The San Francisco Giants’ season has been over for a while. They’re lounging in the cellar of the NL West with the Phillies the only team capable of making their record look respectable by comparison. The Pittsburgh Pirates are another team in decline. They, too, appear on the outside looking in. They, however, have yet to throw in the white towel, winning 12 of their last 15 games and getting back to .500.
This series will be contested from Monday, July 24, 2017 through Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at AT&T Park.
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Pitching Matchups
The theme of this series will be youth versus veterans on the mound with the Pirates sending the young guns to the mound and the Giants countering with experience.
The series gets underway Monday with Gerrit Cole toeing the rubber for the Pirates and Matt Cain getting the start for the Giants.
Cole could be making his final start as a Pirate. He’s been the subject of numerous trade rumors and could be a coveted piece due to his strong history and significant upside. His 2017 numbers, however, have been average. He’s 7-7 with a 4.18 ERA. His ERA+ is 103.
Cole has been a bulldog and has shown ace potential in his career. He’s also pitching well right now. He’s thrown 19 innings in July, allowing five runs on 17 hits. Before that, he allowed one run in three of four starts. The exception to that was against this Giants team who teed off on Gole for seven runs and 10 hits over 5.1 innings.
As for Cain, the righty has been the weakest link in the Giants rotation for years. He was the centerpiece for a World Series rotation, but injuries have taken their toll. He’s 3-8 with a 5.49 ERA and keeps getting starts out of necessity. He was pushed to the pen with the return of Madison Bumgarner, but the injury to Johnny Cueto put him right back in the rotation.
Two of this last three starts have been quality starts, tossing one against the Rockies and the other against the Indians. There’s the ability to pitch well still in there, but clunkers are just as common as good starts.
Speaking Bumgarner, the lefty will start the second game of this series. Jameson Taillon starts that game for the Buccos.
We’re already in late July and Bumgarner has yet to record a win. Of course, the biggest reason for that was his injury, but he’s made six starts, going 0-4. His ERA is still strong at 3.57.
The southpaw has allowed seven runs in two starts since coming off the DL. All seven of those runs allow have come via the home run. Command within the strike zone is still a little weak and will need to improve before we can start expecting Bumgarner like performances.
As for Taillon, he battled through yet another adversary this year, coming back from testicular cancer.
Taillon may just be the ace of the staff. He’s 6-3 with a 3.08 ERA in 13 starts and now through 31 big league starts is 11-7 with a 3.25 ERA in his career. That’s equivalent to a full season of experience so we are starting to get a sizeable enough sample size to see his strengths. He controls the strike zone well and is more than a strikeout pitcher, inducing weak contact.
The series wraps on Wednesday with Trevor Williams against Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija has received trade interest and could be moved before the start, but assuming he pitches, he recorded a win the last time he faced Pittsburgh, allowing two runs over six frames.
The righty leads the staff in innings with 128.1, but he’s just 4-11 with a 5.05 ERA even though the peripheral numbers paint a much more flattering picture. He’s posted a 3.59 FIP and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
As for Williams, the matched Samardzija’s two-runs in six the last time he faced the Giants. He’s been okay in the back of the pen and has matched Samardzija’s win total at 4-4. His 4.74 ERA is better than Shark’s, too, though his 2.63 strikeout to walk ratio leaves plenty to be desired.
Players to Watch
A trip to Colorado might be just what Starling Marte’s bat needed to wake up. He went 5-for-10 in the first two games of the series. He’s hit to hit an extra base hit since his return to the lineup, but he’s starting to get his timing back.
The centerfielder-turned-leftfielder is still the focal point of ridicule around the league for his failed drug test. He hurt the Pirates’ chances this season, but the Bucs are still .500 and could make a run if Marte can get hot to help support Andrew McCutchen.
The numbers in Coors and AT&T Park, while not a good stadium for power hitters, has plenty of space in the outfield gaps for a hitter like Marte to thrive.
Interestingly, Marte—despite being the better glove—is relegated to left-field. Part of that may be punishment and the other part is McCutchen grabbing hold of the opportunity to be in center again. His bat has been too good since the move to jinx it.
On the other side of the field the player to watch is probably Denard Span. If he’s right, he can set the tone for this lineup. He’s 9-for-28 in the last week and batting .299 with a .340 OBP in his last 23 games played.
Betting Trends
At 38-61, the Giants continue to look bad, regardless of the opposition. San Francisco couldn’t win the series against the Padres either of the last two weekends. Bruce Bochy’s crew looks defeated. They’ve won only five games in the last 15 games.
The blame for the struggles cannot be pointed in one direction either. The pitching is bad. The hitting isn’t clutch. And, the relief pitching is anything but a relief.
Meanwhile, the Pirates have played well enough to get themselves back into the race. Pittsburgh has won 12 of 15 games. They’ve got their best player back, too.
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