Yastrzemskis reunite before Giants-Sox opener
Series vs. Red Sox a homecoming for Yastrzemski; Webb, Samardzija, Bumgarner to start at Fenway
Mike Yastrzemski wasn't sure how many friends and family members would be on hand for his Fenway Park debut this week.
Thirty? Forty?
"It’ll probably be more than that," Yastrzemski said on Sunday, after the Giants' 2-1 victory over the Marlins. "But I'm not leaving tickets for them."
The Giants’ upcoming trip to Boston will serve as a homecoming for several players, most notably Yastrzemski, whose grandfather, Carl, spent his entire Hall of Fame career with the Red Sox.
"It’s special in the sense of the history of the game and with my grandfather there," Yastrzemski said. "It’s going to be pretty emotional. I’m going to try to contain those things and just try to make it feel like it’s a regular game."
Manager Bruce Bochy said he’s eager to see how the fans at Fenway Park receive the younger Yastrzemski, who is expected to start all three games in the outfield for the Giants. Yastrzemski said his grandfather is likely to attend one game, and sure enough, he was on hand ahead of Tuesday's opener.
“I know he’s going to get a ton of attention,” Bochy said on Sunday ahead of the Giants' 2-1 victory over the Marlins, in which Yastrzemski scored the game-winning run. “I’m trying to imagine what’s going to go through [the fans] when they see a Yastrzemski out there in the outfield. I’m sure that’s going to bring back some big memories for them. I’m sure it’s an exciting time for Mike. He’ll be out there every day. I look forward to seeing how the fans react.”
Yastrzemski’s Fenway debut will draw the most buzz, but the trip will also be meaningful for Chris Shaw, who grew up in Lexington, Mass., and played at Boston College before being selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2015 Draft.
“I’m going to have chicken skin for that one, for sure,” Shaw said. “I’ve been thinking about that for a long time.”
Shaw has appeared in only eight games since being called up by the Giants earlier this month, but Bochy said he intends to find him some playing time at Fenway.
“I know it’s big for him to be there,” Bochy said. “He was pretty anxious to see if he was going to get called up, knowing that we were going to Boston. I can’t imagine the feeling he got when he was told he was coming up and joining us, because he knew that was on the horizon. I’ll find a way to make sure he gets on the field.”
The Giants have a third Massachusetts native on their roster in Tyler Beede, though he is not scheduled to start for the Giants during the three-game Interleague series. Two former Red Sox prospects -- Mauricio Dubon and Shaun Anderson -- will also be facing their former organization for the first time.
Dubon, who homered in Sunday's win, was a 26th-round Draft pick of the Red Sox in 2013, and he played with Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers in the Minors before being traded to the Brewers as part of the Tyler Thornburg trade in '16. The Giants acquired Dubon from Milwaukee in exchange for relievers Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black at the Trade Deadline.
The Red Sox selected Anderson in the third round of the 2016 Draft before trading him to the Giants in exchange for Eduardo Núñez the following year.
Worth noting
• Logan Webb will start Tuesday’s series opener against the Red Sox at 4:10 p.m. PT, live on MLB.TV, followed by Jeff Samardzija on Wednesday and Madison Bumgarner on Thursday. They'll oppose Nathan Eovaldi, Jhoulys Chacín and Eduardo Rodriguez, respectively.
The Giants could have used Monday’s off-day to give Bumgarner an extra day of rest, but he will stay on his normal schedule, putting him in line to pitch Bochy’s final game on Sept. 29.
“I really haven’t put any thought [into] that,” Bochy said. “We’re still a little ways away. I think you know what he means to me and what this guy has done for the organization. He’s just special.”
• The Giants called up right-hander Enderson Franco from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, and they transferred left-hander Tony Watson (wrist fracture) to the 60-day injured list, officially ending his season. Franco, 26, posted a 5.97 ERA over 113 innings in 26 appearances (22 starts) for Sacramento this season. He has yet to make his Major League debut.
• Yastrzemski made his first start in center field on Sunday in place of Kevin Pillar, who received a scheduled day off. Mike Gerber and Joey Rickard flanked Yastrzemski in right and left field, respectively.