Giants' Grant McCray: Sitting after six straight starts
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McCray is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
McCray will take a seat for the second day in a row after he had started in each of the Giants' preceding six games while going 3-for-17 with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Drew Gilbert will cover center field Sunday, and he and McCray could jockey for playing time at the position until one of the two players separates himself from the other.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Clubs first homer of season
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McCray went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Monday's 3-0 win over Milwaukee.
McCray smashed a two-run homer to left-center field in the fourth inning to extend San Francisco's lead to 3-0. It marked his first homer and just his second hit of the season, as the outfielder has played sparingly since being added to the active roster July 10. Should Jung Hoo Lee (elbow) require a stint on the injured list, McCray could be in line for more regular opportunities in the lineup.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Recalled from Sacramento
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The Giants recalled McCray from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.
With Victor Bericoto moving to the injured list with an oblique injury, the Giants will bring McCray back onto the big-league roster to bolster their outfield depth. The 25-year-old has slashed .237/.360/.370 across 211 plate appearances with Sacramento and could make a handful of starts with the Giants while Bericoto and Harrison Bader (foot) are both on the IL.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Dispatched to Triple-A
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The Giants optioned McCray to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, Evan Webeck of the California Post reports.
McCray appeared in just 22 games for the Giants last season, during which he went 2-for-22 (.091) with two RBI and three runs scored. He improved his performance at the plate in the Cactus League, logging a .792 OPS over 40 plate appearances, but he projects to spend most of his time in the minors this year working as organizational depth.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Multi-hit effort in spring win
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McCray went 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, a walk and a run scored in Sunday's 7-1 Cactus League win over the Brewers.
McCray singled on a bunt in the second inning before stealing second and coming around to score. The 25-year-old outfielder added another single and stolen base in the fifth before being picked off while attempting to take third. The left-handed hitter remains a candidate for a spot on the Opening Day roster, though Will Brennan and Luis Matos are also vying for the fourth-outfielder role. While McCray is more likely to begin the season in Triple-A Sacramento, he's made the competition interesting this spring, slashing .267/.410/.367 with 10 runs scored, four RBI, three stolen bases and one home run across 39 plate appearances in 18 Cactus League games.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Optioned to Triple-A
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The Giants optioned McCray to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.
McCray is just 2-for-20 with 10 strikeouts for the Giants this season and hadn't been playing much. His roster spot will be taken by Luis Matos.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Getting regular starts vs. RHPs
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McCray will start in right field and bat ninth in Monday's game against the Pirates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The left-handed-hitting McCray will be awarded a third straight start -- all against right-handed pitching -- after he went 2-for-9 with a triple, an RBI and a run in the Giants' three-game series versus the Mets over the weekend. After trading Mike Yastrzemski to the Royals on Thursday, the Giants appear to be giving McCray a look as a strong-side platoon player in right field, but McCray will likely need to raise his performance in his subsequent starts in order to hold off Jerar Encarnacion for playing time versus righties.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Two hits, two steals in win
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McCray went 2-for-2 with two walks, three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases in Tuesday's 10-0 win over the Orioles.
McCray reached base in all four of his plate appearances Tuesday while recording his fourth and fifth stolen bases of the season. The 23-year-old outfielder had gone just 2-for-21 in his previous seven games while playing a part-time role in San Francisco. Overall, McCray's slashing .239/.280/.466 with five homers, nine RBI and 10 runs scored through his first 93 plate appearances in the big leagues.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Getting breather Saturday
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McCray isn't in the Giants' lineup for Saturday's game against San Diego, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
McCray will get a chance to regroup Saturday after going 1-for-20 with 10 strikeouts over his last five games. While he rests, Michael Conforto, Heliot Ramos and Mark Canha will start across San Francisco's outfield.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Clubs two homers in win
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McCray went 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI in Saturday's win over the Padres.
McCray gave San Francisco the lead with a three-run blast off Dylan Cease in the top of the second and later added a second long ball to increase the lead to three runs. It marked the rookie outfielder's first multi-homer game of his big-league career, and he's now recorded multiple hits in back-to-back contests. His five RBI on the night also marked a career high, and he's now batting .313 (5-for-16) in September with three extra-base hits, five RBI and two runs scored. Furthermore, McCray has cut down on his strikeouts to open this month, striking out only four times through five games thus far after going down on strikes twice in four consecutive games to wrap up the month of August.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Posts steal
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McCray went 0-for-3 with a stolen base in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
McCray reached on an error and stole second base in the third inning. After hitting .308 over the first 11 games of his major-league career, McCray has gone 1-for-19 over the last six contests, racking up 10 strikeouts in that span. The outfielder is still seeing regular playing time in center field and sports a .224/.262/.466 slash line over 61 plate appearances while adding three home runs, three steals, four RBI and five runs scored.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Not starting Wednesday
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McCray isn't in the Giants' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
McCray broke his four-game hitless streak with a triple Tuesday, and he'll now get a chance to rest Wednesday as Heliot Ramos, Mike Yastrzemski and Luis Matos start across the Giants' outfield.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Homer, steal in win
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McCray went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk, a stolen base and two total runs scored in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Brewers.
McCray has homered in back-to-back games and has logged both of his steals over the last three contests. The 23-year-old has settled in easily as the Giants' starting center fielder, logging four multi-hit effort in 11 games. He's batting .308 with three homers, four RBI, five runs scored and three doubles through 42 plate appearances.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Crushes second homer
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McCray went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Sunday against the Mariners.
McCray's eighth-inning blast was his second of the season and pulled the Giants to within one. The rookie center fielder has shown some pop in his short stint in the majors, posting a .306 average through his first 36 at-bats, with five of those 11 hits going for extra bases.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Posts steal Saturday
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McCray went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Mariners.
This was McCray's third multi-hit effort over nine games. He's also gone hitless three times. The outfielder also notched his first steal and avoided striking out for just the second time. He's batting .273 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and three doubles while seeing everyday playing time in center field since his first call-up Aug. 14.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Handling full-time role
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McCray will start in center field and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
The lefty-hitting McCray has now started in each of the Giants' seven games following his call-up from Triple-A Sacramento last Wednesday, including three matchups with left-handed pitchers. McCray has batted .273 with three extra-base hits (one home run, two doubles) over his first six starts, but a 43.5 percent strikeout rate suggests rougher times could be ahead for the rookie once his .455 BABIP normalizes.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Belts first big-league homer
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McCray went 2-for-3 with a home run, an additional RBI and a walk in a 6-0 victory versus Atlanta on Thursday.
McCray plated San Francisco's first run on a bunt single in the second inning. His second RBI of the contest came in an entirely different fashion, as he smashed a 404-foot solo shot to center field in the sixth frame. Thursday marked just the second game of McCray's career -- he went 0-for-4 in his MLB debut Wednesday. He hit as many 23 homers in a season in the minors (in 2022), and McCray also has plenty of speed, as he swiped 53 bags in High-A ball in 2023. That's a tantalizing combination from a fantasy perspective, though managers keeping an eye on him should note that he's also struggled to make contact throughout his time as a pro.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Hitless in debut
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McCray went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Wednesday's 13-2 loss to Atlanta.
McCray's major-league debut was a forgettable one for both him and his team. The outfielder slashed .272/.347/.471 over 47 games with Triple-A Sacramento this year after earning a midseason promotion from Double-A Richmond. McCray's strong defense makes him a candidate to play regularly in center field. The Giants moved Heliot Ramos to left field and Michael Conforto to designated hitter Wednesday, which could be the usual alignment versus right-handers moving forward, as long as McCray plays well enough to keep his spot in the lineup.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Promoted, batting ninth in debut
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The Giants selected McCray's contract from Triple-A Sacramento, and he's starting in center field and batting ninth Wednesday against Atlanta, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The 23-year-old is joining San Francisco for his first look in the big leagues as top prospect Marco Luciano heads back to Triple-A. McCray has an .818 OPS in 47 games with Sacramento this season and could be a regular option in the outfield given his strong defense.
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Giants' Grant McCray: Heading to High-A
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McCray was promoted to High-A Eugene on Thursday, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.
McCray has been at Single-A San Jose since the start of the regular season and has showcased a well-rounded skill set, slashing .291/.383/.525 with 21 homers, 92 runs, 69 RBI and 36 stolen bases over 106 games. The 21-year-old will have a chance to prove himself against increased talent late in the 2022 season.
