Giants' Ryan Vogelsong shrugs off bad start

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Not one to let a bad outing roll lightly off his back, Ryan Vogelsong said he fully intends to "analyze and fix" after being tagged by the Seattle Mariners for six hits and seven runs (five earned) in his Cactus League start Saturday.

Still, Vogelsong didn't sound overly concerned about the start, in which he allowed two first-inning home runs and also committed an error that contributed to a five-run third. Instead, the right-hander offered a ready explanation for the rough afternoon.

"I worked all winter on changing my delivery a little bit and got kind of stuck in between the old way and the new way, and just couldn't get myself to do what I wanted to do," he said. "But I felt fine. It wasn't as off as it looked."

Vogelsong said home runs by left-handers Brad Miller and Michael Saunders came on a changeup that was "a little too hard" and a backdoor cut fastball that drifted back over the plate, respectively.

After allowing an RBI single to Saunders in the third, Vogelsong exited the game with a pair of runners still on. Yusmeiro Petit came on in relief and allowed both to score. Not that this matters much, but the outing ended the Giants' rotation's string of excellence to begin the Cactus League - they'd entered with one earned run allowed in 23 innings.

Vogelsong didn't go too specifically into the changes he made this winter, but said last season he got into a bad habit of "spinning around the ball." This spring he's trying to stay more direct to the plate, and felt he simply got caught in between Saturday.

But he said he wouldn't disregard the results.

"I internalize a lot," he said. "That's how you learn. I'm not just going to brush it off and say it was a bad outing. You need to analyze and fix, so that's what I'll do."

It was a rough day all around for Giants pitching, and that wasn't confined to arms that will start the season in the minors. Javier Lopez pitched an inning and allowed three runs on three hits and a walk. Sergio Romo faced five batters and retired none of them, giving up three runs on three hits and two walks.

In his four Cactus League outings this spring, Romo has allowed 12 runs (11 earned) on 11 hits. He has said he's not using his notorious slider right now as he's trying to get his fastball and changeup going, but neither of the latter pitches worked very well Saturday.

"He was up, not hitting his spots," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Sergio, when he's good, he's using both sides and hitting his spots real nice. Right now he's off. Sure, he's not using his slider, but changeup's a little off right now and his command."

Bochy said he hasn't talked with Romo about when the closer plans to start throwing the slider, but that as far as he knows Romo isn't battling any soreness or injury.

"I'll say the same about Vogey (today)," Bochy said. "He was really good at times, but at other times he just left the ball up. Spring training you're probably going to pay for it."

The best outing of the afternoon belonged to Jeremy Affeldt, who had a perfect inning with a strikeout. Affeldt has retired all six hitters he's faced this spring in two games. Bochy said Petit also appeared to settle down after his first inning,

an "encouraging" sign after the right-hander's past couple of rough outings.

Overall, though, there wasn't much positive to be found in an 18-3 loss in which Seattle collected 18 hits and the Giants helped with two errors.

"Even though it's spring training that's one of the worst games we've had in a long time," Bochy said. "It started early, continued and gradually got worse."

Bochy said after the game that a couple of the Giants' regulars likely won't be available for today's split-squad games. Outfielder Michael Morse has a sore calf and might be "down a couple days," Bochy said.

Hunter Pence, meanwhile, felt some soreness in his left elbow on a swing Friday and Bochy said it was "barking a little" Saturday.

Neither is a long-term concern at this point, Bochy said. Morse argued he probably could have played but the Giants didn't want to take any chances. Pence will be evaluated again Sunday morning.

Brandon Crawford also won't play Sunday for a happier reason. While the team was in the middle of its morning workout today, Crawford tweeted out this picture and message. It's the second child for Crawford and his wife, Jalynne. Congratulations to them.

As Bochy pointed out, though, that's four members of the projected opening day lineup missing right now (counting Marco Scutaro). So while the Giants are scheduled to get an early look at Clayton Kershaw when they face the Dodgers in Glendale tomorrow, not all the regulars will be getting that look.