Posey ‘felt good’ in return from bout with hip tightness originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
No news was good news for Buster Posey on Sunday in the Cactus League.
The Giants catcher reported no setbacks as he played in his first game since March 13 after dealing with tightness in his surgically repaired right hip.
“It felt good today,” Posey told reporters via video conference. “It felt good to go through three innings and a couple of at-bats and not have any issues.”
Posey went 0-for-2, grounding out to first and flying out to center, before Chadwick Tromp took over behind the plate.
Tromp eventually hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to celebrate his 26th birthday and highlight the 10-4 Giants victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After the game, Giants manager Gabe Kapler said a pinch-runner would have taken over for Posey had he reached base in his second at-bat, so he fulfilled his assignment.
“The only thing that matters for us right now with Buster is his health,” Kapler said. “We’re confident that his timing is going to be just fine. It’s not going to take him long to get up to speed with any of our pitchers. Just health right now.”
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Posey could probably call a game in his sleep, but it doesn’t hurt to get his eyes trained on MLB pitchers again from the batter’s box. He has appeared in eight spring training games after opting out of the 2020 season, going 3-for-14 with a double, four walks and five strikeouts.
The Giants have eight exhibition contests remaining before opening the season at Seattle on April 1, as Curt Casali will handle backup catching duties to begin the year. Posey said he likes the Giants’ new-look lineup with Tommy La Stella joining Mike Yastrzemski at the top of the order.
“It seems like it’s tough at-bats,” Posey said. “Guys are laying off tough pitches, working some deep counts, getting on base. The ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark is there as well.”
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