Blach's new slider paying immediate dividends

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Giants left-hander Ty Blach spent the offseason working to develop a new slider, and he finally got the chance to debut his refined weapon in his first outing of the spring on Saturday.

The initial results were promising, as the new pitch helped Blach breeze through two scoreless innings against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

“It was really good,” Blach said Sunday. “This offseason I was working on making my slider a little better. It’s always kind of blended with the curveball, so I worked with our analytics guy, Michael Schwartze, a lot. He’s really helped me to understand the spin, the rotation. We played with some different grips to see what was going to create those, and yesterday we really liked what we saw.”

Blach, 28, has tried to throw a slider in the past, but he struggled to get the right velocity and shape. According to Brooks Baseball, only 4.9 percent of Blach’s pitches were sliders in 2018, compared to 57.6 percent for his fastball, 26.1 percent for his changeup and 11.4 percent for his curveball.

Blach said he spent a lot of time talking with fellow left-handers Will Smith and Steven Okert about their sliders to try to find a grip that worked for him over the winter. Blach finally felt something click during a throwing session right before Christmas.

“I remember throwing one, and I was like, ‘That’s the one I think I want,’” Blach said. “Just being able to kind of build on it from that point in bullpens and live BP, I really liked the way it was coming.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he hopes Blach’s new slider will help him better neutralize left-handed hitters, who batted .289 with a .723 OPS against him last year.

“I think that’s a pitch that could be big for him, particularly against lefties,” Bochy said. “It was good to see him use it and have some success with it.”

Panik’s big day

Second baseman Joe Panik enjoyed a perfect start to Cactus League play, going 3-for-3 with a home run and two singles in the Giants’ 9-5 loss to the Cubs on Sunday. After posting a career-low .639 OPS in 2018, Panik worked with hitting coaches Alonzo Powell and Rick Schu to tweak his batting stance and his load over the offseason.

“I felt good balance, good rhythm,” Panik said. “If I can feel that right out of the gates, that’s a sign of good things to come. Obviously, you’re going to have your peaks and valleys during the season, but again, it’s the work you put in during the offseason. I felt that difference today.”

First baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Alen Hanson also hit their first home runs of the spring for the Giants.

Beede shines

Right-hander Tyler Beede has been one of the standout pitchers early in camp, and he continued to impress after firing two scoreless innings against the Cubs.

“He’s been really good from the start,” Bochy said. “You could see it on the side, you could see it when he was throwing to hitters, and he carried it into the game today. Really, really pleased with what he did today. It’s something he can build on. He’s got the equipment to do this -- 97 [mph] with a good breaking ball and changeup, I mean, that works.”

Panda sidelined

Bochy said infielder Pablo Sandoval tweaked a side muscle and will be held out of Cactus League play for the next couple of days.

Up next

The Giants will host the White Sox at 1:05 p.m. PT at Scottsdale Stadium on Monday. Left-handers Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz, who both signed one-year deals over the offseason, are scheduled to make their Cactus League debuts. Left-hander Manny Banuelos will start for Chicago.