San Francisco Giants Try to Break Skid Against Seattle Mariners
The San Francisco Giants’ woes at AT&T Park continued over the weekend, as the Arizona Diamondbacks came to town and swept the Giants in three straight. Now, the Giants welcome the Seattle Mariners to town for two games, before heading to Seattle for two more at Safeco Field.
The first pair of games concludes a five-game home stretch for the Giants, while the second set kicks off a five-game road trip. The Giants have to be itching to get back on the road, as their bats seem to hibernate at San Francisco, then wake up, kicking and screaming, away from home.
The Giants have been extremely streaky at home. They lost the first five games of the year at AT&T Park, won eight straight later in the year, and are now in the middle of an eight-game losing streak that has dropped them a game under .500.
Getting on the road this time may not be all that great for the Giants, as Seattle’s Safeco Field is the most pitcher-friendly park in the American League.
The Mariners sit at 28-35 overall, fourth in the AL West at 7.5 games behind the Houston Astros. They’re 13-19 at home, and are 15-16 on the road. The first two games of this series will mark Seattle’s first visit to AT&T Park since 2000, the ballpark’s inaugural season. The Giants are 3-9 at Safeco since it opened in 1999.
Here are the pitching matchups for this split four-game series.
Game 1: Tim Hudson (4-5, 4.60 ERA) vs. Taijuan Walker (3-6, 5.40 ERA)
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After two strong starts, Hudson faltered against the New York Mets in his last outing. He continues to be inconsistent, at best, this year, much like the rest of the Giants’ team. Hudson has been getting his groundball double plays, 13 in 12 starts, but too many of those groundballs are finding holes.
Hudson has a lot of experience against the Mariners, going 13-6 with a 3.17 ERA. Most of those numbers are from a long while ago, when Hudson was a member of the Oakland Athletics. Logan Morrison is just 3-20 (.150) against Hudson, but with a pair of home runs. Robinson Cano is 0-6.
Walker, a former top-10 prospect, is already in his third big league season at just 22 years old. He got off to a rough start this season, owning a 7.33 ERA after nine starts. He’s been much improved lately, allowing four runs and 18 baserunners in 22 innings over his past three starts.
His fastball is his best pitch, touching up to 96 ocassionally. He’s never faced the Giants or anyone in the lineup.
Game 2: Tim Lincecum (6-3, 3.33 ERA) vs. J.A. Happ (3-2, 3.72 ERA)
Lincecum’s last start in New York was ugly. In the high temperatures and even higher humidity, he fell apart in the fourth and fifth innings, and couldn’t make it through the latter. He threw 102 pitches in 4.2 innings, giving up four hits, three walks and three runs.
He should be happy to be back in the cooler temperatures of San Francisco, where he has pitched a lot better this season. He’s 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 1.101 WHIP at AT&T Park this year.
Lincecum has faced his hometown team just once , and allowed five runs in five innings. Seth Smith is 11-44 (.250) against Lincecum, with a trio of home runs.
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Happ, a journeyman, has found a nice role with the Mariners. He’s been very stout for the most part, giving Seattle seven quality starts in 12 opportunities. He is coming off a rough start against the Cleveland Inidans, when he surrendered six hits and four runs in just 2.1 innings.
Happ has never beaten the Giants in three starts, and is 0-2 at AT&T, allowing nine runs in 9.1 innings. Nori Aoki is 6-11 (.545) with two doubles and a home run against Happ, and Brandon Belt is 3-5 (.600) with a home run.
Game 3: Madison Bumgarner (7-3, 3.16 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (9-3, 3.38 ERA)
This is another one of those must-see pitcher matchups. The two have squared off once before, and it was just as good as expected. Hernandez allowed one run in seven innings, Bumgarner allowed one run in eight innings, but neither pitcher factored into the decision. The only disappointing thing about this matchup is that Bumgarner won’t get to hit against Hernandez.
Bumgarner had another weird start in his last outing, giving up nine hits, all singles, all in the first five innings, but gave up just one run. He settled in to retire the last seven he faced, and nine of the last 10. There was no offense, and Bumgarner lost a 1-0 decision.
That’s been Bumgarner’s story for the most part this year: not having his best stuff, but fighting through and pitching well enough to win.
Willie Bloomquist has had Bumgarner’s number in the past, going 6-16 (.375). Morrison can claim the same, with a 5-12 (.417) batting record.
Hernandez is coming off what was quite possibly the worst start of his career. He surrendered eight runs while recording just one single out in the game. In front of the “King’s Court” back in Seattle, he’ll look to take out his frustrations from that day against San Francisco.
Hernandez has never lost to the Giants, going 2-0 in three starts, with six earned runs in 21 innings, and 22 strikeouts. Joaquin Arias, the Giants’ resident big-game hunter, is 3-7 (.429) with two walks against King Felix.
Game 4: Ryan Vogelsong (4-5, 4.81 ERA) vs. Mike Montgomery (1-1, 1.89 ERA)
Vogelsong continues to be the epitome of the Giants’ “June swoon”. In three starts this month, he’s allowed 13 runs in 16.1 innings. He barely got out of the first inning in his last starts, as he allowed three runs, including two on bases-loaded walks.
Vogelsong pitched at Safeco Field once in his career, in 2012, and earned a win with seven innings of two-run ball. Seth Smith has been a tough out for Vogelsong, going 6-16 (.375) with three doubles.
Montgomery is a rookie who made his debut earlier this month, filling in for some of the Mariners’ injuries. He’s been fantastic in his first three starts, allowing four runs in 19 innings with a 1.105 WHIP. The Giants have been notorious for struggling against pitchers they’ve never seen before.
Montgomery is a former top prospect who lost a lot of his shine over the past couple years. He’s mainly a fastball and changeup guy, but he does have a slider that’s been rated below-average.
Though he’s never faced the Giants, he did pitch against their Triple-A team earlier in the season. Jarrett Parker had a hit in three at-bats against Montgomery that day.
Notes:
The Giants will get their first look at the Mark Trumbo since he was traded from the division rival Diamondbacks. Trumbo is only a .216 hitter against the Giants, but 12 of his 21 hits have gone for extra-bases.
The offensive numbers for the Giants between home and away are almost laughable at this point. On the road, the Giants hit .289 as a team, and average 5.2 runs per game. At AT&T Park, the Giants bat just .250 and score only three runs a game. Aoki is the most glaring example of these home and away splits. At AT&T, Aoki hits .246, while he bats .418 on the road.
San Francisco has to figure something out. They are so consistently inconsistent, and it’s mind-boggling to watch at times. One day they look like a playoff team, and the next, they look like a team that should be fighting to stay out of the cellar. It’s still a bit early in the season to tell which is the real team, but the real Giants will show through soon.