NEW YORK — Long after retirement, Ryan Vogelsong is still taking part in reclamation projects for the Giants.
Vogelsong, now a part-time roving instructor in the minors, worked with Chris Stratton when the young right-hander was sent back to Triple-A. Stratton was rotating too much with his delivery, causing his fastball to flatten out and cut back over the heart of the plate unexpectedly. For a pitcher who relies primarily on a fastball-curveball combination, the lack of command was hard to overcome.
But Vogelsong has seen it all in this game, and his delivery shares traits with Stratton’s. He gave Stratton some tips to help smooth his mechanics.
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Whatever Vogelsong said, it certainly worked. Stratton returned to the big leagues Tuesday night and showed a lot of improvement from previous starts. Through six innings, Stratton had thrown just 71 pitches and not allowed a run. The Mets knocked him out in the seventh, but at 6 1/3 innings with two earned runs, this still qualified as Stratton’s best outing in two months. Stratton said he was able to make adjustments in-game using Vogelsong’s tips.
“It’s just nice to have some success up here and give our team a good chance to win,” Stratton said.
The Giants fell 6-3 to the Mets after falling apart late, but manager Bruce Bochy was pleased with what he saw from Stratton. He said the staff will discuss whether Stratton stays to make another start in five days.
If Stratton does, perhaps he can duplicate an old tradition. He didn’t know about Vogelsong’s eating habits, but smiled when told of the history.
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“I actually had enchiladas two nights ago,” he said.
—- Bochy said he’ll go “with the hot hand” in left field going forward. For the most part over the past week, that has been Alen Hanson, not Austin Slater, who started at first base Tuesday night. It’s an odd arrangement. Slater, an outfielder, was only in the lineup because Brandon Belt was getting a night off and Buster Posey, originally scheduled to play first, caught 13 innings Monday night. Slater had two hits.
—- Some relevant minor league news: Tyler Beede (groin strain) came off the disabled list and returned to Triple-A Sacramento. That should clear the way for a September call-up. The Giants moved Beede to the bullpen before he got hurt.