Giants' Chris Shaw adjusts, shows signs of progress with first two-hit game

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SAN FRANCISCO — Giants manager Bruce Bochy had four rookies in his lineup Sunday, three of whom already have found various measures of big league success. 

Starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez, who threw six strong innings but took a tough decision in a 3-2 loss to the Rockies, has been an ace for three months and looks capable of being a rotation anchor. First baseman Austin Slater has proven he can handle big league pitching and should be in the mix for an outfield job next spring. Catcher Aramis Garcia has shown the staff that he’s ready to be a big league backup catcher right now, although the preference is for him to see more time in Triple-A next year. 

For the fourth rookie, this month has been the ultimate learning experience. Left fielder Chris Shaw entered the day with one hit — a long homer — in 22 at-bats, 13 of which ended with a strikeout. He exited with his first multi-hit game.

Shaw said he never got worried as the slump got deeper. 

"I've gone 7-for-80 (in Double-A) before. I don't really sweat this type of stuff," he said. "It's such a small sample size. I'm just happy to be getting my feet wet and getting an opportunity."

The Giants do not believe Shaw is ready yet. They didn’t quite believe it when they called him up, but a trade of Andrew McCutchen opened a spot, and there were benefits all around to Shaw getting an opportunity.

Beyond his first taste of big league playing time, Shaw has had a chance to work daily with coaches at the highest level. He has spent plenty of time doing drills in left, where he has handled himself well, and making tweaks with hitting coaches Alonzo Powell and Rick Schu. The main goal is to start Shaw's swing earlier. 

For Bochy, this has been a balancing act. The Giants want to give Shaw a look, but the manager also is trying to win games on the field. He is sensitive to the fact that the Giants are playing contenders and have to be well-represented, and he also simply has zero interest in losing every night, as the team did for nearly two weeks. If a player looks overmatched, Bochy isn’t just going to send him to the wolves.

Shaw started just two games on this homestand, although he entered two more as a pinch-hitter.

“I talked to him. I wanted him to watch a couple of games,” Bochy said. “The next two weeks, we’ll pick our spots for him.”

From the outside, it might look like Bochy has lost faith in a young player. He insists that’s not the case, comparing Shaw to others who have taken a while to develop. 

“It’s tough when you have a young player and he’s trying to make some tweaks during the season,” Bochy said. “It’s hard enough to hit major league pitching, and then they’re trying to make changes.”

It did not take long for the book to get out on Shaw. He knew right away that he was being attacked with fastballs up and soft stuff away. He has swung through many of those fastballs, consistently falling behind in counts. But Bochy does not want Shaw to become passive. He said it's important that such a powerful player continues to “be himself.”

“If you chase, so be it,” Bochy said. “I want him to keep his aggressiveness. The more time (young players) see … you look at Trevor Story over there, he used to chase a lot of pitches and now you look at him and (that’s changed) and that’s from playing and getting these reps, and I think that’s the case for Shaw.

“It’s realizing the strike zone. We call it the box. It’s not that big. When you look at it and draw it on somebody, it’s not that big. It’s important to keep (your swing) in that box as much as you can.”

The Giants want Shaw to slow things down as much as he can this month, and it appears he already has. So many of his early at-bats lasted just three pitches, but on Sunday, he showed more patience. Sure, he swung right over the first pitch he saw, a breaking ball down in the zone, but he worked the count to 3-2 and muscled a single into shallow left. That was his second hit as a big leaguer. In the fourth, Shaw grounded out on a 2-2 count. 

Shaw came up with two on and two outs in the sixth and took advantage of a first-pitch fastball from Scott Oberg, smoking it to right to get the Giants on the board. Shaw came up one last time in the eighth with the tying run on first. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, he hit a high fly ball to the track in left. 

"I knew I was going to come around," he said. "I just need to get consistent at-bats going and get back into that feel that you create as a hitter. It felt good to have a day like today."

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