SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
NEW YORK ON SUUUNDAY: The Giants play the final game of their six-game road trip tonight in New York seeking a win to head back to San Francisco with a .500 trip…SF has gone 2-3 on the trip thus far through Toronto (1-2) and here against the Mets (1-1)…since June 22 (the day that SF had its 10-game winning streak halted by a loss to the Padres), the Giants have gone 4-5 in their last nine games.
STARS FALL ON SEATTLE: Major League Baseball will announce the full rosters for this year’s Midsummer Classic beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN…this year’s All-Star Game is taking place at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Tuesday, July 11.
KEEP GRINDING…: The Giants have been one of the best teams in baseball over the last two months, posting a 35-21 record since May 1…SF’s .625 winning percentage in that stretch is the second-best in the Majors behind the Braves (37-18, .673)…this recent success is in large part due to the bullpen, who’s sporting a MLB-best 2.57 ERA with an MLB-high 261 strikeouts in that stretch…the 261 strikeouts are 30 more than the next closest team (Kansas City at 231).
ROAD TRIPPIN’: Much of the Giants recent success has come on the road, where they’ve won 11 of their last 14 and 16 of their last 21 games…since May 22, SF’s .762 (16-5) winning percentage on the road is third-best in the Majors behind Cincinnati (15-3, .833) and Arizona (15-4, .765)…overall, the Giants have a 23-18 (.561) record on the road this season, fifth-best in the Majors and third-best in the National League behind Atlanta (26-12, .684) and Arizona (26-14, .650).
THE MET GALA: The Giants have gone 1-4-1 in series here at Citi Field since 2016 (the two teams did not play in 2020)…the Giants are 10-12 in their last 22 regular season games here since 2016 with a -16 run differential. HUH?: With yesterday’s defeat, the Giants are now 21-18 (.538) versus teams that are below .500, tied for 19th of 30 MLB clubs…against teams that are .500 or better, SF is 25-19 (.568), third-best in the Majors.
WE HAVE TO WAKE UP BATS?: During this most recent nine-game stretch that has seen the Giants go 4-5 they have scored a total of 28 runs in nine games (3.1 runs per game) and have slashed .210/.274/.309 in that stretch…during the club’s 10- game win streak that preceded this stretch of play, the club scored 80 runs in 10 games (8.0 runs/game) and was slashing .299/.385/.468…it’s worth noting that SF has been without OF Mike Yastrzemski for this stretch (he went down with a left hamstring strain on June 21) and more recently have been without OF Michael Conforto since Wednesday when he left the game after two innings in Toronto with left hamstring tightness…when Conforto has played this year, SF is 42-29 and when Yastrzemski is in there SF is 32-23.
THE MAGIC NUMBER…: Four runs seems to be the magic number for the Giants this season as when they’ve done that they are 42-11 (.792)…that winning percentage is fifth-best in MLB…on the flip side, when they score three or fewer runs they are 4-26 (.133)…that winning percentage is seventh-worst in the Majors.
RUNNING LATE…: Furthermore, the Giants haven’t scored a ton of runs early in games pretty much all season…SF has scored 186 of its runs this year from the 6th inning on, fifth-most in the Majors…in innings 1-5, however, they’ve logged 211 runs, tied for 18th of 30 MLB teams…looking at it a different way, the Giants offense has a .724 OPS versus opposing starters this season, 18th in MLB and a .748 OPS against opposing relievers, fifth-best in MLB.
ON YOUR LEFT…:.The Giants lost their last game when they faced an opposing lefty starter (Blake Snell for San Diego on June 22 at Oracle to end SF’s 10-game winning streak)… despite that loss the Giants have won 10 of their last 12 games vs. a LHSP dating to April 22…the win to kick off this run came against the Mets and tonight’s starter LHP David Peterson… overall, the Giants are 12-7 vs. lefty starters this season.
WHAT DOES HE DO? HE GETS ON BASE: C Patrick Bailey went 0-for-3 yesterday to snap his 11-game hitting streak… Bailey did walk though and has now reached base safely in 17 consecutive games dating to June 9…his 17-game on base-streak is longest by a Giants rookie since Mike Yastrzemski had an 18-gamer from September 6-27, 2019…below are the five most recent streaks by SF rookies including Bailey’s. Giants, Most Recent Rookies with 17+ Game On Base Streak (Stats, LLC)
Player Games Dates
Patrick Bailey 17 June 9, 2023-present
Mike Yastrzemski 18 September 6-27, 2019
Matt Duffy 20 July 17-August 7, 2015
Buster Posey 25 June 30-July 28, 2010
Bill Mueller 18 August 25-September 12, 1996
GOTTA EARN IT: SF pitching has walked four batters so far during this five game road trip after opening the trip with consecutive no-walk games in Toronto…overall, Giants pitching has walked 226 batters this season, second-fewest in the Majors behind only Seattle, who has walked 217…however, SF and Seattle are nearly tied with a 7.2% walk percentage this year…the Giants are 7.238% while the Mariners are 7.199%.
NO. SLEEP. TILL…TUESDAY?: SF is projected to return home sometime between 3-4 a.m. PT tomorrow morning (obviously depending on tonight’s game length)…they open up a three-game series with the Mariners at 6:45 p.m. tomorrow night and then play a 1:35 p.m. game on Tuesday for the Fourth of July…it’ll be the third time in a week the Giants have landed in a city at that hour after getting in to Toronto’s hotel last Monday (which was an off day) at close to 4 a.m. and then doing the same here in New York early Friday morning.
TODAY’S STARTER – ROSS STRIPLING RHP #48
2023 RECORD: 0-2, 6.88 ERA
WITH THE GIANTS: 33-year-old right-hander inked a two-year Major League contract with the Giants this past December… the deal included an opt-out following this season.
START ME UP: Is returning to the rotation for the first time since May 17 vs. Philadelphia…that outing was one of Stripling’s better ones as a starter this year before he left the game due to injury in the fourth inning…Stripling worked 3.0 scoreless innings to start the game before allowing the three runs in the fourth before leaving due to injury.
ON THE IL: Stripling spent just over a month on the Injured List with his lower back strain…he made three rehab starts (two in the Arizona Complex League and one at Single-A San Jose) before being activated… in his final of three rehab outings, Stripling struck out 10 in 4.0 innings for Single-A San Jose…told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser that he was working on tweaking his delivery while he was out and was trying to stand more straight up when he was out on the mound.
LAST TIME OUT: Last pitched on Wednesday at Toronto, coming out of the bullpen for 3.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits in his 50-pitch outing…it was Stripling’s first since being activated off the IL last Sunday (June 24).
LEAVING THE YARD: Stripling has allowed 10 home runs over his first 35.1 innings pitched this year…last season with Toronto he allowed just 12 homers in 134.1 innings of work (0.80 HR/9.0).
VS. NEW YORK-NL: Will be making his fifth career appearance vs. the Mets (third career start) tonight…one of his five starts this year came against the Mets back on April 23 at Oracle Park…he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits in 3.1 innings in SF’s 5-4 win…in two career outings (one start) here at Citi Field he’s posted a 3.00 ERA (2er, 6.0ip)
MEET THE METS: None of the 13 active position players on the Mets have a home run vs. Stripling in their career, while only IF Francisco Lindor has an RBI…OF Starling Marte (3-for-10), IF/OF Jeff McNeil (2-for-2) and IF Danny Mendick (2-for-3) are the only Mets with multiple hits…Stripling’s best success has come vs. OF
Tommy Pham, who is 0-for-13 with two strikeouts in his career vs. Stripling…the 13 at-bats without a hit are Pham’s most against any pitcher.
KEEP IT LOW: The righty currently has a 26.9% fly ball rate, which is the lowest mark of his career…when the ball is hit in the air, however, it’s leaving the yard at a career-high 31.3% HR/FB rate… Stripling’s 2.55 HR/9 is also a career-high…last season, Stripling had a career-best 7.7% HR/FB and a 0.80 HR/9…the Mets offense has a 13.3% HR/FB rate, which is tied for eighth-highest in MLB.
SLIDE ON OVER: The damage vs. Stripling has been rather spread out between his three favorite pitches (slider, four-seam fastball and changeup)…the three pitches all have usage rates of at least 24%, yet also have opposing slugging percentages of at least .520…Baseball Savant also shows a notable change in production from Stripling’s slider, which had an impressive -7 run value last year, and currently is +3 in 2023.
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Giants, 4-1, yesterday… New York is 7-18 over their last 25 games…Tonight, the Mets continue a seven-game homestand (2-4) against the Brewers (1-3) and Giants (1-1)…Following this homestand, the Mets head out on the road one final time before the All-Star break…The team heads west to Arizona (three games) and San Diego (three games).
SERIES-LY SPEAKING: Tonight, the Mets are seeking their first series win since their three-game sweep of the Phillies from May 30 – June 2…New York has lost or split each of their last eight series.
RUBBER BAND MAN: The Mets are 3-7 in rubber games this year.
ATTABOY ALVAREZ: Yesterday, Francisco Alvarez hit his 13th home run of the season, tying Travis d’Arnaud’s franchise record for most home run by a rookie catcher set in 2014…Among MLB rookies, Alvarez is tied for third in home runs and seventh in SLG with a .467 clip…Alvarez’s 13 home runs is the fourth-most in a season by a catcher in his age-21 season or younger behind Johnny Bench (26, Age 21, 1969), Darrell Porter (16, Age 21, 1973) and Johnny Bench (15, Age 20, 1968)…Courtesy of Sarah Langs.
HOME RUN HAPPY: This season, the Mets have hit 103 home runs through their first 83 games, the seventh-most in franchise history during that span…Last season, the Mets had 81 home runs through their first 83 games…The Mets have homered three or more times in a game 13 times this season, surpassing their total from 2022.
HE SLAYS GIANTS: In 33 games against San Francisco, Jeff McNei owns a career slashline of 350/.391/.525 (42-120)…Among active players, his .350 average ranks third (min. 100 at-bats) behind former Met and current Giant Wilmer Flores (.387) and Matt Carpenter (.363)…McNeil’s .917 OPS vs. SF ranks seventh among the 91 players who have 100 or more career AB against the club…Pete Alonso has eight career home runs and 23 RBI in 26 appearances vs. the Giants.
ABSENCE OF PROOF: The New York Mets are teaming up with the national non-alcoholic pop-up Absence of Proof to bring a fun nonalcoholic experience to Citi Field…Fans ages 21 and up can enjoy a ballgame at Citi Field while sipping on refreshing craft mocktails and other non-alcoholic beverages during this special experience… The event, presented by Cadillac and Dunkin’, continues its run in the Piazza Club on the Excelsior level for the entirety of this series against the San Francisco Giants.
PHAM-TASTIC: Tommy Pham has gone 9-14 (.643) over his last four contests with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored…Over his last 27 games (since May 28), Pham is batting .362 (34-94) with 16 runs, nine doubles, six home runs, 24 RBI, nine walks, six steals and a 1.083 OPS…He ranks among MLB leaders in average (fourth), slugging percentage (.670, fifth) and OPS (third) in that span.
WHEN YOU’RE IN SCORING POSITION, YOU’RE PHAMILY: Tommy Pham leads the Mets with a .350 (14-40) average with runners in scoring position…Since May 18, has 12 hits in 24 at-bats with RISP… He leads the NL in average (.500), slugging percentage (1.000) and OPS (1.567) and is tied for the league lead in OBP (.567) with RISP over that timeframe.
BACK IN THE CITI: The Mets are 19-19 at home this year and have posted a 3.91 ERA…The Mets went 28-15 at home before the All-Star break last season.
GIRL DAD POWER: Over the last 14 games, Francisco Lindor is batting .304 (14-46) with 11 runs, two doubles, five home runs, 11 RBI, seven walks, three steals with a .393 OBP and a .674 SLG…Over the last 24 games, Lindor has posted a .936 OPS, batting .263 (21- 80) with 16 runs, four doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBI, 13 walks,
five steals with a .361 OBP and a .575 SLG…He has posted a 2.5 fWAR this year, which ranks 15th in the National League…His 36 extra-base hits are tied for the 11th most in the National League.
FIRST IS THE BEST: The Mets are 24-11 (.686) when scoring first this season…The Mets are 13-35 (.271) when their opponent scores first.
FIRST IS THE WORST: The Mets have been outscored 59-23 in the first inning this year…New York has posted a 5.86 ERA (54 ER/83.0 IP) in the first inning this season…That is the sixth-highest first inning ERA in the majors…Last year, the Mets posted a 4.39 ERA (79 ER/162.0 IP) in the first frame.
INVADER NIM: Brandon Nimmo has recorded six home runs over his last 14 games, posting a .947 OPS in that span…Nimmo is batting .317 (32-102) with 10 extra-base hits against left-handed pitchers this year…His .317 average is the seventh-highest mark by a lefty against southpaws this season…It is fourth in the National League behind Miamis Luis Arraez (.375), Chicago’s Cody Bellinger (.323) and Philadelphia’s Bryson Stott (.321).
FINALLY CAUGHT ME: Starling Marte was caught stealing on Friday, ending a franchise-record run of 35 consecutive stolen bases without being caught…The last time a Mets player was thrown out attempting a stolen base before last night was on May 10 (Francisco Lindor at second)…The Mets are first in the major leagues with a 89.7% stolen base success rate this season…Starling Marte has swiped 21 bags this year, tied for sixth in the majors and third in the National League…His 335 career stolen bases rank second among active players…Elvis Andrus is the active leader with 341 steals.
STARTING PITCHER – DAVID PETERSON LHP #23
2023 STATS: 2-6, 7.00 E R A
PETERSON’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type Usage Rate vs. LHB vs. RHB Avg. Velocity
Four-Seam Fastball 29.2% 27.5% 29.9% 92.7 mph
Slider 23.9% 35.6% 19.5% 85.6 mph
Sinker 20.3% 28.4% 17.4% 91.7 mph
Changeup 20.2% 1.8% 27.0% 85.5 mph
Curveball 6.3% 6.8% 6.2% 78.8 mph
LAST TIME OUT: Threw 6.0 innings and allowed no runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts for the Mets in their 7-2 win at Citi Field against Milwaukee on 6/27.
DAVID VS. GOLIATH: Tonight, Peterson will face the Giants for the third time of his career and the first time this season…He has made two starts in his career against San Francisco…He’s posted a 7.36 ERA (9 ER/11.2 IP) in those starts.
A MINUTE IN THE MINORS: Peterson was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on April 29, was recalled on May 9, then optioned again on May 16…In his first start with Syracuse following his May 16 option, he dealt 8.0 shutout innings, allowed just two hits and struck out nine…For his effort, he as named International League Pitcher of the Week…All told, he has made seven starts for the Syracuse Mets this season…Has a 1-2 record with a 4.86 ERA (20 ER/37.0 IP).
LETHAL LEFTY: Peterson has limited lefties to a .237 (54-228) average in his career…He whiffed 32 of the 96 left-handed batters he faced last year, a 33 percent strikeout rate that ranked fourth among all left-handed pitchers to face a minimum of 90 LHB in 2022.
SLIP ‘N’ SLIDE: Peterson held batters to a .175 (24-137) average with his slider last season and 78 of his 126 strikeouts came on the pitch…His 52.0 slider-strikeout percentage was the second-highest in MLB (min. 150 PA) behind only teammate Edwin Díaz (54.7) and his 47.9 whiff percentage with the pitch was the thirdhighest in the majors behind only Díaz (54.7) and Seattle’s Andres Muñoz (50.8).
FOUR-HIT WONDER: Peterson has allowed five or more hits in all nine of his major league starts this season, the longest streak of his career…Before this stretch, he had only allowed more than four hits in consecutive starts four times in his career…The southpaw allowed four hits or fewer in 12 of his 19 starts and 21 of his 28 appearances overall last season…He held the opposition to four hits or fewer in 39 of his 53 career games entering 2023.
STRIKE ‘EM OUT, STRIKE ‘EM OUT: Peterson struck out at least five batters in 11 straight starts from June 20-September 9 last season, the second-longest streak by a left-handed starter last season…It was the sixth-longest streak by a Mets left-handed starter in franchise history…Peterson had 82 strikeouts across 58.2 innings during that span (13 G/11 GS) good for a 12.58 K/9 ratio.
