The San Francisco Giants played a friendly with Japan on Thursday, losing 6-3.
Yusmeiro Petit got the start for San Francisco, his third of the spring. His last start on March 9 did not go as planned, as he gave up eight earned runs in just 1.2 innings. An optimist would say his start on Thursday went better, but he still allowed four runs in four innings and took the loss.
Michael Kickham, a top pitching prospect, relieved Petit in the fifth inning. He allowed four hits, two walks and two runs in 1.1 innings pitched. The 6-4, 220-pound lefty has drawn attention from both veteran Giants players and management with a very successful 2012 in AA Richmond.
The back-end of the bullpen allowed the Giants to make some semblance of a comeback, surrendering no earned runs, no walks and only one hit in the final 2.2 innings. Steve Edlefson, Scott Proctor, Dan Runzler and Ramon Ramirez all had successful performances out of the pen.
The Giants' offense relied on their top-three outfield prospects for all three runs on the board.
Francisco Peguero, who player 16 games on the big-league club last year, went 1-2 with two RBIs. He gave the Giants an early lead with a first-inning RBI single to center, and added a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Gary Brown, named 2011's Best Class A Advanced Hitter by Minor League Baseball, added the third run for the Giants on a ninth-inning solo home run. Brown, who is not particularly known for his power, has shown glimpses of pop in his bat. In San Jose two seasons ago, Brown slugged 14 home runs, which was good enough for second on the team..
Roger Kieschnick, a Texas-Tech product, scored on Peguero's sacrifice fly after reaching base on an error. Kieschnick, 26, exploded offensively in AAA Fresno last year before getting injured, hitting .306 with 15 home runs and 40 RBIs in just 55 games.
Per Andrew Baggarly at CSN Bay Area, Kieschnick looked back on his young career:
“When you run into the injuries I have, you definitely have to take a step back and really focus on getting better. Mentally, that’s not easy. Because all you want to think about is playing baseball.”
According to Baseball America, Brown, Peguero and Kieschnick all rank among the organization's top-10 prospects; fourth, eight and ninth respectively.
The Giants next game will be tomorrow, March 15, against the Texas Rangers at home. Matt Cain, who's last appearance was interrupted with stomach issues, will get the start opposite Derek Lowe.
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