As the Giants look to ride a wave of momentum into a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, San Francisco manager Bob Melvin pointed out how important shortstop Nick Ahmed has been to the club since the start of the season.
When asked by reporters before the game at Fenway what Ahmed means to the team, Melvin was quick to praise the veteran shortstop.
“He’s been pretty invaluable for us, the defense on the left side, the ground ball rate from our pitching staff, it has been pretty significant,” Melvin said. “The way he and [Matt] Chapman work over there on the left side has been really good. Overall numbers, he’s gotten some really big hits for us too.
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“He’s got a lot of experience, he knows how to play those at-bats later on in the game and probably the one guy, one of the guys on our team who has a history against some of these veteran pitches. Not only a resource for us on the field but off the field in hitters’ meetings, he has been really good for us.”
Melvin then was asked what he was expecting out of Ahmed offensively since the 34-year-old, who initially was signed to a minor league deal before winning the starting shortstop spot in spring training, slashed just .219/.272/.336 in 218 games over the last three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I really didn’t know because of the [2022 shoulder] injury,” Melvin explained. “Now he’s had years where he’s hit some homers too and I think you’ll see some -- we saw them in spring training as well -- but I think really what’s resonated with me are the big hits he’s gotten in two out situations where we needed to drive a run in or something like that.”
Ahmed has been a nice surprise for the Giants so far this season, as the veteran has thrived in two-out situations with a .303 batting average with six RBI in 33 plate appearances.
San Francisco Giants
With San Francisco’s pitching staff coming on strong in recent outings, the team has been looking for more consistency from the offense. Beside Ahmed, the Giants have struggled with hitting in high-leverage situations with runners in scoring position.
After season-ending shoulder surgery in 2022, Ahmed struggled to regain his form with the Diamondbacks, and the franchise eventually released the two-time Gold Glove winner at the end of the 2023 season.
After beating out Marco Luciano in spring training, Ahmed has returned to form as a hitter, posting the second-best batting average of his career this season.