SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Giants and Astros play the middle game of this three-game series…SF enters tonight having lost each of their last four games and 11 of their last 17…the Giants have not faired well when playing the Astros recently, dropping 10 of their last 14 contests while being outscored by a 69-45 margin in that span.
ROSTER MOVES: The Giants made the following roster moves prior to tonight’s game here in Houston: RHP Sean Hjelle optioned postgame last night to Triple-A Sacramento…RHP Cole Waites (#56) recalled from Triple-A Sacramento…OF Darin Ruf (right wrist inflammation) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment tonight with Triple-A Sacramento.
HOMER HAPPY: The Giants hit two more home runs here last night (Pederson & Wade), giving them 48 homers through 28 games, third most in the Majors behind the Rays (61) and Dodgers (51)…SF’s 1.70 home runs per game in March/April were most in franchise history, leading the NL through the first month of the season for the first time since 1996 (Stats, LLC). Giants, Leading NL in HR/G in March/April – Since 1958 (Stats, LLC)
Year HR/G
1962 1.45
1971 1.13
1991 1.25
Year HR/G
1996 1.50 (T-1st)
2023 1.70
GET US OFF THE ROAD: The Giants are just 4-10 (.286) on the road this season, the fourth-worst road winning pct. in the big leagues just ahead of the A’s (3-11, .214), Reds (3-11, .214) and White Sox (4-12, .250)…as an offense, the Giants are actually scoring more runs on the road (5.50 runs/game, fifth-best in MLB) than at home (3.71 runs/game, 24th out of 30 teams).
THE RIGHT STUFF: SF has feasted on right-handed pitching this season with an .815 OPS, which ranks as the third-highest figure among big league teams behind the Rays (.866) and Dodgers (.823).
Giants vs. Left/vs. Right Hitting Rankings in MLB
vs. Right-Handed Pitchers Stats Number Rank
AVG .252 11th
HR 39 3rd
RBI 99 T-10th
OPS .815 3rd
vs. Left-Handed Pitchers
Stats Number Rank
AVG .222 25th
HR 9 T-13th
RBI 27 21st
OPS .632 26th
GETTING THOSE GROUNDERS: The Giants pitching staff has induced a groundball percentage of 49.6%, tops in MLB.
PYRO THAIRO: IF Thairo Estrada’s hot end to April made him the Giants’ all-time leader in hits (36) before May (Stats, LLC)…entering play today, Estrada ranks inside MLB’s top-10 in hits (T-9th), batting average (.333, 6th), and stolen bases (8, T-10th).
Most Hits in March/April by a Giant (Single Season) – Stats, LLC
Player Hits
Thairo Estrada (2023) 36
Pablo Sandoval (2013) 35
Tito Fuentes (1973) 34
Player Hits
Garry Maddox (1974) 34
Matt Williams (1996) 34
Ángel Pagán (2014) 34
CAN’T WAIT TO GET THAT RING: Giants GM Pete Putila, who had spent the previous 12 seasons with the Houston Astros, will receive his 2022 World Series ring tomorrow…the Astros went 230-154 (.599) during Putila’s three years as an assistant GM, the second-best winning percentage in the Majors.
LATE-GAME WOES: Late rallies by the opponent have been a common occurrence this season and it happened again last night with the Astros plating five runs in the 7th inning, breaking a 2-2 tie…SF pitchers have allowed 70 runs in the 7th inning or later, which is the second in the Majors behind the White Sox (74)…Houston’s offense leads MLB with 62 runs in the 7th inning or later.
Most Runs Allowed in 7th Inning or Later
Team Runs
White Sox 74
Giants 70
Athletics 65
Team Runs
Rockies 48
Cardinals 47
Padres 46
THE INJURY BUG: The Giants lost two of their starters yesterday with news of IF Brandon Crawford (grade 1 right calf strain) and OF Mike Yastrzemski (grade 1 left hamstring strain) hitting the Injured List…according to Stats, LLC, the Giants have 235 total player days on the Injured List this season, 15th of the 30 MLB Clubs…SF has had 13 different players on the IL this year, tied with the Dodgers and Yankees for the second-most in MLB (Mets have had 14 different players on the IL).
LEADOFF LAMONTE: IF/OF LaMonte Wade Jr. went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a homer and a walk last night…Wade Jr. is establishing himself as one of the top leadoff hitters this year, having reached base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 22 of his 26 games with a plate appearance…his .443 on-base percentage ranks as the fourth-highest in MLB behind MIA’s Luis Arraez (.500), TOR’s Matt Chapman (.462) and ATL’s Ronald Acuna Jr. (.450)…he also ranks within the top 1% of the league in walk percentage at 21.4%.
MORE ON LAMONTE: According to Sports Info Solutions, the Giants have scored a run 16% of the time when Wade Jr.’s been on base via a hit that wasn’t a home run, walk or HBP… last season, he scored 31% of the time he was on base.
BETTER TO GET AHEAD: Giants hitters have a .980 OPS after they get ahead in the count 1-0…that ranks second in MLB behind only the Rays (1.002)…they have a .552 OPS after they get down 0-1…that ranks 25th (SIS). THE NEW GUY: OF Cal Stevenson will be seeking to make his Giants debut in this series…the Fremont, Calif. native was acquired by SF from OAK on April 19 in exchange for cash considerations…he made his Major League debut with the A’s last season, appearing in 23 games and going 10-for-60 (.167) with three doubles…he’s played in just five games for the River Cats this year, going 5-for-19 (.263) with a homer.
TODAY’S STARTER – ANTHONY DeSCLAFANI RHP #26
2023 RECORD: 2-1, 2.70 ERA
TODAY’S OUTING: Gets the nod for his sixth start of the season tonight at Minute Maid Park…the veteran, who returns from an injury-plagued 2022, is in his ninth Major League season and third in a Giants uniform.
LAST TIME OUT: Was awarded his second win of the season last Wednesday in SF’s 7-3 victory over the Cardinals…threw 6.0 innings and held batters to two runs on six hits with six strikeouts… DeSclafani walked a batter for just the second start this season… the outing marked his third quality start of the year despite allowing two homers.
VS. HOUSTON: Is slated to face the Astros for just the second time in his career, with his other outing coming almost four years ago… was credited with the win in his start against Houston on June 18, 2019 at Great American Ball Park after limiting Astros hitters to a run on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
INTERLEAGUE: Since 2016, DeSclafani is 7-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 15 interleague appearances (14 starts)…he’s allowed two earned runs of fewer in 12 of the 15 outings and limited hitters to a .678 OPS.
AL WEST: More specifically, the right-hander is 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA in six career starts against AL West opponents…he’s fanned 28 batters in 33.2 innings in that stretch.
LUCKY CHARM: Since joining the Giants in 2021, SF is 27-14 (.659) when DeSclafani takes the hill, winning 11 of his last 16 starts.
YOU SHALL NOT PASS: DeSclafani has been in control around the zone all season, allowing just three walks – all of which came in his last two outings – with 27 strikeouts in his first five starts this year…his three walks this season are tied for the second-fewest among starters, trailing SEA’s George Kirby (2)….additionally, DeSclafani’s 9.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio this year is the second-highest in the NL while his 0.93 WHIP is fourth-best.
SLIDE TO THE LEFT: In his last start against St. Louis, DeSclafani limited opponents to just one hit in eight at-bats ending with his slider, striking out five of the nine hitters he faced…prior to that, the right-hander had allowed six hits in 23 at-bats (.261) over the previous two outings…batters were averaging an exit velocity of 78.2 mph off his slider in his last game, as opposed to a 91.6 mph mark in the previous two starts.
EARLY BIRD: Is limiting the leadoff batter to just one hit in 14 at-bats with five strikeouts…in the first inning, the veteran is holding opposing batters to three hits in 18 at-bats with eight strikeouts.
RIGHT THIS WAY: Right-handers have 10 hits in 51 at-bats (.196) against DeSclafani this year with 14 strikeouts.
RISPY BUSINESS: Batters are 3-for-16 off him with runners in scoring position.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros and Giants will continue a three-game series in Houston tonight with a pitching matchup of RHP Hunter Brown opposite RHP Anthony DeSclafani…the rookie Brown has made just seven career Major League starts, going 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA (10ER/42.1IP) in those outings…tonight will be Brown’s first career appearance against the Giants.
CASE MADE: Tonight’s starter RHP Hunter Brown made a strong case to be the American League’s Rookie of the Month for April after going 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA (8ER/30.1IP), a .206 opponent average and 32 strikeouts in five starts in the month… Brown is trying to become the first stros pitcher to win Rookie of the Month since RHP Collin McHugh in September of 2014… voting results will be announced via press release tomorrow.
VS. THE GIANTS: The Astros and Giants are seeing each other for the first time since a three-game series in San Francisco from July 30-Aug. 1, 2021, with the Giants winning two of three in that set…these two teams have a long history against each other, with the Astros having played the Giants 733 times in their history, their second-most against any individual opponent, trailing only the Reds (848g)…while the Giants own
the all-time advantage (380-353) over the Astros, Houston has gone 10-5 in 15 games against the Giants since 2015.
TONIGHT’S BROADCASTS: Tonight’s game will be televised by AT&T SportsNet SW with Todd Kalas, Geoff Blum and Julia Morales on the call…on the radio dial, the game can be heard on SportsTalk 790 AM in English and TUDN 93.3 FM in Spanish… the English radio broadcast will feature Robert Ford and Kevin Eschenfelder, who’s filling in this series for Steve Sparks.
YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVE: Prior to last night’s game, the Astros placed RHP José Urquidy on the 15-day IL with right shoulder soreness…to take his place on the active roster, the Astros recalled RHP Brandon Bielak from Triple A Sugar Land.
LAST NIGHT’S W: The Astros rode a five-run 7th inning to a 7-3 series opening victory over the Giants last night…the offense was led by former Giant 2B Mauricio Dubón (3×5, 2RBI), who delivered a go-ahead double in the 7th…the bullpen pitched great, covering all 9.0 innings after an injury to starter RHP Luis Garcia, who exited after throwing just eight pitches in the 1st.
SIDELINED STARTERS: The Astros have had their last two starting pitchers leave their starts with injury…RHP José Urquidy (5.1IP) left Sunday’s game with right shoulder soreness and was subsequently placed on the 15-day IL yesterday…RHP Luis Garcia faced just two batters last night, leaving the game with right elbow discomfort.
ON THE BUMP: The Astros rank second in the Majors in team ERA (3.21), trailing only the Rays (3.10)…their bullpen ERA of 2.88 ranks second in the AL, while their starter’s ERA of 3.42 ranks fourth in the AL.
UNDER THE RADAR: RHP Phil Maton and RHP Bryan Abreu have been outstanding in the early going this season…Maton has allowed just three hits and one run in his first 12 appearances (15IP) with 16 strikeouts…opponents are just 3×48 (.063) vs. him (RHH are 0x20, LHH are 3×28)…Abreu has tallied 22 strikeouts in his 14.1 IP while allowing just one earned run for a 0.63 ERA, and also posting a .109 opponent average (5×46).
LATE ATTACK: The Astros offense has come alive late in games this season, producing a Major League-leading 60 runs in the 7th-9th innings, besting the second-place Rays and D-backs (55 runs)…the Astros top two innings, in terms of runs scored, this season have been the 7th (25 runs) and the 8th (20 runs).
FIRST TURN RANKINGS: After one full month of play, the Astros have several players currently ranking within the top 10 in the AL…LF Yordan Alvarez ranks tied for third in RBI (27), fifth in OBP (.392) and eighth in OPS (.922)…3B Alex Bregman ranks second in walks (21), while RF Kyle Tucker ranks tied for third in walks (19) and ninth in OBP (.385)…also, 2B Mauricio Dubón ranks fifth in batting average (.317), while SS Jeremy Peña ranks tied for fifth in runs (21).
TRAFFIC:LF Yordan Alvarez has opened his season by reaching base safely in all 23 of his games, which is the longest streak by an American League player this season…going back to last season, Alvarez has reached base safely in 27 straight games, a streak that is just one game shy of his career-long streak of 28 games, reached from Aug. 22-Sept. 27, 2019.
SUPER SUB: Former Giant 2B Mauricio Dubón has made 24 starts at second base this season, while filling in for 2B Jose Altuve…Dubón has produced a .317 (32×101) average this season, which ranks fifth in the AL, and is coming off a 20-game hitting streak, which was snapped on Friday…his hit streak is the longest in the Majors this season and ranks as the longest in club history before May 1…it was also the longest streak by an Astro since OF Hunter Pence had a 23-game streak in 2011.
THE INCREDIBLE JULKS: Rookie OF Corey Julks, a native of Houston suburb Friendswood, has hit .295 (23×78) in his first 22 career games (19 starts)…among AL rookies, Julks ranks first in batting average (.295), fourth in OPS (.723) and sixth in RBI (9) (min. 75 PA)…Julks is a Houstonian in every aspect, attending Friendswood’s Clear Brook HS and the University of Houston before being drafted by the Astros in the 2017 draft
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP HUNTER BROWN
LAST START – 4/26 AT TB: had the best start of his young career…tossed 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks with 8 strikeouts…in the outing, he tied his career-high in innings and set a new career-high in strikeouts…also notched his 3rd quality start of the season.
HISTORIC START: his 1.78 career ERA is the lowest in Astros history through a pitcher’s first 12 career appearances ahead of RHP Jarred Cosart (2.28) and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (2.60) (min. 50 IP)
• per Elias, is the first Astros pitcher to win their first 5 decisions since RHP Josh James won his first 7 decisions from 2018-19.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: among AL starters, he ranks 3rd in opponent SLG (.252), 8th in ERA (2.37), 11th in opponent batting average (.206) and 11th in WHIP (1.05). VS. THE GIANTS: will make his 1st career start against the Giants.
ABOUT BROWN: rookie right-hander entered the season as the top prospect in the Astros system and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball…was ranked as the No. 28 prospect in baseball in Baseball America’s preseason top 100 rankings… was also rated as the No. 8 RHP prospect in MLB Pipeline’s preseason positional prospect rankings.
• selected by the Astros in the 4th round of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft from Wayne State University.
• was a fast-riser through Astros minor league system, reaching Triple A in his first full minor league season following the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season…owns a career 3.40 ERA (87ER/230.0IP) through 59 career minor league appearances (39 starts)…averaged 11.7 strikeouts-per-nine-innings throughout his minor league career…ranked 9th of all minor league pitchers between the ‘21-22 seasons with 11.56 strikeouts-per-nine-innings
SLIDE PIECE: is averaging 92.1 mph with his slider, which is the fastest amongst MLB pitchers, directly ahead of TEX Jacob deGrom (91.8 mph)…is averaging 95.9 mph, which is 5th-fastest amongst AL starters.
