Harrison dazzles before rain; Chapman debuts

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Dodgers’ lineup didn’t present as much of a challenge for left-hander Kyle Harrison as the elements did on Thursday night.

The Giants’ No. 1 prospect in the MLB Pipeline rankings struck out six over 2 2/3 scoreless innings before his third start of the spring was cut short by inclement weather at Scottsdale Stadium. Harrison gave up two hits and topped out at 95 mph with his fastball, which he used to record all but two of his strikeouts.

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“Really good,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I’ve seen him a few times, but today -- changeup, breaking ball, fastball -- guys were having a tough time getting a good swing. He was using all of his pitches. It’s the best I’ve seen him throw.”

Harrison, 22, fanned Andre Lipcius and Kiké Hernández to start the top of the third, but he then issued back-to-back walks on eight pitches as he struggled to find his footing on an increasingly rain-soaked mound.

Home-plate umpire Doug Eddings called for the grounds crew to come out and pour Diamond Dry on the mound and in the batter’s box, but Harrison was still slipping when he attempted to return to the bump, resulting in a scoreless tie and a rare Cactus League rainout.

“Whenever it gets like that, obviously, you’re going to be careful,” Melvin said. “Unfortunately, we had to call it.”

Melvin said he wasn’t sure how much the rainout would end up impacting the Giants’ pitching plans. Harrison had been scheduled to throw 60 pitches and finished around 50, so he should be relatively unaffected. Right-handers Camilo Doval, Landen Roupp, Trevor McDonald, Hayden Birdsong and Spencer Bivens were among the pitchers who were expected to enter the game after Harrison. The Giants will have to find new spots for them in the coming days.

“Obviously, we’ve got to back the relievers up a little bit, but that’s minor,” Melvin said. “Usually it’s your starter you’re more worried about.”

Chapman debuts
Matt Chapman didn’t see much action in his rain-shortened Giants debut, logging two-plus innings at third base and striking out looking against Dodgers left-hander James Paxton in his lone plate appearance in the first.

With Harrison dealing, Chapman got only one ball hit to him -- a hard grounder to the left side that he dove for but missed, leading to an infield single for Teoscar Hernández in the first. Shortstop Nick Ahmed, a fellow Gold Glover, backed up Chapman and managed to keep the ball in the infield, preventing Miguel Rojas from scoring from second base on the play.

“You want to keep that in the infield so the runner doesn’t score,” Melvin said. “But in Chappy’s case, too, that’s maybe a ball he gets to sometimes. So it’s going to be a little bit before he gets his legs underneath him. Between the two of them, it seems like they can cover some ground over there.”