter, and he'll be off Thursday as planned anyway. Wednesday's game was not only his first chance to play between Pagan and Pence, but it was also his first action in the field this spring.
"It felt good to be out there and catch up on game speed. It was good to be out there finally and have all three of us out there," Span said.
This is when the Giants' starting outfielders need to get accustomed to each other in game conditions, so the more opportunity they get to play together in Arizona, the better. All three got hits Wednesday -- Pagan going 3-for-3 with a double and a triple, Pence adding a pair of singles and Span one single. But they never did have a situation in which they crossed paths or had to call each other off a ball.
"We've got to make sure we're on the same page," Span said. "I think just being out there and knowing each other's speed and range, and the communication factor."
The left-handed Span already had some soreness in his throwing shoulder, so jamming his right shoulder wasn't helpful at all. Still, he was thinking as much about how it was a play he should have made as he was about the physical outcome.
"It was a backspun line drive, and I saw the ball great off the bat, but just not having game speed, I misjudged it a little bit," Span said. "That's a ball I should catch."