Mills perfect as Angels lose to Giants
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Pablo Sandoval and Jackson Williams provided run-scoring hits in Saturday's fourth inning to lead the Giants past a Los Angeles Angels split squad, 4-1, in a Cactus League opener.
Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong tuned up nicely for his World Baseball Classic stint with Team USA, blanking the Angels for two innings on two hits. Angels starter Brad Mills was even more effective as he worked two perfect innings.
Chad Gaudin earned the decision while yielding one run in two innings.
The Angels opened the scoring in the fourth inning as Efren Navarro singled, advanced to second base on J.B. Shuck's sacrifice bunt, reached third on Matt Young's single and came home on a groundout.
San Francisco quickly leapfrogged the Angels. Facing right-hander Billy Buckner, the Giants manufactured their first run as Angel Pagan singled leading off, stole second base, moved to third on Marco Scutaro's groundout and scored on Sandoval's single. Williams' double to left chased home Sandoval, who broke from first base on Buckner's 2-1 pitch.
The Giants widened their lead to 3-1 in the sixth. Gary Brown, San Francisco's No. 1 pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, drilled a leadoff double and advanced on consecutive groundouts by Kensuke Tanaka and Wilson Valdez. Singles by Johnny Monell, Cole Gillespie and Ricky Oropesa gave the Giants another run in the seventh.
Angels up next: Barry Enright will make his spring debut while starting against the A's on Sunday. The 26-year-old right-hander is expected to start in Triple-A this year, but Enright believes he'll do so as a different pitcher. After struggling in the D-backs' system the last couple seasons, he found success with the Angels' Triple-A affiliate late last season, posting a 2.73 ERA in eight starts, and spent the offseason going back to staying behind the ball in his delivery. The subtle change, Enright believes, will give him more deception on his changeup and allow his fastball velocity to remain consistent.
Giants up next: Matt Cain, who has expressed enthusiasm in the past for playing at HoHoKam Stadium, will return there Sunday to face the Cubs. Expect to see Gregor Blanco and Andres Torres in left field, Brandon Belt at first base (he was the designated hitter Saturday) and Brandon Crawford at shortstop, none of whom started Saturday's exhibition opener against the Angels.