SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Anthony DeSclafani enjoyed a bounceback campaign in his first season with the Giants, but he’s hoping his improved curveball will allow him to take another step forward in 2022.

DeSclafani unveiled the new pitch in the Giants’ 10-2 loss to the Guardians on Friday afternoon, firing three scoreless innings in his spring debut at Scottsdale Stadium. The 31-year-old right-hander gave up two hits while walking one and striking out one, and he managed to escape a bases-loaded jam in the second inning.

“I was kind of focusing on the curve today,” DeSclafani said. “I thought I threw a bunch of really good ones. I thought it was great. I think my fastball command needs to crisp up a little bit, but I think that will happen, obviously, as I keep getting in games. I’m not worried about that.”

DeSclafani relied primarily on his slider and fastball in 2021, when he logged a career-best 3.17 ERA over 31 starts for the Giants, but he spent the offseason trying to get a better feel for his curveball, which he threw only 8.1 percent of the time last year. After tweaking his grip over the winter, DeSclafani said he began to feel more comfortable throwing his curveball in bullpen sessions leading up to Spring Training.

“I usually never have it,” DeSclafani said. “I made a couple of tweaks in the offseason. I was feeling really good with it, throwing it in 'pens up to Spring Training. It’s felt good during camp. The coaches have been happy with it. I’ve been happy with it. I really wanted to see what it was going to be in the game today, how hitters were going to react. I threw some for strikes, got some outs on some. Got a swing-and-miss. I’m really encouraged by it. I’m just going to continue with the process of throwing it and seeing how hitters react. I think it’ll be a good pitch for me this year.”

DeSclafani said he believes having another pitch with good depth in the low 80s will help enhance his other offerings, which sit in the 87 mph to mid-90s range.

“I’ve been messing with it for a while,” DeSclafani said of his curveball. “There was a time in ‘16 when I felt really good with it. It made my games a lot easier just because I had another pitch to go to that had that bend but slower. It made the effect on everything else greater. I’ve been searching for that. I’m feeling really good with where it’s at right now, so I’m just hoping it stays there.”

Logan Webb’s rise and Kevin Gausman’s All-Star campaign may have overshadowed DeSclafani’s contributions last year, but he certainly wasn’t overlooked by the Giants, who rewarded the New Jersey native with a three-year, $36 million deal in November.

“I think it took all of us until after the season to kind of appreciate how good he was over a sustained period of time and how dependable of a Major League starter he was for us,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It wasn’t that we weren’t appreciating it in the moment. Maybe the success that he had flew under the radar, perhaps because of what Webb was doing, perhaps because Gaus was so consistently spotlighted, perhaps because our bullpen was very effective. But I think there’s a full appreciation for what he did for us now in this camp.”

DeSclafani has high hopes not only for himself, but also for the rest of the Giants’ starting rotation, which includes Webb, Alex Wood, Carlos Rodón and Alex Cobb.

“I think we’re nasty,” DeSclafani said. “Good group of guys. We all offer something a little different. I think we’re going to be really good.”

Quick hits
• Mike Yastrzemski hit his first home run of the spring on Friday, crushing a two-run shot off Guardians right-hander Aaron Civale in the third inning.

• Tyler Beede continued his uneven spring, surrendering a grand slam to Yu Chang in the sixth. Beede, who is out of options, has now allowed six runs over four innings in his first two Cactus League appearances. Left-hander Sam Long, another rotation depth piece, looked sharp while striking out four over two scoreless innings.

• Cobb, who joined the Giants on a two-year, $20 million deal in December, will make his spring debut on Sunday against the Angels, his former club.