SAN FRANCISCO -- A year ago, the Giants lost a young, homegrown outfielder to a brutal fall on the bullpen mound alongside left field. In the first inning Friday, they nearly lost a young, homegrown outfielder to a brutal fall on the bullpen mound alongside right field.
Steven Duggar went down hard while trying to catch a pop-up, reminding the Giants that there's some urgency to discussions about moving the bullpens and possibly cutting into Triples Alley. Duggar appeared shaken for a few minutes but ultimately was fine.
"It is dangerous," manager Bruce Bochy said. "These guys are focused on catching the ball. They're running full speed. It was a scary moment, to be honest."
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The Giants saw how scary those mounds can be last year when Mac Williamson suffered a concussion that might have altered his whole career. Already this year, Duggar and San Diego's Wil Myers have gone down while trying to play corner outfield. There's a reason the location of the mounds is being discussed in the front office.
Some other thoughts from Friday's 7-3 loss to the Yankees ...
--- Before the top of the fifth, the Giants showed a video on the scoreboard honoring East Bay native CC Sabathia, who is in his final season. Sabathia was then shown on the scoreboard and given a nice ovation by the big crowd.
The lefty was taken 20th overall in the 1998 draft out of Vallejo High School. One pick earlier, the Giants took Tony Torcato. Yikes.
San Francisco Giants
This also seems the time to mention that none of the opponents the Giants have played on the road this season have done anything to note that this is Bochy's last year.
--- The Giants drew 34,950 for a Friday night game against the Yankees. That's a nice number, but at just about any other point over the last decade this would have been the easiest sellout of the season.
There's a reason you should stay at the park throughout a game, though. Late in this one, Brandon Crawford showed off some wizardry:
[RELATED: Giants avoid history, finally break through in first inning]
--- Brandon Belt didn't have a great night in left field, making an error in the third and then failing to cut a ball off in the fifth that might have allowed DJ LeMahieu to score. Bochy said Belt had some back tightness that impacted his ability to run at full speed.
Belt probably shouldn't be playing much left at this stage of his career, but the Giants have tried it to get Tyler Austin in the lineup. Austin was supposed to be only playing left by this point but he has continued elbow issues. Bochy said he could be in left field on Saturday, though.
Regardless, they probably need to reevaluate how much they're giving up defensively by moving Belt away from first just to get a little extra juice at the plate.