SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
GOSSIP GIRL HERE…: After a 4 a.m. arrival into New York City, the Giants venture to Citi Field to open up a series tonight with the New York Mets…SF lost a 2-1 contest last night in Toronto and lost the series 2-1 after winning the first game on Tuesday…the series loss snapped a four-series win streak for the Giants and it was SF’s first road series loss since May 11-14 at Arizona…the Giants have also lost consecutive road games for the first time since losing three straight May 12-14.
DID YOU MISS ME?: RHP Alex Cobb (#38) will be activated from the 15-day IL and start today’s game for the Giants…a corresponding move will be announced prior to the game.
SEND ME ALL THE DEETS: Despite losing two straight, the Giants are still 13-4 over their last 17 games dating to June 11…in that time they have averaged 6.0 runs per game with a +37 run differential in the stretch…however, since June 22, SF has gone 3-4 in their last seven games.
SPOTTED…: The Giants are 17-8 (.680) in June, the fourth-best winning percentage this month behind the Braves (20-4, .833), Marlins (19-7, .731) and Philadelphia (18-7, .720).
WE MAKE OUR OWN FAIRYTALES: SF has reached the halfway point of the season at 45-36 with a 68.5% chance of making the playoffs according to Fangraphs…when the season started they had the Giants with a 40.3% chance of reaching postseason play…the 45 win mark through 81 games has been a good indicator of future postseason play for the Giants since 2012.
Giants, Seasons With 45+ Wins Through 81 Games — Since 2012 (Stats, LLC)
Season Record Season Record Season Result
2023 45-36 — —
2021 51-30 107-55 Lost Division Series
2016 50-31 87-75 Lost Division Series
2014 47-34 88-74 Won World Series
2012 45-36 94-68 Won World Series
YOU AREN’T BORN AT THE TOP, YOU CLIMB YOUR WAY UP: The Giants have been one of the best teams in baseball over the last two months, posting a 34-20 record since May 1…SF’s .630 winning percentage in that stretch is the second-best in the Majors behind the Braves (35-18, .660) and ahead of the Rangers, D-Backs and Marlins (all at 32-21, .604)…this recent success is in part due to the bullpen, who’s sporting a MLB-best 2.60 ERA with an MLB-high 253 strikeouts in that stretch.
A SOURCE INTO SF’S ELITE: Much of the Giants recent success has come on the road, where they’ve won 10 of their last 12 and 15 of their last 19 games…since May 22, SF’s .833 (15-4) winning percentage on the road is second-best in the Majors behind Cincinnati (15-3, .833)…overall, the Giants have a 22- 17 (.564) record on the road this season, fifth-best in MLB behind Atlanta (26-12, .684), Arizona (24-14, .632, Baltimore (23-15, .605) and Texas (23-17, .575).
YOU KNOW YOU LOVE ME: IF/OF LaMonte Wade Jr. owns a .424 on-base percentage on the road this season and has reached base safely in 32 of his 38 road games this year… Wade’s .424 road OBP is third-best in the Majors behind SD’s Juan Soto (.429) and OAK’s Ryan Noda (.429)…Wade’s .416 overall OBP this year is third-best in MLB behind MIA’s Luis Arraez (.444) and Soto (.424).
THE MET STEPS: This is the final regular season series between the Giants and Mets this season…the two clubs split a four-game set in San Francisco in mid-April with New York winning the first two games and the Giants swiping the last two…SF lost its series here in New York in 2022, going 1-3… in fact, the Giants have gone 1-4-1 in series here since 2016 (the two teams did not play in 2020)…the Giants are 9-11 in their last 20 regular season games here since 2016 with a -14
run differential.
WELCOME BACK, UPPER EAST SIDERS:OF Michael Conforto and IF J.D. Davis are returning to Citi Field for the first time since no longer playing for the New York Mets…Conforto helped the Mets to a World Series berth in his rookie season in Flushing in 2015 and was a Met from 2015-2021…Davis donned the blue and orange from 2019 until being acquired last season by the Giants at the Trade Deadline…this series also marks another return for IF Wilmer Flores to Flushing… Flores, like Conforto, began his career with the Mets.
YOU’RE NO ONE UNTIL YOU’RE TALKED ABOUT: C Patrick Bailey is riding a career-best 10-game hitting streak entering tonight’s contest…he’s the first Giants rookie to record a 10- game hitting streak since Buster Posey in 2010…Bailey’s 10- game hitting streak is the third-longest active such streak by a rookie, trailing STL’s Jordan Walker (17) and COL’s Ezequiel Tovar (12) (Stats, LLC).
A SECRET I’LL NEVER TELL…: With last night’s defeat, the Giants dropped to 1-20 (.048) this year when scoring two runs or fewer…SF’s .048 winning percentage when failing to reach the three-run threshold is tied for the lowest in MLB with Colorado (1-20, .048)…in contrast, the Giants are 44-16 (.733) when scoring at least three runs this year, sixth-best in MLB and ranking third in the NL behind the Braves (52-13, .800) and Brewers (40-11, .784).
TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX COBB RHP #38
2023 RECORD: 5-2, 3.09 ERA
WITH THE GIANTS: 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.
BACK IN THE ROTATION: Will be activated from the IL prior to tonight’s game…he was placed on the Injured List on June 18 with a left oblique strain and missed the minimum 15 days (13 games)… his spot in the rotation would have come on Monday, June 19… Cobb’s 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.
ELITE STATUS: Before landing on the Injured List, Cobb had been one of the Giants most reliable pitchers…he’s allowed two runs or less in 10 of his 14 starts…the Giants have a 10-4 record when Cobb takes the mound.
LAST TIME OUT: His last Major League start came on June 13 at St. Louis…threw 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and five walks with five strikeouts in the Giants 11-3 victory over the Cardinals.
VS. THE METS: Will face the Mets for the fifth time in his career and his third career start at Citi Field…owns a 1-2 record with a 5.87 ERA (15er, 23.0ip) over his four previous outings…his last start here was April 19, 2022 when he threw 4.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned)…has struck out 11 batters over his 10.1 innings of work at Citi Field.
NOTHING LIKE YOUR OWN PILLOW: Has pitched much better at home this year going 3-1 with a 1.43 ERA (6er, 37.2ip) in six starts, compared to the road where he’s 2-1 with a 4.61 ERA (21er, 41.0ip) over eight starts…however the Giants play well when he starts on the road or at home having posted a 6-2 record when he starts on
the road and a 4-2 record when he starts at home.
DAYS OF REST: Has pitched much better on five days of rest then when he pitches after only four days of rest…he’s posted a 4.21 ERA (17er, 36.1ip) with a .381 OBP over seven starts on four days of rest this year…in comparison, he’s posted a 1.69 ERA (2er, 26.2ip) with a .262 OBP over four starts on five days of rest.
BANANA SPLITS: Opponents are hitting .345 (10-for-29) off his curveball and .462 (6-for-13) off his slider, compared to a .221 average (34-for-159) off his split finger and .316 (37-for-135) off his sinker…he did not throw any curveballs or sliders in his last start… in that outing opponents were 1-for-10 off his splitter and 4-for-7 off his sinker.
(DON’T) WALK THIS WAY: Walked four batters over his first six starts of the season (1.08 BB/9.0), but has now walked 17 batters over his past eight starts (3.38 BB/9.0)…he’s now averaging 2.40 walks per 9.0 innings overall this season.
RISP MANAGEMENT: Opponents are hitting .292 (54-for185) off him with 13 extra-base hits with no one on base… he’s holding opponents to a .198 average (16-for-81) with runners in scoring position.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Opponents are batting .351 (13-for37) with four extra base hits off him on the first pitch of an at-bat.
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
No team release available.
