Notes: Ramos hits 3rd HR; Basabe injured?

PHOENIX -- Heliot Ramos wasn’t originally scheduled to start for the Giants on Tuesday, but a last-minute lineup switch ended up thrusting him into the designated hitter spot in place of catcher Joey Bart.

Ramos certainly made the most of the unexpected opportunity, crushing his third home run in two games in the ninth inning of the Giants’ 13-7 loss to the Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix.

Ramos, who is ranked the Giants’ No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, drove a first-pitch offering from Milwaukee left-hander Leo Crawford out beyond the flag poles in left-center field for a jaw-dropping solo shot that accounted for San Francisco’s final run of the game.

? Ramos, top prospects dominate

“That’s about as far as you’ll ever see one hit here,” Brewers broadcaster Brian Anderson marveled.

Ramos nearly added another home run in the third, when he doubled off the right-field wall for an opposite-field hit. The 21-year-old is now 7-for-17 (.412) with four RBIs over his first six exhibition games this spring, though he is still expected to open the season at Double-A Richmond this year.

Fellow Giants outfielder Steven Duggar also homered for the second consecutive game, launching a solo shot to left-center field off Adrian Houser in the second inning. It’s an encouraging sign for Duggar, who is an elite defender in center field, but has struggled to deliver enough offensive production to establish himself as a regular in the Majors.

“It’s been a tale of two camps for Duggar,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “On the one hand, more recently, he’s been having fantastic at-bats. Obviously, he’s gone deep a couple of times. We also see opportunities for him to be more aggressive on the bases. We see opportunities for him to get more aggressive in getting bunts down. And those are things we’re talking to him about.”

Basabe injured

Luis Alexander Basabe departed Tuesday’s game in the eighth inning after suffering an apparent left arm injury while attempting to make a diving catch in right field.

Basabe went into a head-first dive to try to snag a fly ball off the bat of Zach Green, but he appeared to land awkwardly on his wrist, which got caught under his glove on the play. He immediately received a visit from a team trainer and Kapler, and clutched his left forearm as he walked off the field. Kapler didn’t provide much of an update after the game, noting that Basabe had not yet been evaluated by team doctors.

Basabe, 24, was claimed off waivers from the White Sox and appeared in nine games after debuting with the Giants in September, but he was designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster to clear a spot for infielder Tommy La Stella last month.

Wood’s day

Alex Wood opened his second start of the spring with a scoreless first inning, but the Giants were forced to roll the second inning after the 30-year-old left-hander gave up a solo shot to Omar Narvaez and subsequently maxed out his pitch count while recording only one out.

“I built my endurance up,” said Wood, who departed after throwing 41 pitches. “I felt good physically. Those were the most pitches I’ve thrown all spring and probably since Spring Training of last year, but I didn’t think my stuff was very good today. I wasn’t very happy that they decided to bring a reliever in the first inning instead of just rolling it. So, sitting there for 25 minutes wasn’t exactly ideal, but the nature of the beast. Overall, felt good, felt healthy. I did feel like the ball was coming out good. Just wasn’t as sharp as I’ve been so far this spring.”

The Giants and Brewers combined to roll over five innings on Tuesday, leading to this blunt assessment from Kapler: "We did not play a good baseball game today.”

Santos debuts
Pitching prospect Gregory Santos made his Cactus League debut on Tuesday and topped 98 mph on his fastball, but he was unable to get out of the eighth after giving up four runs on three hits and two walks. Santos was one of three young relievers to be added to the Giants’ 40-man roster this offseason, joining fellow right-handers Camilo Doval and Kervin Castro.

“I don’t think it was Santos’ best outing,” Kapler said. “When I went out there with [quality assurance coach] Nick Ortiz, I mentioned to him that everything has been fantastic, so just turn the page quickly after this outing. Once he gets back in the dugout, understand that he’s going to get more opportunities and he’s got a long career ahead of him. This is just a little bump in the road.”

Up next
Right-hander Nick Tropeano will make his second start and third appearance of the spring on Wednesday as the Giants host the Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium at 12:05 p.m. PT. Right-hander Alec Mills will start for Chicago.