Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto candidates for Opening Day starter

There are a handful of spots up for grabs on the Giants’ roster this spring, but there’s also an intriguing competition regarding which member of the rotation will get the starting nod for Opening Day.

Veteran right-handers Kevin Gausman and Johnny Cueto are both in the mix for the April 1 assignment in Seattle, and manager Gabe Kapler said Sunday that he expects to announce a decision relatively soon.

“There’s no hiding the ball here,” Kapler said. “It’s more wanting to have all the right conversations, check all the boxes and get all the way to the finish line.”

Cueto, who started for the Giants on Opening Day last year, had been pitching one day before Gausman for most of the spring, which suggested that they were being lined up to start the first two games of the 2021 season in that order. That changed on Monday, when Cueto pitched a five-inning simulated game at Scottsdale Stadium and Gausman made his third Cactus League start in the Giants’ 7-2 loss to the White Sox at Camelback Ranch.

By having them pitch on the same day, the Giants will now have the flexibility to deploy either one of them against the Mariners on Opening Day. Cueto is the longest-tenured member of the rotation, but Gausman emerged as the Giants’ most dominant starter in 2020 and was described as the team’s ace by backup catcher Curt Casali last week.

Gausman has carried himself like a top-of-the-rotation arm this spring, but he didn’t look as sharp in his outing against the White Sox on Monday, giving up four runs on seven hits — six for extra bases — over 3 2/3 innings.

“To be honest, today was kind of frustrating,” Gausman said. “I feel like I’ve been a lot sharper this spring than I was today. But you’re going to have those during the season. You’re going to have those 10 starts where you really have to grind through. That’s what we did today. We kind of grinded through it.”

Gausman gave up a lot of loud contact early in his outing, including home runs to Tim Anderson and Eloy Jiménez in the first inning and a pair of doubles to Adam Eaton and Anderson in the second.

“It kind of took me two innings to kind of make an adjustment,” Gausman said. “My goal is always to kind of pitch up in the zone with my fastball. Those first couple of innings, I just couldn’t get it up there. I was trying to go up and just kind of kept missing belt high. Against these guys, you’ve got to have your ‘A’ game.”

Gausman was more pleased with his work at the plate, as he became the first Giants starter to hit this spring and managed to lay down a sacrifice bunt in the third. Kapler and the rest of the coaching staff have had their starters work on bunting drills throughout camp to prepare them for life without the universal designated hitter in 2021.

“That was the first bunt I’ve gotten down in the game,” said Gausman, who spent the first six seasons of his career in the American League with the Orioles. “It was definitely nice to get one out of the way. I feel good about it going forward, for sure.”

Cueto reportedly threw around 80 pitches during his simulated game on Monday and came out of the outing without issue, according to Kapler.

“Cueto had five good innings on the side in a sim game today as well,” Kapler said. “He got through all of them clean. He even had some light-hearted moments with Marco [Luciano]. The two of them matched up and had some fun. Nothing substantive to report, but he certainly got through everything clean, and that was expected as well.”

Gausman and Cueto are both slated for one final tuneup before the start of the regular season, though Kapler said Gausman’s final appearance will likely come in a simulated game.

• Left-hander Alex Wood (back stiffness) threw a bullpen session at Scottsdale Stadium and sat around 89-91 mph, according to Kapler. Wood is expected to throw one more side session before progressing to pitching live batting practice later this week.

• Kapler said Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria remain on track to start their first games of the spring at first and third base, respectively, toward the end of the week.

Up next
The Giants will hit the road for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, when they head to Goodyear Ballpark to face the Indians at 1:05 p.m. PT. Right-hander Logan Webb, who has fired six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts over his first three Cactus League starts, will oppose Cleveland righty Zach Plesac.