San Francisco Giants Try to Get over the Hump Against Cincinnati Reds
The San Francisco Giants just can’t seem to get over the hump and stay there. After losing the finale in a two-game set against the Houston Astros, the Giants find themselves back at the .500 mark, where they have hovered for the past couple of weeks. In the past 10 games, the Giants have concluded two games at one game over even, five at exactly even, and three at a game under.
Their lack of power was exemplified in the second game with Houston, as three solo home runs from Astros’ hitters downed the Giants, including the game-winner in the eighth inning from George Springer. Houston put together just 10 hits in the pair of games, but four left the park. San Francisco had 21 hits, but just one was a souvenir.
Now the Giants head to the Great American Ball Park to take on the Cincinnati Reds for four games, concluding a six-game road trip. The teams enter Thursday with identical 17-17 records, while Cincinnati is 8-6 at home, and the Giants are 6-8 on the road.
Cincinnati has been a thorn in San Francisco’s side for the past quartet of seasons, as the Giants are 8-20 against the Reds over that span, and haven’t had a winning record against them since 2010, when they went 4-3.
Here are the projected starters for this series.
Game 1: Tim Lincecum (3-2, 2.00 ERA) vs. Johnny Cueto (3-3, 2.98 ERA)
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Lincecum enters his seventh start of the year with a rotation-best 2.00 ERA, and has been downright dominant more often than not this year. He has had some bumps in the road while on the road, as his ERA at AT&T Park is 1.44, and is 3.27 elsewhere. Still, that’s nothing to complain about.
The Reds are the only National League team that Lincecum has never beaten, and the numbers reflect that. At the GABP, Lincecum’s ERA is 9.19, and there are a lot of hitters in the Cincinnati lineup he needs to be careful with.
Jay Bruce is 4-9 (.444), Marlon Byrd is 3-8 (.375) , Brandon Phillips is 5-17 (.294), and Joey Votto is 5-14 (.357) against the diminutive righty. Lincecum will need to use the careful pitch placement and good mixture he has featured so far this year.
Cueto continues to be the Reds’ ace, and is off to a solid start this year after posting a 20-9 record and 2.98 ERA in 2014. His last two starts have been a little rougher, as he’s allowed 9 runs in 14.1 innings.
Cueto has had the Giants’ number in his career, as he owns a 3-1 record with a 1.98 ERA. Some Giants’ hitters have experienced success against the right-hander, however. Buster Posey is 3-7 (.429), Angel Pagan is 4-7 (.571) with a triple, and Casey McGehee is 6-20 (.300) with two doubles and a home run.
Game 2: Madison Bumgarner (3-2, 3.30 ERA) vs. Jason Marquis (3-2, 5.66 ERA)
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After a trio of really nice starts, Bumgarner faltered in his last outing against the Miami Marlins. Despite a season-high 10 strikeouts, he allowed three runs in five innings, and took the loss.
Bumgarner does have a complete game shutout against the Reds, but other than that, they’ve been a pain in his backside. He’s 1-3 with a 6.18 ERA in the other starts against them.
Todd Frazier, who is off to a red-hot start, is 4-9 (.444) against Bumgarner, while is 5-13 (.385). Bruce is 2-15 (.133) against Bumgarner, but if the recent trend of this season holds true, the left-handed hitting Bruce will likely sit against the left-hander.
Marquis, a 15-year veteran, is in his first season with his ninth team, and isn’t off to a great start. He’s allowed three or more runs in five of his six starts, but a good offense has backed him up, allowing him to win more than he’s lost.
Marquis has good numbers against the Giants, with a 7-5 record and 2.95 ERA in 17 games (16 starts). His success at GABP hasn’t been as good, as he has a 4.59 ERA and 1.482 WHIP in his career there.
The Giants will really miss Hunter Pence against Marquis, as Pence is 13-32 (.406) with six extra-base hits against him. Gregor Blanco is 5-15 (.333), and McGehee is 3-8 (.375) against Marquis.
Game 3: Ryan Vogelsong (1-2, 5.67 ERA) vs. Mike Leake (2-1, 2.36 ERA)
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Vogelsong has been great in his last two outings, allowing just one run on seven hits in 14 innings. Both those starts came at AT&T Park, but his real trouble has come away from home. On the road, Vogelsong is 0-2, and has allowed 17 earned runs in 11.1 innings, including six home runs.
Things won’t get easier in this road start, as GABP is a hitter’s haven, and a few hitters have knocked around Vogelsong. Bruce is 6-17 (.353), Phillips is 8-18 (.444), and Frazier is 5-10 (.500) with two home runs.
Leake has been lights out in his past three starts, going 2-0 while allowing just one run in 22 innings. He’ll look to keep that hot streak going against the Giants, who he is 5-1 with a 3.83 ERA against.
Posey has been good against Leake, going 5-13 (.385) with a home run, and Pagan is 3-8 (.375) against him. Brandon Crawford is 4-17 (.235) with a home run, but Leake has struck him out seven times.
Game 4: Chris Heston (3-3, 2.91 ERA) vs. TBD
Heston pitched a beauty in his last start, throwing the first complete game by a Giants’ pitcher this year, and striking out a career-high 10 while walking none and giving up just a pair of hits.
He had great command and movement over all of his pitches, and will need both of those things to carry over into the bandbox that is GABP. Heston has never faced the Reds or any of their hitters, which will be a common theme as the rookie continues to face teams outside the division.
The Reds haven’t listed a starter yet, but one of two rookies, either Michael Lorenzen or Anthony DeSclafani seems like the likely starter. Lorenzen has made three starts and has been solid, but he has a tendency to get a wild hair up his nose, as Mike Krukow would say. He’s allowed eight walks and hit a batter in 16 innings.
Lorenzen faced the Giants once in Spring Training, and allowed six walks in just two innings of work.
Desclafani has great numbers this year, with a 2.79 ERA and 1.190 WHIP, but he has hit a rough patch. In his past three starts, he has a 5.63 ERA and 1.875 WHIP. Like Lorenzon, he has no regular season experience against the Giants, or anyone in the lineup. Lefties have hit .308 against him in his career, which is unusual for a left-handed pitcher.
For the Reds, Phillips has gotten off to a hot start, hitting .311 (37-119), but has just two extra-base hits. He’s dealing with a toe injury that forced him out of Wednesday’s contest with the Atlanta Braves, and his status is uncertain for this series.
Votto is seemingly back to his old self after an injury-filled 2014. He’s hitting .306 (37-121) with seven home runs and 21 RBI, and is once again a force in the middle of the Cincinnati lineup. Frazier’s average isn’t as pretty (.238), but his power is on full-bast. His 12 home runs are tied for the National League lead.
Brandon Belt had a great 10-game homestand, hitting .394, but went just 1-9 (.111) in his return to his home state of Texas. He’ll look to get back on track in Cincinnati.
Pagan is probably happy to be back in Cincinnati, as he has thrived there. He owns a .328 average (21-64) with three doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI. After a small cold spell, Pagan used the hot weather in Texas to warm his bat up again, going 5-10 in the two-game swing.
Both the Giants and the Reds are looking to get over the .500 mark, and based on recent years, the Reds have the advantage. But as we all know, the game isn’t played on paper, and past events play no role in what happens today. The Giants have scratched and clawed their way back to, and at certain points over, the .500 clip, and in the friendly confines of GABP, the Giants will try and muscle their way to a winning record.