April 3, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Mayer homers again, Giolito looks good in rehab outing
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For the second consecutive night, Marcelo Mayer went deep. The third-ranked prospect took a fastball low and away and belted it on a line over the left-center field fence. It was a two-run shot that drove in number one prospect Roman Anthony, who drew a pair of walks in four trips to the plate. He has now reached base safely in all four games to begin the season, and he has taken two walks in three of the four games.
Lucas Giolito appeared in a game for the first time since March 11, when he threw one inning in a spring training game. In fact, this was the first time since 2023 in which Giolito pitched in a game that was not a spring outing. Coming off a left hamstring injury, he pitched well in this rehab start. The veteran right-hander tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings with just one hit and one walk allowed to go along with two strikeouts. He threw 51 pitches, 28 for strikes. His fastball touched 94 MPH and he got six swinging strikes. Robert Stock followed Giolito and was terrific, throwing 4 1/3 innings without allowing a run on just two hits and two walks. He punched out six. Nick Burdi also threw 1 1/3 innings of hitless ball with two strikeouts and no walks. Luis Guerrero closed it out for his first save of 2025, breezing through the ninth inning on just nine pitches, striking out two.
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Player of the Day: After playing third base yesterday and earning Player of the Day honors, Marcelo Mayer shifted to shortstop last night and he gets the honor again, driving in the only two runs of the game with his two-run blast in the first inning. The sweet-swinging lefty is now hitting .294 with a .980 OPS on the young season.
Photo Credit: Marcelo Mayer by Kelly O'Connor