http://0rz.tw/VoQrs Valuable Burriss showing big improvement By Chris Haft and Adam Berry / MLB.com | 05/21/11 6:50 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO -- When Emmanuel Burriss battled through a nine-pitch at-bat in the ninth inning Friday night, poking a single through the left side of the infield and eventually scoring the winning run, he gave the sold-out crowd at AT&T Park a hint of the strides he has made. Put back on the roster to fill the spot left by Mark DeRosa (partially torn wrist tendon), Burriss provides a great deal of versatility as a switch-hitting utility man capable of playing third, shortstop, second or in the outfield. Giants manager Bruce Bochy pointed to Burriss' recent improvement with Triple-A Fresno, noting that the most important thing in his development is simply getting more time on the field. "He's really worked hard to get back to where he was a couple years ago," Bochy said. "This guy can be a valuable player on a club, whether as a starter or as a utility guy, because he can play second, short, we're working him out at third, he's played some outfield. A switch-hitter that can play anywhere, that gives you flexibility to double-switch in a lot of different positions." With DeRosa out, Bochy said it is possible that Burriss could see time at third if Miguel Tejada needed a day off, but he will "more than likely" get most of his time at shortstop. In 83 at-bats with the Grizzlies, Burriss batted .361 with seven doubles, three RBIs and 16 steals. He also recorded three errors in the field, where Bochy said the utility man is "much improved" from his last stint in the Majors. "He lost some confidence there this spring," Bochy said. "He made a couple errors there that just snowballed on him. You have to deal with that, and that's part of maturing as a player and dealing with the adversity or the mistakes. He had a tough time in spring, but he's been doing a good job down there. He's been their best player." Schierholtz nursing sore right shoulder SAN FRANCISCO -- A sore right shoulder kept Nate Schierholtz out of Saturday's lineup against the Oakland A's, though the Giants right fielder insisted that he's not seriously hurt. "I'm not worried about it," repeated Schierholtz, who's undergoing treatment for the discomfort. Schierholtz said that he hurt himself while making his diving, game-ending catch of Jamey Carroll's sinking line drive at Los Angeles on Thursday. "It didn't look like I landed that badly," Schierholtz said. "But I hit the ground harder than I thought." He explained that he caught the ball with both arms extended, which left him unable to cushion or brace himself for the fall. Schierholtz cited his ability to play Friday's entire game as proof that he should be fit to rejoin the lineup soon. He made a challenging running catch of Kevin Kouzmanoff's slicing ninth-inning drive and, despite his achy shoulder, threw out Josh Willingham, who was trying to advance from first base to third on a hit-and-run single. "When you have adrenaline going, it makes up for a lot," Schierholtz said. Since Monday is a scheduled off-day, manager Bruce Bochy might opt to rest Schierholtz again Sunday, which would give the 27-year-old three days' rest. Bochy thinks AL clubs have Interleague edge SAN FRANCISCO -- While some might argue that having to send their pitchers to the batter's box during Interleague Play puts American League squads at a disadvantage, Giants manager Bruce Bochy expressed the opposite sentiment Saturday afternoon. Pointing to the edge building a lineup around the DH gives AL teams, Bochy said he thought Interleague Play ultimately doesn't benefit National League clubs as much as many people might think. "When they come to play in our ballpark, sure, their pitchers have to swing the bat, but it's not like you're relying on your pitcher to drive in runs either," Bochy said. "I think, without question, it's a bigger advantage for American League teams because they're built to have a DH. They spend a lot of money normally on a DH." When asked if that became an advantage for NL teams at home, when the designated hitter is removed from the equation and less experienced AL pitchers have to hit alongside their NL counterparts, Bochy made the argument that a pitcher won't have a huge effect at the plate regardless of which league he plays in. "Still, they have their eight players with a pitcher just like we do. The point is, we're not relying on our pitcher to do any damage with the bat," Bochy said. "Hopefully he'll help out. It's a little advantage for a pitcher because he's getting some at-bats, but I don't think I have any pitcher hitting over .300 or driving in a lot of runs. I really believe it's a bigger advantage for American League teams as far as Interleague Play." Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. Adam Berry is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. --

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