San Francisco Giants Look to Avenge Early Season Losses to Padres
And just like that, the San Francisco Giants are rolling again. Coming off a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels, the Giants are now 9-4 over the past 13 games since snapping the eight-game losing streak. Their record is 12-13, just one game under .500, and is a considerable jump from the six games under they once were.
They’ve moved out of last place in the NL West for the first time since April 11th. Not only that, they’ve moved up to third in the standings, surpassing the Colorado Rockies (11-13) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (10-14). The Giants sit 4.5 games back of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, who are 16-8.
Now, the Giants welcome the team that started their eight-game skid, the San Diego Padres. The Friars took the final three games in a four-game set earlier this year, after San Francisco won the first game in a dramatic 12-inning 1-0 win. Over the four games, the Giants batted just .178 (23-129), and totaled multiple hits in just four of the 39 innings. They were outscored 17-7.
San Diego is coming off a three-game sweep of the Rockies. Before that they themselves were swept in three by the blazing-hot Houston Astros (10 straight wins, break those guys up!) and had lost six out of seven in total to fall a game under .500.
Here are the scheduled starters for the series.
Game 1: Madison Bumgarner (2-1, 3.73 ERA) vs. Tyson Ross (1-2, 4.55 ERA)
More from San Francisco Giants
- Thank you SF Giants for a fun, wild, surprising 2020 season
- SF Giants lose in heartbreaking fashion and miss 2020 MLB playoffs
- SF Giants: Mike Yastrzemski named 2020 Willie Mac Award recipient
- SF Giants: Chadwick Tromp placed on IL with shoulder strain
- SF Giants: Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners postponed
Bumgarner enjoyed his best start in his last outing against the Dodgers. In eight innings, he allowed just five hits, a walk, and a run while striking out nine. He had his best stuff, as his breaking balls were crisp, and his fastball control was impeccable. He’ll need those things against the Padres, who roughed him up in the first meeting.
In three innings, Bumgarner allowed 10 hits and five runs en route to a 10-2 loss. The Padres have some guys that Bumgarner should be careful with. Justin Upton is 11-27 (.407) with a home run and five walks. Derek Norris is 6-11 (.545). In their first matchup, Will Middlebrooks went 2-2 with two run-scoring hits.
Bay Area-native Tyson Ross, who attended UC-Berkeley, will square off with the World Series MVP. The first time Ross faced the Giants, he allowed three runs in six innings, plus four walks, but walked away with a win.
In his career against the Giants, Ross is 3-2 with a 3.89 ERA in eight games, including six starts. Angel Pagan has had some success against Ross, going 5-12 (.417) with a double.
Game 2: Ryan Vogelsong (0-2, 9.31 ERA) vs. Andrew Cashner (1-4, 2.61 ERA)
Despite being beat to oblivion by the Dodgers in his last outing, manager Bruce Bochy is sticking with Vogelsong in the rotation, because “we need him right now“, as Matt Cain and Jake Peavy are both on the disabled list. Vogelsong has allowed 20 earned runs in 19.1 innings, including eight home runs. His last two starts have been bipolar, however.
Facing the Dodgers in AT&T Park, Vogelsong allowed two runs on three hits (two solo home runs) in six innings. His next outing, against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, he allowed six runs (four homers) in three innings. If anything good could be gleaned from the six home runs, it’s that five of them were solo shots, and one was worth two scores.
Will Venable has had Vogelsong’s number, going 10-23 (.455) over his career. Matt Kemp is 12-32 (.375) with two doubles, a triple, home run and seven RBI.
The Giants didn’t face Cashner in the first series, but they have had success against him in the past. Cashner is 2-3 with a 4.54 ERA in 35.2 innings.
Cashner has pitched well this year. He has allowed two earned runs or less in each of his last four starts, but in that span, he has a 1-3 record to show for it. Buster Posey will look to break that solid string, as he is 9-17 (.529) with two home runs against Cashner.
Game 3: Chris Heston (2-2, 2.51 ERA) vs. Ian Kennedy (1-1, 7.11 ERA)
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
Heston continues to be the Giants’ most consistent starter. Take away the Coors Field debacle (six earned runs in 5.1 innings), and Heston boasts a 1.00 ERA (3 ER in 27 innings), which would be third-best in baseball.
Heston faced San Diego in 2014, his first career start, and allowed three runs in four innings while taking a no decision. A lot of the hitters Heston faced that day are no longer regulars with the Padres, and only Jedd Gyorko and Alexi Amarista are starters.
Kennedy started against the Giants in the first series, but left in the third inning with a hamstring strain. He landed on the disabled list, and missed a pair of starts. Since returning, Kennedy has allowed 10 earned runs in 10.1 innings in two starts.
Posey has also had ownage on Kennedy, going 15-37 (.405) with three doubles and three RBI. Nori Aoki also hits at a .500 clip (5-10) against Kennedy.
Brandon Belt‘s playing time has been very inconsistent for about two weeks now, as the Giants went through a stretch of facing seven left-handed starters in 11 games. The Padres are throwing out three righties in a row, so Belt should get more consistent time. He’s also had success against each of the slated starters, going 5-14 with four RBI against Ross, 9-17 with two home runs against Cashner, and 8-25 with two home runs against Kennedy.
Belt has been hot lately, despite the irregular at-bats. He has 11 hits in his last 33 at-bats, including three doubles and four RBI. He just missed his first home run of the season on Sunday, hitting a ball about 415 feet into triples alley, and getting just a ground-rule double out of it.
Posey has also ratcheted it up a notch after a slow start. He’s raised his average from .234 to .283 over the past seven games, and is 11-28 (.383) with two home runs and four RBI in that stretch.
Justin Maxwell, on the other hand, has cooled off considerably. There was no one on the team hotter during a five-game stretch against the Dodgers and Rockies, as he went 7-20 (.350) with three home runs and seven RBI. In the six games since, he is 2-19 (.105), and didn’t see the field on Sunday.
The Giants are back on track, and if they can at least win this series, they’ll find themselves back at .500. In the midst of a 10-game homestand, the Giants got off to a great start by sweeping the first series against the Angels. Another series win, especially against a team that is ahead of them in the standings, will go a long way to showing that these Giants, not the eight-game losing streak Giants, are the real ones.