SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman hit a pop-up in Miguel Vargas’ direction with two outs in the fifth inning Saturday at Oracle Park.
But the Chicago White Sox third baseman lost the ball in the sun, and it fell in shallow left field for what was ruled a double. Two walks followed, loading the bases for Harrison Bader.
Reliever Jordan Leasure replaced bulk pitcher Erick Fedde, and Bader popped up Leasure’s second pitch into foul territory. Vargas again lost the ball in the sun, and it fell for what was ruled a no play.
“The first one I was trying to follow it, I didn’t see it at any point,” Vargas said. “The second one was even harder.”
The at-bat continued, and Bader made the Sox pay three pitches later with a grand slam.
The Sox allowed six runs in the inning, losing 10-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 40,172.
“That inning for me was very tough to see the ball,” Vargas said, “and I think I could do better and put the team in a better spot.”
Fedde allowed eight runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 3 1/3 innings after entering with one out in the second following opener Bryan Hudson.
“(Hudson) did a great job of getting us going and (I was) able to come in the second inning and get a couple of quick outs,” Fedde said. “Just didn’t do a good job after that.
“I felt fine, just didn’t execute a few pitches. The boys did great to battle back to get it back to 3-3. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep us there.”
Fedde surrendered three runs in the fourth — a rally that started on a triple by Luis Arraez that was just out of the reach of right fielder Jarred Kelenic.
The Sox responded with three in the fifth. Kelenic doubled and scored on a single by Drew Romo. Tristan Peters scored on a fielder’s choice. And Vargas drove in a run with a double, tying the score at 3.
It didn’t remain tied for long.
Arraez singled with one out in the bottom of the fifth, and Casey Schmitt followed with a two-run homer to left, giving the Giants a 5-3 lead. Fedde retired the next batter, and then came the sequence of pop-ups, walks and grand slam that extended the lead to 9-3.
“Vargy’s been arguably our best player to this point,” manager Will Venable said, “and not only just our best player, but a guy that really sets the standard for how we go about our business and how we run and play with effort. He’s a leader in that department for sure.
“So these plays happen. It’s unfortunate and no one feels as bad about it as Vargy, but he always does the right thing and he’s our guy.”
More problems with pop-ups popped up for the Sox in the sixth. First baseman Munetaka Murakami didn’t catch Rafael Devers’ pop-up but recovered in time to throw him out at first.
“It’s something we talked about (Friday) as part of our advance work and advance meeting,” Venable said, “that with these two day games (Saturday and Sunday), that it’s going to be a factor, the sun and the wind, and you’ve just got to do everything you can to prep for those, communicate and just grind your way through it. And on the offensive end, just making sure you’re running hard as well.”
Vargas plans on wearing sunglasses Sunday.
“The first couple of innings (wearing them Saturday), it was tough for me to watch the baseball off the bat,” he said. “I decided to try to not wear and see if I can see better. I guess it wasn’t the right decision for me. But it’s something I learn every day.”
Reliever Jordan Hicks goes on the IL
The Sox placed reliever Jordan Hicks on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain and recalled Leasure from Triple-A Charlotte before Saturday’s game.
Hicks’ IL stint is retroactive to Thursday. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.60 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings over 20 relief appearances.
“I’ve been feeling pretty general soreness in the area for about a week and a half, two weeks,” Hicks said before Saturday’s game, “but it has just gotten increasingly worse and I feel like it’s just a minor strain and should be back in a few weeks.”
