Gillaspie makes great strides filling in at third

NEW YORK — Conor Gillaspie is ready for his close-up, which has double meaning for a third baseman forced to play in uncomfortable proximity to hitters. Not to mention the 60 feet, 6 inches separating him from pitchers.

Gillaspie has excelled both defensively and offensively since Eduardo Nunez, San Francisco’s primary third baseman, was sidelined Sept. 25 with a strained right hamstring. Platooning with the right-handed-hitting Kelby Tomlinson, Gillaspie helped fill the void that Nunez’s absence created. In the regular season’s final week, Gillaspie batted .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles, a home run, four runs scored and five RBIs. He hit safely in each of the five games he played.

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Gillaspie received a chance to entrench himself even more firmly in his prominent role when he started at third base for the Giants in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card Game against the New York Mets.

Gillaspie maintained his hitting stroke despite being used as a pinch-hitter during most of the season. The left-handed-batting Gillaspie hit a creditable .216 (11-for-51) off the bench. That plethora of pinch-hit at-bats reflected the confidence he inspired from manager Bruce Bochy. As the season elapsed, Gillaspie prompted that same faith from …

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