SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: Fresh from an off day, the Giants make their first visit to Toronto since 2019 to kick off a three-game set against the Blue Jays…the matchup marks SF’s first three-game series here at Rogers Centre since June 18-20, 2010… entering play today, the Giants have won 12 of their last 14 games dating to June 11.
TIME FLIES: IF Wilmer Flores (#41) has been reinstated from the 10-day IL…IF Isan Díaz was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento postgame on Sunday…Flores missed nine games with a left foot contusion after fouling a ball off his foot on June 16 at Dodger Stadium.
I’M THE ROOKIE AND THE VET: Yesterday, Major League Baseball unveiled the rosters for this year’s SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game…the selections feature two Giants southpaws, LHP Kyle Harrison and LHP Carson Whisenhunt…the game will take place on July 8 and will open the All-Star weekend festivities in Seattle.
HOTLINE BLING: Harrison, who’s the Giants #1 prospect, earned his second consecutive Future’s Game selection after also receiving the honor last year…he’s averaging 14.86 strikeouts-per-nine across 15 starts for Triple-A Sacramento this season…Whisenhunt earned a couple of swift promotions early in the season before landing in Double-A Richmond… SF’s #4 prospect was named NWL Pitcher of the Month in May after sporting a 1.69 ERA in five starts while striking out 30
batters (21.1ip) and holding opponents to a .113 average with High-A Eugene.
0 TO 100/THE CATCH UP: MLB updated its Top 100 prospect rankings…the new list includes four Giants in the form of Harrison (#14), Marco Luciano (#19), OF Luis Matos (#73) and Whisenhunt (#100).
NONSTOP: Much of the Giants recent success has come on the road where they have won 14 of their last 16 games, including each of their last nine road contests…SF’s nine straight road wins match their longest road winning streak in SF-era (also: April 23-May 13, 1966)…the last time the Giants won 10-consecutive road games within the same season was April 20-May 5, 1952 as the New York Giants.
IN MY FEELINGS…: This three-game set in Toronto will mark SF’s first time facing former Giant and self-proclaimed captain Brandon Belt…Belt, who was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2009 draft and spent the last 12 seasons with SF… he wont two World Series titles with SF and was part of the club’s franchise-best 107-win season in 2021.
FINESSE: The Giants have been outstanding with runners in scoring position this month, slashing a league-leading .364/.427/.551 in 22 games…SF’s .978 OPS with RISP in June is almost 150 points ahead of second place Cincinnati (.829)… the Giants’ .291 average with RISP overall this season is tops in the NL and third-best in MLB behind the Rangers (.308) and Rays (.292).
BEST I EVER HAD: SF is 16-6 (.727) in June, the second-best winning percentage in MLB behind ATL (18-4, .818)…the Giants winning percentage so far in June is currently their best performance in a single month since going 23-7 (.767) in September/October of 2021…it’s also the team’s best winning percentage in the month of June in SF-era and their best winning % since finishing the month 24-4 (.857) in 1954.
FAIR TRADE: After hitting .207 (6×29) in May, DH Joc Pederson has put forth a scorching June, batting .310 (18×58) with 17 runs, three homers, 12 RBI and a .920 OPS in 18 games… as a matter of fact, Pederson has been outstanding in June throughout his career, averaging a homer every 13.07 at-bats and posting a .532 slugging percentage, his best of any single month.
IF YOU’RE READING THIS IT’S TOO LATE: Taking the hill for the Giants tonight is RHP Ryan Walker, who’ll make his fourth start in SF’s last eight games…the bullpen game is SF’s 13th this season, with the Giants going 9-3 in the 12 games and winning each of the three contests with Walker as the opener…the Giants have been historically good this year when their starter pitches less than 2.0 innings
NO FRIENDS IN THE INDUSTRY: Tonight’s starter for the Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman is another familiar face for the Giants..the right-hander spent two seasons with the Giants between 2020-2021…in his only fulll season with SF in 2021, Gausman set career-bests in innings pitched (192.0), wins (14), quality starts (20), ERA (2.81), strikeouts (227), opponents’ batting average (.210) and WHIP (1.04)…his 227 strikeouts were the most by a Giants pitcher in a single-season since Madison Bumgarner struck out 251 batters in 2016.
GOD’S PLAN?: The Giants are 9-0 on the road this month with four scheduled road games remaining…according to Stats, LLC, SF has a chance to be the first team in MLB history to play at least a dozen road games in a calendar month and go undefeated if they win each of the four contests…the current record for most road wins without a loss in a month is 11 by the White Sox in May 1951 and the A’s in April 1981.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays used 11 hits and nine walks to roll their way to a 12-1 win over the Athletics on Sunday… Moved to 6-4 in rubber games and improved to 8-3-0 in series play at home (15-10-0 overall). Toronto has gone 14-9 over its last 23 games and is 17-11 over the last 28…Toronto’s .607 win% over that span (since May 26) is the best in the AL (2nd: TB – .586).
SPRINGING INTO HISTORY: George Springer opened Sunday’s scoring with a leadoff home run, his 11th longball of the season… Marked his 3rd leadoff homer of the year and the 55th of his career, surpassing Alfonso Soriano for 2nd most in MLB history. The right fielder later singled in the 8th inning, finishing the day 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk…Marked his 23rd multi-hit game, tied for 10th most in the AL…Has multiple hits in eight of his last 15 games while batting .345 (20-for-58) with four doubles, two home runs, and eight RBI (.908 OPS).
BIG-GIO TIME STUFF: Cavan Biggio smacked a three-run homer to right in the bottom of the 8th inning on Sunday…Marked his 7th jack of the season, four of which have come in the 8th inning…Also singled and drew a walk, finishing the day 2-for-4 with a walk,..Over his last 22 contests, has gone 16-for-56 (.286) with 11 runs scored, two doubles, five homers, and 12 RBI (.954 OPS).
YUSEI SENSATIONAL: Yusei Kikuchi earned his 7th win of the season on Sunday, tossing 7.0 frames of one-run ball with two hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts…Marked his longest outing as a Blue Jay, and his longest since Aug. 31, 2021 vs. HOU…Threw 101 pitches (63 strikes) on the day, his most in a start since July 28, 2021 vs. HOU (also 101)…Has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last six starts, pitching to a 2.48 ERA (9 ER/32.2 IP) and a 0.98 WHIP while holding hitters to a .179 average with 11 walks and 37 strikeouts.
MULTI-TALENTED: Bo Bichette singled and scored in the 7th inning before plating a run with another single in the 8th…Finished the day 2-for-5, his AL-leading 30th multi-hit game of the season (3rd in MLB)…Extended his hitting streak to 11 games, currently the 3rd-longest active streak in the Majors…Has gone 15-for-46 (.326) with eight doubles and four RBI over that span (.840 OPS). The shortstop currently leads the AL with 106 hits, 13 more than any other batter, trailing only Luis Arraez (111) for the most in the Majors…His .318 batting average ranks 2nd in the AL (4th in MLB), while he sits 2nd in total bases (169), 7th in SLG (.508), 8th in OPS (.855), 8th in XBH (34), T-11th in home runs (14), and T-12th in RBI (47).
VLAD TIDINGS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled in the 1st inning on Sunday and picked up his 17th double in the 7th… Marked his 22nd multi-hit effort of the year…His 84 hits are 6th most in the AL while his 49 RBI are tied for 10th…Has recorded an AL-leading 140 hard-hit balls (95+ MPH) this season (2nd: Bo Bichette – 123).
HOME WORK: The Blue Jays are on a nine-game, 10-day homestand (2-1 so far)…Have gone 21-14 this season at Rogers Centre…The .600 win% at home is 4th best in the AL…After this series with the Giants, will wrap up the homestand with a Canada Day weekend set vs. the Red Sox (40-39). Toronto batters rank 4th in the AL in home AVG (.265), 4th in home OBP (.339), 6th in home OPS (.754), and 7th in home SLG (.416)…The pitching staff ranks 1st among AL teams with a .213 home opponents’
average (2nd: SEA – .218)…Are sitting 2nd with a 3.37 home ERA and 3rd with a 1.14 home WHIP.
MORE ELECTRIC PLAYS: Yesterday, MLB announced that George Springer had claimed Play of the Week for his diving catch to preserve a 4-4 tie on Friday night vs. Oakland… Marked his 3rd career Play of the Week Award (also July 26, 2021 and May 2, 2022)…Is now one of six players to claim three Play of the Week Awards since the honour was introduced in 2019…The Blue Jays now have nine Play of the Week honours, two more than the 2nd-place Brewers (7).
OFFENSIVE THINGS: The Blue Jays have notched 719 hits this season, 4th most in the Majors…Are currently 3rd in the AL in team AVG (.264), 5th in OBP (.331), 5th in OPS (.752), 6th in SLG (.421), and 6th in extra-base hits (242).
STARTING SOMETHING: Toronto pitchers have now combined for 38 quality starts, 4th most in the Majors…The starting rotation has tossed 435.1 innings, 4th most in MLB…Also rank 3rd in the AL in strikeouts (437), 6th in ERA (4.05), 8th in AVG (.245), and 8th in WHIP (1.29).
INTERTAINMENT: Toronto is playing its 8th interleague series of the year…Has gone 14-6 vs. NL clubs so far…The .700 win% is 3rd best among MLB teams (MIA – .708, NYY – .706)…Led the AL with 13 interleague wins last season, which was one off the franchise’s alltime single-season record (14 in 2021)…Since the beginning of the 2021 campaign, Toronto’s .683 win% in Interleague Play (41-19) is the best among all MLB clubs (2nd: TB – .656).
VS. THE GIANTS: All-Time: 10-13
2023: 0-0 Home: 5-5
Home: 0-0 Rogers Centre: 5-5
The Blue Jays last played the Giants in 2019, splitting the two-game series in California while dropping both contests here at Rogers Centre…Are 10-13 all-time
vs. SF while amassing a -1 run differential (98 runs for; 99 runs against).
Brandon Belt was drafted by the Giants in 2009 and debuted with the club in 2011…Went on to play 12 seasons for the Giants before signing with Toronto in January…Batted .261 with 175 home runs and 584 RBI during his 1,310 games as a Giant, making an All-Star Game appearance in 2016 and helping the team to two World Series Titles.
Kevin Gausman pitched for the Giants in 2020 and 2021 before he joined the Blue Jays in 2022… Combined to go 17-9 with a 3.00 ERA in 45 games (43 starts) by the bay, and represented the club at the 2021 All-Star Game.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is facing San Francisco for the first time since his rookie season in 2019…Hit his first two career home runs on May 14 at SF, becoming the youngest player in team history to record a multi-homer game (20 years, 59 days old).
STARTING PITCHER – Kevin Gausman, RHP #34
TODAY’S GAME: Making his 17th start of the season and his 8th at Rogers Centre… Improved to 7-3 his last time out, on 6/21 at MIA, giving up 3 runs over 6.0 innings (8H, BB, 6K). His 127 strikeouts are the most ever by a Blue Jay in their first 16 outings of a season (2nd: Roger Clemens – 122 in 1997), and are the most in the AL in 2023 (2nd: Pablo López – 120K). Owns a 2.78 FIP since the start of the 2020 season, the 2nd-best mark among qualified hurlers by percentage points (1st: Corbin Burnes – 2.78).
2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Won his 6th game of the year on 6/16 at TEX, throwing 6.0 frames of one-run ball (4H, 2BB, 4K). Took a no-decision on 6/11 vs. MIN, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks over 4.2 innings with 4 strikeouts. Pitched 7.0 frames of one-run ball on 6/6 vs. HOU, scattering 4 hits with no walks and a career-high-tying 13 strikeouts (also: 13K on 4/29/23 vs. SEA)…Became the 4th player (8th time) in franchise history to punch out at least 13 batters without any walks in a single game (last: José Berríos on 7/12/22 vs. PHI). Tossed 6.2 frames of shutout ball on 6/1 vs. MIL, scattering 5 hits and a pair of walks with 11 strikeouts…Was his 5th start with double-digit punchouts this year. Took a no-decision on 5/21 vs. BAL, tossing 8.0 frames of two-run ball on a season-high 115 pitches (6H, 2BB, 4K)…Matched his longest outing of the year (8.0IP on 4/12 vs. DET). Gave up 3R/2ER runs on 5/16 vs. NYY, surrendering 5 hits and 2 walks over 7.0 innings with 10 strikeouts on 102 pitches (63 strikes)…Marked his 7th quality start of the year, and his 4th with double-digit punchouts. Tossed 6.0 shutout innings on 5/10 at PHI, giving up 3 hits with no walks and 9 strikeouts…Was his 6th quality start of the year, and his 5th outing with no earned runs. Tossed 7.0 shutout innings on 4/29 vs. SEA, giving up 5 hits with a walk and a career-high 13 strikeouts…Threw a season-high 108 pitches (74 strikes) while inducing a career-high 28 swing-and-misses…Got 20 whiffs on his splitter alone, the most on a single pitch in the Majors this season, and the most on a splitter in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). Took a no-decision on 4/12 vs. DET, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits over a season-high 8.0 innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts, his most as a Blue Jay…Surrendered a solo home run to Nick Maton with one out in the 4th inning, ending his streak of 15.1 innings without allowing an earned run, the longest stretch to begin a season in franchise history (2nd: Matt Shoemaker – 14.0 IP in 2019).
