San Francisco Giants Look to Break Skid Against Diamondbacks
The San Francisco Giants are mired in an early season slump. After taking two of three in the season’s first series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and winning the first game against the San Diego Padres, the Giants have lost six in a row, and the offense has been anemic.
Over the losing streak, the Giants have scored nine runs, averaging 1.5 per game. Only three players have an average of .250 or better during that span: Angel Pagan (.421); Nori Aoki (.348); and Gregor Blanco (.250).
San Francisco took the first series in Arizona at Chase Field, and they welcome the Diamondbacks to AT&T Park for the first time. They will be hoping that facing Arizona will awaken their bats again, as they scored 16 runs in their first three-game set.
Since losing the first series, Arizona is 3-3, as they took two from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and one from the Padres, each in three-game sets.
Here are the pitching matchups for this four-game series.
Game 1: Madison Bumgarner vs. Archie Bradley
Bumgarner pitched well in his first matchup with Arizona, going seven innings and giving up one run, but was shelled against San Diego, as he gave up 10 hits and five runs in just three innings.
Bumgarner didn’t have his offspeed pitches working in either start, but he worked through it in Arizona. He couldn’t get away with it in San Diego, however. His fastball has been his only reliable pitch so far, and he needs to find the complementary pitches if we want to see the dominating Bumgarner again.
The ace has had a lot of success against Arizona’s slugger Paul Goldschmidt, as Bumgarner has held him to a .179 average (5-28) with seven strikeouts. On the other hand, three of those hits have gone for extra-bases (two doubles and a home run).
Jordan Pacheco may find his way into the Arizona lineup, as he is 10-27 (.370) with three doubles and a home run against Bumgarner.
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Bradley, one of the top prospects in baseball, pitched a masterpiece in his first major league start against the Dodgers. In six innings, he shut out the high-powered LA offense, giving up just one hit with six strikeouts to beat Clayton Kershaw. He was effectively wild, as he did walk four batters.
The Giants have been notorious for struggling against pitchers they have no experience against, and this is one of the best they’ve never seen.
Game 2: Jake Peavy vs. Josh Collmenter
Peavy lived dangerously in his first start, as he gave up three walks in four innings, and eventually he paid for it, as Wil Nieves, his former catcher, hit a grand slam that would end up being the deciding factor. Hopefully, Peavy was just a little rusty, as he was scratched from his first start of the year with a bad back.
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Collmenter started opening day against the Giants, and gave up five runs on 10 hits in 4.2 innings, taking the loss. He was better in his second start versus the Dodgers, as he allowed three runs in five innings, but took another loss.
Buster Posey has had a lot of success against Collmenter, going 11-20 (.550) in his career with three home runs and nine RBI. Pagan is also 7-12 (.583) against the funky right-hander.
Collmenter has shut down the Brandons, as Brandon Crawford is 2-19 (.105) and Brandon Belt is 2-16 (.125).
Game 3: Chris Heston vs. Rubby De La Rosa
Heston won his first career game against Arizona, allowing two runs (zero earned) and three hits in six innings. He followed that up with seven innings of two-run ball (one earned) against Colorado, but ended up taking the loss in the home opener.
Since taking over for Matt Cain, who is injured, Heston has provided stability to the rotation. He’s making a case to be a lot more than just a spot starter in the future.
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De La Rosa gave up six runs in five innings in his first start against San Francisco, but still got the win as the Arizona offense exploded for seven runs against Ryan Vogelsong. He was much better in his second start, earning a win in a quality start, with three runs in six innings.
The Giants’ hitters don’t have a lot of experience against De La Rosa, but Posey is 2-2 with a home run, and Angel Pagan is 2-5 with two doubles.
Game 4: Tim Hudson vs. Jeremy Hellickson
Hudson has been excellent in his first two starts, giving up just three runs in his 13.1 innings, answering questions of how he would respond following offseason ankle sugery. All he has to show for it is an 0-1 record, as the offense has given him no run support.
Aaron Hill is just 2-14 (.143) with eight strikeouts against the veteran Hudson. Goldschmidt has had more success, as he is 5-18 (.278) with four doubles.
Hellickson was hit hard against the Giants the first time out, giving up nine hits and three runs in 3.1 innings, eventually taking the loss. His second start wasn’t much better, as he allowed five runs in 6.2 innings, making him 0-2 on the year.
Like De La Rosa, there aren’t a lot of Giants’ hitters with experience against Hellickson, but Aoki, Crawford, Justin Maxwell and Matt Duffy all have a pair of hits in four at-bats or less.
Duffy has made it quite apparent that he should be getting a lot of at-bats. He’s provided a spark, and on Wednesday, hit his first career major league home run, finally igniting a crowd at AT&T Park that had been quiet for too long. With Crawford riding an 0-22 slump, and Joe Panik three for his last 31, it should be easy to find places to stick Duffy, who has become the favorite utility man of Bruce Bochy.
Casey McGehee could start as earlyy as Thursday’s series opener, but he should definitely be in the lineup at some point in the series. McGehee struggled in the first week, but that could be explained by soreness in his knee that he had been suffering from since opening day.
McGehee went 5-21 (.238) at the plate in the first six games, including a home run, and committed two errors in the field. If his knee is feeling better and he is good to go, he could be a shot in the arm for an offense that so desperately needs one.
Riding a six-game losing streak, the Giants need to get back on track, and against an Arizona team with a losing record, they will have a chance to do so. Bumgarner needs to step up and give the team a boost on Thursday, just like he did throughout the postseason.