OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
No team release available.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN: SF is coming off its season-long 11-game road trip where they went 5-6 winning each of their first five contests before dropping six straight to end the trip…the current losing streak (July 19-24) is the Giants’ longest of the season (see below for a breakdown of the Giants’ streaks on their last trip).
HOME SWEET HOME: Tonight, the Giants open a nine-game homestand, their longest of the year, with two games against the Athletics (tonight-tomorrow), followed by three games against the Red Sox (Friday-Sunday) and a four-game set against the Diamondbacks (July 31-August 3)…the Giants have met the A’s 140 times in the regular season and played 20 games in the World Series…they are one of just four All-Time Matchups with 20+ regular season games and 20+ World Series games (others: Braves vs. Yankees, Cubs vs. Tigers and Cardinals vs. Red Sox).
THREE FOR THREE: Yesterday, the Giants traveled to Detroit to makeup a game that was rained out on April 16 after playing in Washington on Sunday…with tonight’s game at Oracle Park, this three game stretch (Sunday-Tuesday) marks just the fourth time since moving to San Francisco that the Giants are playing in a different ballpark on three consecutive days (see chart below for dates and ballparks).
COMING IN HOT: IF Wilmer Flores recorded his 13th homer of the season yesterday and is now tied with OF Michael Conforto for the team lead…in 10 games out of the break, Flores is batting .406 (13×32) with eight runs, four doubles, five home runs, eight RBI and a 1.444 OPS…Flores has been hot since the beginning of June, going 34-for-88 (.386) with 15 runs, eight doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBI and a 1.167 OPS in 30 games.
RINSE & REPEAT: Today marks SF’s 12th straight day with a game out of the All-Star break…they won’t enjoy an off day until Thursday after this two-game set with Oakland…in total, San Francisco is playing 13 straight games out of the break without a day off.
THE (D)OVAL OFFICE: RHP Camilo Doval became the first pitcher in the Majors this year to reach the 30-save mark with his two saves last Tuesday…the 26-year-old leads the Majors in that category…his 45 appearances this season are tied for 14th-most in the Majors.
THERE’S NO WHERE LIKE HOME: RHP Alex Cobb will take the mound for SF tonight…over his last five starts on the Shores on McCovey Cove, Cobb’s posted a 4-0 record with a 0.55 ERA (2er, 33.0ip) with 26 strikeouts and a 1.06 WHIP…per Stats, LLC, his two runs allowed in his last five home starts ranks tied for the second-fewest runs allowed by a Giant at home over a five-game span since 1958 (min. 30.0ip)…no Giants pitcher in the modern era (since 1901) has allowed two-or-fewer runs over a span of six home games (min. 30.0ip).
IN A PINCH: The Giants have recorded 21 hits from pinch-hitters this year, which is tied with the Pirates, Twins and Dodgers for the second-most in the Majors behind only the Athletics with 26…the Giants had 49 hits from pinch-hitters last season, which was 19 more than any other MLB team.
BAIL-EY ME OUT: C Patrick Bailey has 45 hits over his first 49 big league games, which currently ranks as the third-most hits by a Giants catcher in his first 50 career games since 1901
LONG RELIEF: Of the seven Major League pitchers with at least seven games out of the bullpen and at least 3.0 innings pitched, three of them are Giants: Tristan Beck (7 gms with 3.0+ innings), Jakob Junis (7 gms with 3.0+ innings) and Sean Manaea (7 gms with 3.0+ innings).
SIGH OF RELIEF: Over the last three seasons, no team in the Majors has a better record from relievers than the Giants (116-72)…the next best is the St. Louis Cardinals with a 97- 63 record (.606)…the 116 wins by relief pitchers since the beginning of the 2021 season are the most in a three season span in franchise history.
TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX COBB RHP #38
2023 RECORD: 6-3, 3.15 ERA
WITH THE GIANTS: The 2023 All-Star is in his 12th Major League season and his second with the Giants…he’s in his second year of a two-year contract (with a third-year team option) with the Giants that he signed on November 30, 2021.
LAST TIME OUT: In his last outing on July 20 at Cincinnati he suffered his first loss since May 28 at Milwaukee…Cobb allowed five runs on a season-high nine hits and did not record any strikeouts over 4.1 innings of work in the Giants’ 5-1 loss to the Reds at Great American Ballpark.
A SEASON TO REMEMBER: Has been one of the Giants most reliable pitchers this season, posting a 6-3 record with a 3.15 ERA (35er, 100.0ip) over 18 starts…he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 13 of his 18 starts.
WINNER, WINNER: The Giants have a 13-5 record over 18 games when Cobb takes the mound and have won 10 of the last 12 games he’s started.
VS. OAKLAND: Is slated to face the Athletics for the 12th time in his career and first time with the Giants…he has posted a 5-3 record with a 1.96 ERA (15er, 69.0ip) and a 1.13 WHIP over 11 career starts against Oakland…he last faced them on May 29, 2021 at the Oakland Coliseum and threw 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits with eight strikeouts…his 1.96 career ERA against the Athletics is his lowest figure against any team (min. five starts).
NOTHING LIKE YOUR OWN PILLOW: Has pitched much better at home this year going 4-1 with a 1.24 ERA (6er, 43.2ip) in seven starts, compared to the road where he’s 2-2 with a 4.63 ERA (29er, 56.1ip) over 11 starts…the Giants have posted an 8-3 record when he starts on the road, and a 5-2 record when he starts at home.
BANANA SPLITS: Opponents are hitting .350 (14-for-40) off his curveball and .381 (8-for-21) off his slider, compared to a .262 average (49-for-187) off his split finger and .273 (41-for-150) off his sinker.
LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT: Since June 3, right-handed opponents are 18-for-their-last-80 (.225) off him, while left-handers are 28-fortheir-last-86 (.326) off him during that stretch with 11 doubles.
YOU’RE GROUNDED!: Cobb’s 57.7% groundball rate is third-best in the Majors (min. 90.0ip) behind teammate Logan Webb (59.1%) and CHC’s Marcus Stroman (59.0%).
RISP MANAGEMENT: Opponents are hitting .300 (69-for-230) off him with 19 extra-base hits with no one on base…he’s holding opponents to a .189 average (20-for-106) with runners in scoring position.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Opponents are batting .367 (18-for-49) with seven extra base hits (four doubles, one triple, two homers) off him on the first pitch of an at-bat.
HEY NOW YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: Was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career as a replacement for Atlanta Braves starter Bryce Elder…at 35 years, 277 days on the day of the All-Star game, Cobb was the fourth-oldest first time All-Star in Giants history, and second-oldest in the SF-era…Cobb threw 1.0-scoreless inning with one strikeout at T-Mobile Park.
TIME ON THE IL: Was activated from the IL prior to his start on June 30 in New York-NL…he was placed on the Injured List on June 18 with a left oblique strain and missed the minimum 15 days (13 games)…his IL placement was SF being cautious as he felt some tenderness in his left side after his start at STL and in his bullpen in Los Angeles…he made a rehab start on June 24 with Single-A San Jose and struck out nine batters over 3.2 innings of work, while allowing one earned run on
three hits and no walks.
