Ahmed makes mark in debut; Matos keeps powering up

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Spring Training stats are generally meaningless, but manager Bob Melvin admitted he was bothered by the fact that the Giants entered Friday as the only team in the Majors without a win in exhibition play.

“If you play a game, you want to win the game,” Melvin said. “So yes, I’ve been a little cranky the last couple of days. That’s just the way I get.”

Melvin’s spirits were lifted hours later when the Giants (1-4-2) finally got into the win column by outslugging Bruce Bochy’s Rangers, 11-5, on Friday afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium. J.D. Davis, Nick Ahmed and Luis Matos (two solo homers) each went deep for San Francisco, with Ahmed and Matos going back-to-back as part of a five-run sixth inning.

“If we didn’t win today, part of our fundamentals tomorrow was going to be bringing guys off the field and shaking hands to remind them,” Melvin joked following his club’s first handshake line.

Ahmed, who joined the Giants on a Minor League deal on Monday, made his impact felt on both sides of the ball in his spring debut, helping to turn two double plays at shortstop before capping his day with a three-run shot to left field off Rangers right-hander Zak Kent in the sixth.

“I came up [with runners on] first and third there and just looking to drive the guy in from third and take an approach to right-center, especially after hitting two ground balls to the pull side in my first two at-bats,” Ahmed said. “I just really wanted to stay on the bottom and the side of it and drive the guy in. I got a good slider to hit and got it up in the air.”

Ahmed’s arrival should add some intrigue to the Giants’ shortstop competition this spring, as the two-time Gold Glove Award winner could make a serious push for a roster spot if rookie Marco Luciano struggles to seize the job in the coming weeks.

Ahmed, 33, was released by the D-backs last September after batting only .212 with a .560 OPS over 72 games in 2023, but he’s always been a plus defender and could provide some much-needed stability behind a Giants pitching staff that led the Majors with a 48.7 percent groundball rate last year.

“I’m just coming and competing and doing what I normally do,” Ahmed said. “Ultimately, it’s not my decision, but I’m just going to prove that I can still play the game at a really high level.”

Ahmed said he was happy to get a lot of early action behind starter Kyle Harrison, who coaxed grounders to short from four of the first five batters of the game.

“He looked good,” Melvin said. “Really good. He had a couple of bad hops that really good defenders tend to make look pretty routine. Look, you come to a new team, first game, it certainly makes you feel like a part of it.”

Matos powers up
Matos has been enjoying an early power surge after adding about nine pounds of muscle over the offseason, as he launched a pair of solo shots on Friday to give him a team-leading three homers this spring.

In addition to bulking up, Matos began swinging a heavier bat -- 31.5 ounces, up from 30.5 ounces last year -- and moved closer to the plate at the suggestion of his dad, Jose Luis, which he believes will help him get the barrel on more outside pitches this season. The adjustments are paying off thus far, as Matos has gone 5-for-11 (.455) through his first five Cactus League games.

“I know it won’t happen like this all the time, hitting home runs every day, but I’m just staying focused on making good contact,” Matos said in Spanish. “I think making good contact and swinging at good pitches is what’s going to help me the most moving forward.”

Worth noting
? Harrison worked two hitless innings in his Cactus League debut last week, but he wasn’t as crisp in his second start of the spring. The 22-year-old left-hander struggled to locate his fastball and ended up issuing three walks over 2 1/3 innings on Friday.

“Definitely not how I wanted to go into it,” said Harrison, who allowed one run on one hit and struck out two. “Obviously, the last [start], I was throwing a lot more competitive pitches, a lot more strikes. I felt like today I was able to land my secondary [pitch], but the fastball took a step back.”

? Jung Hoo Lee’s dad, KBO legend Jong Beom Lee, is serving as a guest instructor in Rangers Minor League camp this year, so he made the trip to Scottsdale Stadium and shared a nice moment with his son on the field prior to the game.