After visiting White House, San Francisco Giants Head to Former Nation’s Capital
On Thursday, the San Francisco Giants visited the White House for the third time in five years as World Series champions. The team was even joined by former Giant Michael Morse, whose Miami Marlins has the day off on Thursday.
After another visit to the nation’s capital, the Giants head on the road to the former capital, where they will take on the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series.
The Giants enjoyed a month for the ages in May, finishing the month with a 21-9 record, their best in five decades. June hasn’t been so kind, as the Pittsburgh Pirates sailed into the Cove riding a huge wave of momentum, then proceeded to pillage and plunder San Francisco by sweeping them in three games. If you’re part of that crowd, you could call this the “June swoon”.
San Francisco got a much-needed day off from baseball on Thursday, after playing 17 games in a 16-day stretch. They’re currently in the middle of a five-game losing streak, and by the finale with Pittsburgh, they looked downright lethargic. Now, they’ll look to regain their footing against Pittsburgh’s in-state rival.
Overall, the Giants hold a 30-25 record, and are 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost Thursday, in the division. They are 14-11 away from AT&T Park.
The Phillies have had a rough go of it this year, holding a 21-34 record that is second-worst in the National League, better than only the Milwaukee Brewers. They’re 2-8 in their last 10 games, and are last in the NL East, 8.5 games behind the Washington Nationals. They are 14-14 at Citizen’s Bank Park.
Over the past three years, the Giants have had the Phillies’ number, going 12-7 overall, including 7-3 in Philadelphia.
Here are the scheduled starters for the trio of games.
Game 1: Tim Lincecum (5-3, 3.00 ERA) vs. Jerome Williams (3-5, 5.49 ERA)
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Lincecum will have to make another road start, and that has been risky business this year. In his last three starts away from the confines of home, he owns a 7.24 ERA.
He has been good at Citizen’s Bank Park in the past, going 2-1 with a save in six games (five starts), with a 2.70 ERA and 1.080 WHIP. That doesn’t include a start in the 2010 NLCS, where he out-dueled Roy Halladay in seven innings to earn the win in game one.
Ryan Howard is 8-33 (.242) against Lincecum, but with four home runs. Carlos Ruiz is 5-26 (.192) with three doubles.
Nostalgia alert! Former Giant Jerome Williams takes the mound to open the series. William pitched in parts of three seasons with the Giants from 2003 to 2005, going 17-14 with a 3.93 ERA in 47 games. Since then, Williams has been a journeyman, as Philly is his ninth organization in a decade, plus plus stints in foreign and independent leagues.
In his second season with Philadelphia, Williams has been roughed up, allowing at least three runs in his past 10 starts, while not going more than 6.2 innings in any of them.
Despite all the years, Giants’ hitters don’t have a lot of experience with Williams. Buster Posey, Angel Pagan, and Brandon Crawford are each 1-2 against the veteran righty.
Game 2: Madison Bumgarner (6-2, 3.12 ERA) vs. Severino Gonzalez (2-1, 6.88 ERA)
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Bumgarner has been up and down this year. Some nights, he doesn’t have his best stuff, but he battles through and pitches very well. Other nights, he has great stuff, but doesn’t pitch all that well. His last outing against the Atlanta Braves was an example of the latter.
Bumgarner was perfect through the first four innings, but allowed five hits, a walk, and three runs over his next 2.1 innings. Though he didn’t receive a decision, the Giants would eventually lose, 7-5.
Ben Revere is 4-8 (.500) versus Bumgarner, but he’s had a lot more success against some of the Phillies’ big boppers. Chase Utley is 1-8 (.125), and Howard is 1-9 (.111).
Gonzalez, a 22-year-old rookie, is a former Phillies’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He’s a three-pitch guy, using the usual suspects, a fastball, curveball, and changeup. He won’t blow anyone away, relying more on control. His secondary pitches have been rated as below average.
He made his debut on April 8th of this year, and then made three starts after that. All four games have come on the road, so this will be his debut in front of the home crowd. Obviously, he’s never faced the Giants or anyone in their lineup.
Game 3: Ryan Vogelsong (4-3, 4.26 ERA) vs. Sean O’Sullivan (1-4, 5.03 ERA)
Vogelsong, like his team, experienced an unreal May, going 4-0 with a 1.14 ERA and .947 WHIP. He faltered a bit in his first June start, giving up four runs (three earned) in six innings en route to a loss. Normally, the Giants will take a start like that from Vogelsong when their offense is working. Unfortunately, the lineup ran into the buzzsaw that was the Pirates’ rotation.
A few guys in the middle of Philadelphia’s order have had good success against Vogelsong. Howard is 3-7 (.429) with three RBI, Utley is 5-9 (.556), and Cody Asche is 2-2.
O’Sullivan is another journeyman pitcher that the Phillies have used to fill their various rotational needs. Over his last two starts, he’s allowed 11 runs on 20 hits in 11.1 innings.
O’Sullivan has pitched twice against the Giants in his career, including his major league debut in 2009. On that night, he gave up just five hits, a walk, and a run in seven innings to win for the Los Angeles Angels. The second start was a loss, when he gave up a pair of runs in five innings.
Notes:
Along with Friday’s starter Williams, the Giants will see old friend Jeff Francoeur, who spent an uneventful 22 games with San Francisco in 2013. Francoeur has found a role with the Phillies as a fourth outfielder who sees the field a lot. He’s hitting .252 with 10 extra-base hits in 42 games.
Posey should be happy to be back in Philadelphia, as he usually rakes at Citizen Bank Park. In 12 games, Posey owns a .392 average (20-51) with six doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI. Posey hasn’t gotten on one of his super hot streaks yet, so this may be the perfect time for him to get started.
After a rough start to the new month, the Giants are facing the perfect team to turn it around against. The Phillies aren’t in a great place, as they are in a dire rebuilding mode. The Giants can’t take them lightly, however. San Francisco has to play like the better team if they want to get back on track.