SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
THE STORY OF US: Winners of three straight and a season-best three games over .500 at 35-32, the Giants will look for a win this afternoon to sweep the Cardinals…if they can secure a sweep it would be SF’s first three-game sweep of the Cardinals here in St. Louis since June 5-7, 1998.
BLANK SPACE(S): OF Luis Matos (#29) and IF David Villar (#32) have been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento…OF Mitch Haniger was placed on the 10-day Injured List with a fractured right forearm…another corresponding roster move will be announced prior to today’s game.
OUR SONG: With last night’s win, the SF has won its first series here in St. Louis since 2017 and are now 5-1 vs. the Cardinals overall in 2023, their most victories against St. Louis during the regular season since 2011 when they went 5-2…the last time SF won six or more games vs. the Cardinals in a single regular season was 1999 when they went 6-3.
LONG STORY SHORT: The Giants enter play today having won 18 of their last 27 games (.667) dating to May 15, the second-best winning percentage in the Majors in that stretch behind Arizona (18-8, .692).
ALL TOO WELL: The Giants have gone 10-2 (.833) in their last 12 road games since May 22, the second-best road winning % in that stretch behind Arizona (7-1, .875)…SF enters today 17-15 away from Oracle Park and has won five straight road games after sweeping Colorado at Coors Field last week and taking the first two games of this series.
WHITE HORSE: The Giants success on the road since May 22 is partly due to their bullpen, who’s boasting 1.02 ERA (6er, 53.0ip) away from home in that stretch with a .139 opposing average and 63 strikeouts while converting all eight save opportunities.
…READY FOR IT?: OF Luis Matos is on a MLB roster for the first time in his career and is seeking his Major League debut… Matos (21 years, 137 days) is the fourth-youngest active player on a Major League roster behind MIA’s Eury Pérez (20 years, 60 days), ATL’s A.J. Smith-Shawver (20 years, 206 days) and STL’s Jordan Walker (21 years, 23 days) (Elias) …the last Giants player younger than Matos is today to make his MLB debut was LHP Madison Bumgarner, who debuted at 20 years, 38 days on September 8, 2009…the last Giants position player younger than Matos is today to make his MLB debut was IF Conor Gillaspie, who was 21 years, 53 days old on September 9, 2008.
SPARKS FLY: Matos joins the Giants after going on a tear at Triple-A Sacramento…prior to being removed from last night’s game when OF Mitch Haniger went down for SF, he’d gone 1-for-2 with a solo homer to give him a home run in three straight games and homers in five of his last six games overall… in 24 games for the River Cats, where he was the youngest player in all of Triple-A, Matos was slashing .398/.435/.685 for a 1.120 OPS with six doubles, two triples, seven homers and 20 RBI…the youngster began the year at Double-A Richmond where he slashed .304/.398/.443 in 31 games before his promotion to Triple-A in mid-May…the Venezuelan native entered the year as SF’s #7 prospect according to MLB.com.
NEVER GROW UP: So far this season the Giants have had seven players make their Major League debuts (C Patrick Bailey, RHP Tristan Beck, IF Casey Schmitt, C/OF Blake Sabol, RHP Ryan Walker, RHP Keaton Winn and IF/OF Brett Wisely)…if Matos can get into a game he would become the eighth Giant to make his debut this season…only the Reds (nine) have had more players debut this season than the Giants.
RED (MICHAEL’S VERSION): OF Michael Conforto clubbed four hits last night, matching a career-high (the sixth fourhit game overall of his career and second this season)…since May 10, Conforto is slashing .333/.398/.606 for a 1.004 OPS with three doubles, eight homers, 26 RBI and 19 runs scored… Conforto’s .606 OPS in that stretch is sixth-best in the National League…SF improved to 18-4 this season when Conforto
drives ina run with yesterday’s win…he currently leads the team in go-ahead RBI (10) and game-winning RBI (seven).
RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT ME: The Giants enter today 11-6 versus left-handed starters and are seeing their second lefty starter in this series…the Giants are 9-1 in their last 10 games when facing a left-handed starter dating to April 22…the Giants lone loss in that span (a 1-0 defeat) came on May 20 vs. Miami and their lefty starter Braxton Garrett.
I BET YOU THINK ABOUT ME: OF Mike Yastrzemski has hammered the ball in his career against the Cardinals, slashing .342/.433/.645 in 24 games against St. Louis…according to Stats, LLC, Yastrzemski’s .645 slugging percentage vs. the Cardinals is tops among active players (min. 80PAs).
Active Players, Highest Career SLG vs. Cardinals (min. 80 plate appearances)(Stats, LLC)
Player, Team SLG
Mike Yastrzemski, SF .645
Bryce Harper, PHI .624
Pete Alonso, NYM .623
Player, Team SLG
Freddie Freeman, LAD .614
Nelson Cruz, SD .611
REPUTATION: SF’s bullpen has been on a great run since May 2, leading the Majors with a 2.23 ERA while posting a 26.7 strikeout percentage (fifth-best in the Majors).
MLB, Bullpen ERA – Since May 2
Team ERA
Giants 2.24
Yankees 2.46
Padres 2.51
Team ERA
Guardians 2.72
White Sox 2.89
Twins 3.26
CRUEL SUMMER: After today’s game the Giants will fly to Los Angeles where they will spend tomorrow’s off day before opening up a three-game series vs. the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine on Friday night…the Giants went 1-8 last season at Dodger Stadium with their lone win coming on September 5.
TODAY’S STARTER – ANTHONY DeSCLAFANI RHP #26
2023 RECORD: 4-6, 3.89 ERA
TODAY’S OUTING: Will make his 14th start of the season today… 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: Suffered his second consecutive loss on Friday in SF’s 3-2 defeat to the Cubs…gave up two runs on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts in the start…his four walks were his most since also walking four batters on May 28, 2021 at LAD…he’s now walked seven batters over his last two starts (9.0ip), a stretch that comes after issuing just nine walks in his previous 11 outings (67.1ip) this year.
VS. ST. LOUIS: Is slated to face the Cardinals for the 20th time in his career (19th start), the most games he’s played against any single opponent…the right-hander is 8-5 with a 3.75 ERA and 93 strikeouts over the 19 appearances…his 93 strikeouts against the Cardinals are the eighth-most among active pitchers, with his eight wins tied for fourth-most and the 96.0 innings ranking ninth…last faced them on April 26 at Oracle Park, when he earned the win after striking out six batters over 6.0 innings and limiting St. Louis hitters to two runs on six hits.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals wrap up their six-game homestand today at Busch Stadium with the finale of a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants … St. Louis has gone 1-4 after dropping two-of-three to division-rival Cincinnati over the weekend … After today’s game, the Cardinals embark on an eight-game international road trip through New York City to play the Mets (June 16-18), the nation’s capital to play the Nationals (June 19-21) and London, England to face the division-rival Cubs (June 24-25).
FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter today in last place in the NL Central, 8.5 games behind 1st place Pittsburgh and 3.0 games behind 4th place Chicago … St. Louis has matched its low watermark of the season at 14-games below .500 (27-41), previously at 10-24 … The Cardinals have spent 49 of 76 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19 and May 29-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since beginning 24-44 (.353) in 1978.
FLAG DAY FACEOFFS: St. Louis is 33-31 all-time (21-15 at home) on Flag Day since it become official on Aug. 3, 1949 … The Cardinals are 0-2 vs. the SF Giants (1970 & 1977) and 2-1 vs. the NY Giants (1952-53) on Mike Claiborne’s favorite baseball mile-marker … Prior to today, the previous five Flag Day faceoffs between Cardinals and Giants have all taken place in New York or San Francisco, most recently in 1977 at Candlestick Park in a 7-1 Cardinals loss.
PONY SHOW: With a win today, the Cardinals would avoid their first three-game series sweep by the Giants in St. Louis since June 5-7, 1998 at Busch II (all onerun losses) … The last time the Cardinals were swept by the Giants in any series was a two-game set from April 18-19, 2007 at San Francisco’s AT&T Park … St. Louis has been swept four times this season: April 3-5 vs. Braves, April 28-30 at Dodgers, May 2-4 vs. Angels, and June 2-4 at Pittsburgh.
THE CITY BY THE BAY: St. Louis trails San Francisco by a slim 360-359 margin in the all-time series since the Giants moved from New York in 1958 … The Cardinals have lost the season series to the Giants for the first time since 2014 … The last time St. Louis lost six or more games in a single season to San Francisco was 1999 (3-6 record).
STREAKING WITH NADO: Nolan Arenado is hitting .377/.441/.736 (20-53) with four homers, one triple, five doubles, five walks, 10 RBI, and a 1.177 OPS during his active 15-game on-base streak (May 27-present) … The 15-gamer is MLB’s 2nd-longest active behind Shohei Ohtani (17) and is Arenado’s best since reaching base safely in 16 games in a row from Sept. 24, 2022-April 9, 2023.
GOLDY GOODNESS: In 35 career plate appearances off Anthony DeSclafani, Paul Goldschmidt is batting .567/.629/1.167 (17-30) with four home runs, six doubles, and a 1.795 OPS … No other MLB player has more hits, doubles, and home runs off DeSclafani than Goldschmidt … The only pitchers Goldy has more career hits off of are Madison Bumgarner (26-for-77) and Germán Márquez (18-for-42).
OUCH!: The Cardinals have had a hit batsmen in a franchise record seven straight games (June 6-present), MLB’s longest HBP streak this season … The last time an MLB team was hit in eight straight was Tampa Bay, which recorded nine- and eight-game streaks in 2018.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP JORDAN MONTGOMERY (3-7, 3.88)
TODAY’S GAME
NL Leaders: Losses (7, T-1st); Hits (77, 5th)
- Makes his 14th start of the season and his 122nd career (25th as a member of the Cardinals).
- Is 1-1 with a 3.45 ERA in three day game starts this season and 4-13 with a 4.28 ERA in 40 day time starts (41 app.) in his career.
- Snapped a career-high seven-game losing streak in his last start vs. CIN (6/9), including a stretch of 10 straight starts with the Cardinals losing. Although the Cardinals were shut out in three of his seven losses, he had had three quality starts among his seven defeats and never received more than four runs of support in any of the 10.
- The Cardinals have lost 9 of the 13 games started by one-run and/or shutout.
- Posted a 6.04 ERA in the month of May, his highest of any month in his career with more than one start and highest since a 5.90 ERA in five starts with the Yankees in September 2020.
- Currently has an 0.77 ERA, leading the National League in June. Career marks of 8-2 with a 3.04 ERA in June, his most total wins in any calendar month.
- Posted his first 6.0-inning outing in his last start after failing to hit the mark in his five previous starts after tossing 6.0 or more in 5-of-his-first-7.
- Went seven consecutive starts (4/13-5/16) with three runs of support or fewer and three with zero (4/13, 4/24, 4/29).
- Is 9-10 with a 3.52 ERA in 24 starts as a member of the Cardinals. St. Louis won 10-ofhis-first-13 starts, but have gone 1-10 since.
- Leads all Cardinals pitchers with 127 strikeouts since being acquired at the 2022 Trade Deadline (8/2/22); Miles Mikolas ranks 2nd with 115.
- Has not walked a left-handed batter since being acquired by the Cardinals (75 total batters faced). Is the only pitcher in MLB who has faced 70+ left-handed batters without a walk to a LHB since 8/1/22.
- Has held his opposition to three earned runs or fewer in 79% (95-of-121) of his career starts.
LAST TIME OUT
- Threw 6.0 scoreless innings of three-hit ball for his first win since April 9 at MIL. Snapped a stretch of 10 straight starts without a winning decision. Received more than four runs of support for the 3rd time this season and first since 4/9 at MIL. Retired his last 11 batters in a row.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
6/9 CIN W 7-4 W-3 6.0 3 0 0 1 6 0 97-61
2023
- Surpassed 600 strikeouts vs. CIN (6/9), fanning Elly De La Cruz in the first inning.
- Snapped a career-long seven game losing streak vs. CIN (6/9) and 10 straight starts without a Cardinals win dating back to April 13 vs. Pittsburgh. Had never gone 10 consecutive starts without a winning decision in his MLB career (9 starts without a win to begin 2022 season w/NYY).
- Allowed a pair of runs in a no-decision on 5/28 at Progressive Field as Cleveland scored two in the bottom of the 9th, handing the Cardinals a 4-3 walk-off loss.
- Allowed just two home runs in his first seven starts and back-to-back games with two home runs each at CHI (5/10) and vs. MIL (5/16). His streak of four straight starts with a home run (5/5-22) was the 3rd-longest of his career.
- Prior to his 5/10 start at Wrigley, he’d allowed just one earned run in three road games this season, fanning 22 in 19.2 IP. In nine career road starts with St. Louis, he’s allowed one or fewer earned runs in five of those games.
- Took his first no-decision of the season as the Cardinals fell, 5-4, to the Detroit Tigers
