Melvin shakes up SF Giants’ lineup following cold road trip

SAN FRANCISCO Bob Melvin has seldom changed the foundation of his starting lineup this season On Monday he shook things up Ahead of the Giants homestand-opening event against the Arizona Diamondbacks the manager rolled out his the greater part unique lineup of the season Mike Yastrzemski RF Matt Chapman B Heliot Ramos LF Jung Hoo Lee RF Wilmer Flores B Willy Adames SS Patrick Bailey C Luis Matos DH Christian Koss B Sometimes when you re a little stagnant you change things up Melvin reported Yastrzemski who has a OPS in May remained in a familiar spot and LaMonte Wade Jr was getting a day off but the rest of the lineup looks considerably different Adames who has a OPS this month has exclusively hit in the two-hole but he moves down to the six-spot Melvin declared hitting Adames lower in the lineup could allow him to focus on driving in runs Chapman has hit cleanup in all but one encounter but he takes Adames spot Ramos San Francisco s hottest hitter starts most of games against right-handed pitchers in the fifth or sixth spot but gets bumped up to the three-hole Lee has hit third in every tournament he s started but he ll serve as the cleanup hitter for the first time in the majors Lee could not remember the last time he hit cleanup but communicated reporters it was either or Flores has only started one contest at first but he gets the start in place of the struggling Wade Melvin iterated that Flores won t play too much first base adding that Wade will start the following day Up to this point the only seismic change Melvin made to his lineup this season was promoting Yastrzemski to the leadoff in place of Wade But the offense given how it performed against the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins was in need of another jolt The Giants had a batting average and OPS during their fresh road trip scoring three runs or fewer in four of the six games They averaged runs per contest against the Cubs and Twins but they generated more than half of those runs in their - -inning win San Francisco started the two-city tango by taking two of three from Chicago but was swept by Minnesota That s kind of how the way a season goes There s times where you shake the lineup up a little bit There s times when you let it run Chapman reported I think Bo Mel s just trying to get a sparse guys going It s pretty much the same six hitters at the top but maybe flip-flop them a little bit and see if we can get something going Chapman and Ramos certainly have it going right now owning a and OPS this month respectively Ramos in particular caught fire during the fresh road trip going -for- with two homers three doubles and seven RBIs After making a costly baserunning mistake on Saturday Ramos responded on Sunday by homering reaching base four times and driving in a season-high four runs You have to be super open announced Ramos who had a OPS in April Whenever you re struggling I feel like it s hard to admit it It s hard to be vulnerable and talk about what you re struggling with That s something I had to give up myself and put it out there and open my mind Ramos may have emerged from his cold spell but Wade s bat remains frigid Wade didn t record a hit against the Twins this past weekend entering Monday with the second-lowest OPS in baseball among qualified hitters He entered the season as the Giants leadoff hitter but dropped to the bottom half of the lineup in April and hasn t reclaimed his spot Just getting him a little bit of distance here right now Melvin revealed The work he s putting in is pretty extreme It s not like he s sitting around pouting He s working like crazy For a guy that s had as much success as he has this is really hard The longer it goes on the harder it is So just trying to give him a little bit of a mental break That s why he s off in the current era Wade remains the Giants starting first baseman but with Jerar Encarnacion nearing his return from the injured list Wade could lose playing time if his bat doesn t heat up soon Related Articles SF Giants swept by Twins despite Ramos big afternoon Ramos mistake proves costly as SF Giants spoil Webb s outing SF Giants stifled by Paddack s bid at perfect challenge He s anxious to get going SF Giants Bailey talks offensive struggles SF Giants Wilmer Flores on pace to do something Barry Bonds never did and Harrison s heater has returned Encarnacion left hand fracture began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento this past weekend and is eligible to return on May With Flores occupying the designated hitter spot Encarnacion will primarily play first base with the River Cats Encarnacion possesses tantalizing pop and while the Giants gave Wade a vote of confidence in the offseason they can only exercise so much patience The guy has a track record and multiple years of being one of the the bulk sufferer hitters getting on-base clutch all of the above Melvin reported of Wade When he gets a couple at-bats under his belt that are good he ends up hitting them hard and has nothing to show for it Now that gets even more frustrating It s just kind of snowballed on him to this point to where hopefully he can get a little bit of a mental break here Worth noting Tyler Fitzgerald left rib fracture and Casey Schmitt left oblique strain are continuing all baseball activity They were both scheduled to be examined by Dr Ken Akizuki the club physician on Monday night and could both begin rehab assignments Tuesday with Sacramento Tom Murphy mid-back disk herniation is continuing physical therapy for the next six weeks He will then be re-evaluated