SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: With a victory in tow from yesterday, the Giants will try and secure a series victory in the second game of this three-game series here in Pittsburgh…SF has won four of its last five games dating to July 5 before the All-Star break.
IN A RELATED NOTE: Minor League Catching Coordinator Lance Burkhart is with the Giants in Pittsburgh while Albernaz is out.
COMEBACK KIDS…: Last night’s win marked SF’s 23rd win after trailing at any point in a game this season…that total is tied for ninth-most in MLB…17 of those 23 comeback wins have come since May 15, tied for third-most in the Majors in that time…only Cincinnati(21) and Baltimore (18) have had more comeback wins in that time.
TRENDING UPWARD?: The Giants have won four of their last five games and are now 8-9 in their last 17 games overall… their six runs scored last night were the most they’ve scored in a game since scoring seven in a 7-6 win over the Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on June 24 and they’ve now scored at least five runs in two of their last three games (all wins).
THE BIG PICTURE: The Giants have been one of the best teams in baseball over the last 2+ months, posting a 39-25 (.609) record since May 1…SF’s .609 winning percentage in that stretch second-best in the Majors…only Atlanta (43-20, .683) has been better.
COME IN AND CONTRIBUTE: Entering play today, Giants rookies have 98 RBI, second-most in the Majors behind Cincinnati (101)…they’ve accounted for 23.8% of the team’s RBI’s this year (98-of-412) which is also second-most in the Majors behind the A’s (26.2%).
CATCHING ON?:C Patrick Bailey delivered the game-winning hit for SF last night with his two-run single in the 7th inning… since Bailey’s first game on May 19, he leads qualified MLB catchers in batting average (.290), is second in RBI (27) and is tied for second in extra-base hits (17)…his .803 OPS is third-best among qualified MLB catchers in that time.
SADDLE UP, BOYS: This 11-game trip is SF’s longest of the season and one of two trips this year where they will visit three or more cities…the other three-city, 10-game trip this year comes in September when SF visits Colorado (four games), Arizona (two games) and the Dodgers (four games) from September 14-24…below is a look at some of SF’s recent three-city trips and how they’ve done
AT HOME…ON THE ROAD?: Giants pitching has been quite successful on the road since May 15, leading the Majors with a 3.22 road ERA in that time…below are SF’s pitching rankings since May 15.
FEELIN’ THE FLO: IF Wilmer Flores notched two more hits last night to help in SF’s victory…over his last 20 games (since June 3), Flores has slashed 377/.443/.557 with five doubles, two homers, eight RBI, eight runs scored, seven walks and only six strikeouts in 70 plate appearances…Flores also missed a 10-game stretch in that span while he was on the IL after fouling a ball off his left foot on June 16 at the Dodgers.
SHAKE AND BLAKE…: C/OF Blake Sabol has 10 homers as the Giants come out of the break…there haven’t been all that many Giant rookies to head into the All-Star break with double-digit homers since the first MLB All-Star Game in 1933…a full list is below courtesy of Stats, LLC…Sabol will be playing his first games here at PNC Park in this series…he was originally a seventh-round pick of the Pirates in 2019 out of the University of Southern California.
TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX COBB RHP #38
2023 RECORD: 6-2, 2.91 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.
HEY NOW YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: Was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career last Saturday 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…in a speech to his teammates he said, “There’s so many guys in this clubhouse that I look at as way more deserving to be going to this game, so to represent you guys, it really is an honor. I’ve been wanting this for a long time, and it’s surreal that it’s actually happening. This is one of the best clubhouses I’ve been a part of. When we get back for the second half, we have some chances to do something really special. So, go enjoy your break. We’ll go represent us. And then when we get back let’s whoop some a**.”
FIRST HALF WRAP: Was one of the Giants most reliable pitchers in the first half of the season, posting a 6-2 record with a 2.91 ERA (29er, 89.2ip) over 16 starts…his 2.91 ERA ranked as the fifth-best figure in the National League over the first half (min. 85.0ip)…he allowed two earned runs or less in 12 of his 16 starts.
WINNER, WINNER: The Giants have a 12-4 record over 16 games when Cobb takes the mound and have won nine of the last 10 games he’s started…they’ve won each of his last five starts dating to June 3….the last time the club lost in a Cobb start was May 28 at Minnesota.
LAST TIME OUT W/SF: Won his fifth consecutive start, as he threw 6.0-scoreless innings, allowing six hits with seven strikeouts in his last start on July 5 against the Mariners…he hasn’t allowed a home run over his last five starts.
IN THE ALL-STAR GAME: Cobb worked 1.0 scoreless inning Tuesday in Seattle (17 pitches)…he was originally slated to start yesterday’s game here in Pittsburgh but he said he threw so many warm up pitches during the ASG that they felt it was prudent to push him back a day.
VS. PITTSBURGH: Is slated to face the Pirates for just the fourth Time in his career…is 0-1 with a 4.24 ERA (8er, 17.0ip) over three career starts…has made two starts at PNC Park and posted a 1.50 ERA with a .150 opponents average…last threw here on June 19, 2022 and allowed two runs in 4.0 innings of work.
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.
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 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA (23er, 46.0ip) over nine starts…however the Giants play well when he starts on the road or at home having posted a 7-2 record when he starts on the road and a 5-2 record when he starts at home.
BANANA SPLITS: Opponents are hitting .324 (12-for-37) off his curveball and .368 (7-for-19) off his slider, compared to a .256 average (43-for-168) off his split finger and .278 (37- for-133) off his sinker…opponents were 0-for-9 off his sinker in his last outing.
LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT: Since June 3, right-handed opponents are 8-for-their-last-48 (.167) off him, while left-handers are 22-for-their-last-63 (.349) with eight doubles.
RISP MANAGEMENT: Opponents are hitting .303 (63-for208) off him with 16 extra-base hits with no one on base… he’s holding opponents to a .168 average (16-for-95) with runners in scoring position…the .168 opponent’s clip with RISP is fourth-lowest in the Majors among starters (min. 85ip).
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Opponents are batting .381 (16-for42) with six extra base hits (four doubles, one triple, one homer) off him on the first pitch of an at-bat.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES: Dropped their first game following the All-Star break with a 6-4 loss last night against the Giants…Have lost each of their last three series since sweeping San Diego here at PNC Park from June 27-29…Have had five separate winning streaks of at least four games this season, including a season-high seven-game winning streak from 4/17-23.
ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Johan Oviedo gets the start tonight in the second game of this series against the Giants… This is Oviedo’s second start this season against San Francisco…He allowed one run in 4.1 innings on May 30 at Oracle Park, but had a no-decision in Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win.
STAYING IN THE PARK: Johan Oviedo comes into today ranked 11th in the National League in home runs allowed per 9.0 innings (0.90), surrendering a total of 10 in 100.1 innings of work this year (teammate Mitch Keller ranks seventh in the NL with an average of 0.85 homers allowed per 9.0 innings)…Pittsburgh’s starting rotation has surrendered 56 home runs this season, which are the fourth-fewest in MLB…The only three starting rotations in MLB to allow fewer home runs this year are the Cardinals (53), Rays (54) and Giants (54).
PIRATES PROSPECTS: Last night Triple-A Indianapolis’ Endy Rodriguez hit a grand slam in his first game back since representing the Pirates organization at the All-Star Futures Game last weekend in Seattle…Since June 23, Rodriguez is hitting .364 (20-for-55) with four doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI and a .984 OPS in 13 games…Rodriguez is currently ranked 55th among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects in the game.
DOWN ON THE FARM: Termarr Johnson recorded the second multi home run game of his career as part of a 4-for-4 game at the plate last night for Low-A Bradenton..Since the beginning of last month, the 19-year-old Johnson’s nine home runs are the second-most among all players at the Low-A level.
ON THE MEND: Wil Crowe allowed one run on one hit in 1.0 inning of relief in his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Indianapolis last night against Memphis…Crowe threw a total of 19 pitches (nine strikes) for the Indians after having his rehab assignment transferred from Low-A Bradenton prior to the game…Crowe is now a combined 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA (4.1ip/3h/1r/2bb/4so) in four appearances (one start) on rehab.
DE LOS SANTOS DEALING: Yerry De Los Santos comes into today with a scoreless streak of 11.2 innings after working a scoreless ninth inning Friday night…Since he was promoted from Triple-A on June 15 for his second stint with the team this season, De Los Santos has allowed one run in 13.0 innings, recorded an .098 batting average against (4-for-41) and allowed one hit in 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
BOMBS IN BUNCHES: Ji Man Choi has gone deep in back-to-back games after doing so last night and in the final game prior to the All-Star break Sunday at Arizona…It’s the second time Choi has homered in back-to-back games this year (also April 10-11)…Six of Choi’s first eight hits as a Pirate have gone for extra bases (four home runs and two doubles).
GETTING ON: Henry Davis had a pair of hits last night and has now reached base safely in 18 of his first 21 games…Since making his big league debut on June 19, Davis’ .353 on-base percentage ranks third among all qualified National League rookies behind Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer (.388) and teammate Jared Triolo (.375).
THE HOT CORNER: Jared Triolo has hit safely in seven straight and in eight of his last nine games (10-for-33, .303)… Triolo is also hitting .368 (7-for-19) and .545 (6-for-11) with runners in scoring position since being promoted to the big leagues on June 28.
GIANT NUMBERS: Jack Suwinski has gone deep five times in seven career games against the Giants…He went deep twice at Oracle Park on May 29 and three times against the Giants on June 19 of last season (his last blast that day was a walkoff off Tyler Rogers in the ninth inning).
THE RENEGADE: All-Star David Bednar enters today with the second-lowest ERA (1.27) among all National League relievers, which also ranks fourth in all of MLB…The only three relief pitchers in MLB to record a lower ERA this year are Baltimore’s Felix Bautista (1.05), San Diego’s Josh Hader (1.06) and Toronto’s Tim Mayza (1.17).
STARTING PITCHER – 24 – RHP JOHAN OVIEDO
JOHAN OVIEDO: The 25-year-old righthander is making his 19th start tonight…He lost a 5-2 decision (6.2ip/5r) in his last start on 7/6 at Dodger Stadium.
vs. SAN FRANCISCO: 0-1 in two career starts…Had a no-decision (4.1ip/1er) in a 2-1 win at Oracle Park earlier this year on 5/30…He also lost a 5-2 decision (4.0ip/2er) as a member of the Cardinals on 7/7/21.
