SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Giants and Dodgers meet tonight for the first time since June to kick off a four-game set…SF plays seven of its last 10 games of the season against the Dodgers. According to Stats, LLC, this is SF’s 10th time in franchise history closing out a season with seven of the last 10 games against a single team. The last time they did so was in 2014, when the Giants faced the Padres seven times in their last 10 games. Entering play today, the Giants have dropped five of six games on the road trip to Colorado (1-3) and Arizona (0-2)… the pitching staff has allowed 42 runs in that span (7 runs/ game), with the bullpen posting a 7.33 ERA (19er, 23.1ip).
ROSTER MOVES: The Giants made the following roster moves: RHP Tristan Beck (#43) and IF Marco Luciano (#37) recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. IF/OF Tyler Fitzgerald (#49) selected from Triple-A Sacramento. RHP Sean Hjelle optioned to Triple-A Sacramento postgame yesterday. IF Brandon Crawford placed on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain. IF Paul DeJong placed on unconditional release waivers.
A WILD RACE: Entering today at 76-76 (.500), the Giants currently sit 3.0 games behind the Cubs and 4.5 games behind the Diamondbacks for the final two spots in the NL Wild Card race…the Giants also trail the Reds by 2.0 games and the Marlins by 2.5 games. Entering play today, FanGraphs gives SF a 1.9% chance of making the postseason. The Giants have the second-toughest remaining strength of schedule in MLB at .578, behind only the Nationals (.635).
THE RUNNING GAME: The Giants have scored 40 runs in their six games against the Dodgers this season…SF’s 6.67 runs/ game would be its second-highest average vs. LA in a season in the modern era, trailing only their 7.18 average in their first season in California (1958).
According to Stats, LLC, SF’s 6.67 runs/game is the highest single-season average by any MLB team against the Dodgers since the 2006 Braves (6.83) (min. 5 games).
ROAD WOES: SF has dropped 25 of its last 30 road games since July 19, the worst road record of any team in the Majors in that span. It also marks SF’s worst 30-game stretch on the road within a single season since also going 5-25 from July 12-September 15, 1953 (Elias). The Giants have been outscored by a 176-100 margin on the road since July 19. Giants pitchers have posted a 5.76 ERA (158er, 246.2ip)… only the Cardinals (5.78 ERA) have a worse figure. SF is plating just 3.33 runs per game in these last 30 road contests, the fewest of any MLB team…the Giants’ .626 OPS is the lowest in MLB. SF’s last road series victory was a three-game sweep at Pittsburgh right after the All-Star Break, July 14-16.
LEADOFF LAMONTE: IF/OF LaMonte Wade Jr. slugged his eighth career leadoff home run yesterday at Arizona and his fifth this year.
Wade’s five leadoff homers this season are tied for the third-most by a Giant in a year…the last Giant with as many such homers was Ray Durham, who recorded nine in 2004. Each of Wade’s five leadoff homers this season have come at a different ballpark (Chase Field, Oracle Park, Estadio Helú (MX), Truist Park and Wrigley Field)…only Bobby Bonds (1973) has hit a leadoff homer in more different parks (6) in a year.
It marked SF’s seventh leadoff home run this season, the most by the club since 2004, when the team totaled 11 such homers
YER A WIZARD, HARRY: LHP Kyle Harrison returns to the Giants rotation and is slated to make his sixth career start tonight…the southpaw has dominated right-handed batters since making his MLB debut on August 22. Harrison’s .189 opponent average against righties is the lowest by a Giants rookie in a season (min. 5 starts) since Matt Cain in 2005 (.143) (Stats, LLC).
EL DE BEJUMA: IF Thairo Estrada has a career-best 40 extra-base hits this season (26 doubles, two triples, 12 homers)… with his 22 steals, Estrada became just the fifth middle infielder in Giants history to record at least 40 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases in a single season.
He is the first Giants player of any position to reach those marks in a season since Hunter Pence in 2013 (67 XBH, 22 SB).
TODAY’S STARTER – KYLE HARRISON LHP #45
2023 RECORD: 1-1, 5.18 ERA
WITH THE GIANTS: Made his MLB debut on Aug. 22 at Philadelphia…was selected in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of De La Salle High School (Concord, CA).
TODAY’S GAME: Is slated to make his sixth-career start and his first since he optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Sept. 15…Harrison was recalled yesterday after RHP Alex Cobb and RHP Keaton Winn both landed in the IL.
LAST OUTING: Took a no-decision in SF’s 6-5, 10th inning walkoff win vs. Cleveland on September 13…the southpaw worked 4.0 innings and allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits (one homer)…his earned runs came on a two-run homer to CLE’s José Ramírez and a one-run single to Josh Naylor…SF has won three of the last four games Harrison’s pitched in.
HOLD YOUR HORSES: Harrison had just six swing-and-misses out of the 43 swings (14 percent) he generated against Cleveland, which was his lowest percentage in any start this season, according to Sports Info Solutions…his low swing-and-miss rate could be due to his lack of getting ahead in counts, as his 55% first pitch strike rate is down compared to the league average (66%).
THE PUNCHES…: Harrison’s three strikeouts last time out brought his season total to 29, which matched Juan Marichal in 1960 for the fifth-most strikeouts through any Giants’ first five games…the last Giant with as many strikeouts in that span was Tim Lincecum’s 33 strikeouts though his first five starts in 2007.
THE HOMERS…:.After allowing a 1st inning homer to CLE’s José Ramírez, Harrison has given up the most home runs (seven) in a player’s first five career games in franchise history…Harrison has allowed 17 runs total at the big league level so far…11 of those 17 have been scored on homers (64.7%).
FUTURE DODGER KILLER?: Although Harrison is pitching in his first-career game against Los Angeles-NL, he faced the Oklahoma City Dodgers in Triple-A four times this season…Harrison had a 1.26 ERA (2er, 14.1ip) with 29 strikeouts and just three hits allowed in those four starts…none of the players he faced in those starts are on LA’s current active roster.
THINGS LEFT TO LEARN?: Since his debut with SF, however, lefties have given Harrison quite a bit of trouble…they’ve gone 12-for-24 (.500) off Harrison with five XBH (two doubles, three homers)… furthermore, Harrison has yet to strike out a left-handed batter in the Majors with all 29 of his punchouts coming to RHBs…righties at the MLB-level are 14-for-74 (.189) vs. Harrison with seven XBH (two doubles, one triple, four homers).
GRAB SOME PINE, MEAT: Harrison logged 14 strikeouts through his first 30 career batters faced, the third-most by a starter since 1901 (other: WSH’s Stephen Strasburg with 17 in 2010, MIL’s Freddy Peralta with 15 in 2018)…he also became the only left-handed pitcher in the modern era to strike out 40% or more of the batters he faced through his first two starts (OptaSTATS).
RAKING IN THE AWARDS: In addition to being the No. 1 ranked player in the SF system on MLB.com, Harrison is the game’s No. 20 overall prospect and top left-hander…he has earned 10 awards on MiLB.com including two Triple-A Pitcher of the Week awards this year
TIME ON THE IL: After returning from a hamstring strain on July 31, Harrison pitched in four Minor League games, three for Triple-A Sacramento, posting a 3.86 ERA (4er, 9.1ip) with 13 strikeouts at Triple-A…he suffered a moderate hamstring strain on July 5 while training in between starts and did not pitch in the Futures Game.
JOINING THE PARTY: The lefty was the Giants’ third draft pick from the 2020 draft to make his debut, joining C Patrick Bailey and IF Casey Schmitt.
HE’S NOT ALONE: Harrison became the 11th Giants player to make their MLB debut this season, and fourth pitcher…he also became the first Giants pitcher to start in his MLB debut since RHP Logan Webb on August 17, 2019 at Arizona. BAY AREA’S OWN:Harrison was born in San Jose and attended nearby De La Salle High School in Concord, California.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: The Dodgers saw their five-game winning streak snapped last night by the Tigers in their final interleague game of the season. Los Angeles closed interleague play with a mark of 30-16, tied for the best record in the big leagues with Toronto. Tonight, the Boys in Blue begin their final regular season home series of the year with the first of four vs. the San Francisco Giants. The Giants have beaten the Dodgers in four of six games this year, including a three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium from June 16-18. That is the only time Los Angeles has been swept all season long. Following this tilt with San Francisco at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers wrap up the 2023 campaign with a seven-game road trip, featuring stops at Coors Field (Sept. 26-28) and Oracle Park (Sept. 29-Oct. 1). The Dodgers are just three games back in the loss column to the Atlanta Braves for the top seed in the National League and their magic number to earn a first-round bye is three. Los Angeles is 42-20 (.677) in the second half, which is the best record in the Majors post All-Star break, ahead of the Baltimore Orioles (41-22, .651). After finishing with the best second-half record in 2021 and ’22, Los Angeles is attempting to become just the third franchise to possess the best post All-Star break record for three consecutive seasons, joining the Braves (1991-93), Red Sox (1948-50) and Yankees (1937-39).
TURN THE PAGE: The Dodgers lost the series finale with the Tigers last night, 4-2, mustering just three hits and seven total baserunners. Max Muncy got the Dodgers on the board in the sixth inning, belting his 36th home run of the season, which ties a career best (2021). On the mound, rookie right-hander Bobby Miller was solid, turning in the Dodgers’ 49th quality start of the season (T-10th, NL) after allowing two runs and three hits while striking out seven in 6.0 innings. The Dodgers have a chance to have four 100+ RBI men for the first time in franchise history. Mookie Betts (103) and Max Muncy (102) are already there, while Freddie Freeman (94) and Martinez (92) are knocking on the doorstep. Since moving to Los Angeles in 1958, the Dodgers have never had more than two players with 100 or more RBI. The Brooklyn Dodgers had three players reach the mark in six different seasons (1930, 1949-51, ’53, ’55), including three times by the Hall of Fame trio of Gil Hodges,
Duke Snider and Roy Campanella.
WESTERN SKIES: The Dodgers are 27-14 vs. the National League West this season, including a 15-7 mark at Dodger Stadium. With 11 games left to play in 2023, Los Angeles is 81-36 (.692) against the NL West over the last two seasons. Including this year, the Dodgers have posted 10 straight winning seasons against the National League West division, including four 50+ win seasons against their NL West foes (2014, 2019, 2021-22). THE CHAMPS: With the Dodger win on Saturday night, they clinched their 10th NL West crown in the last 11 seasons and will head to the postseason for the 11th straight year, joining the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees as the only franchises in Major League Baseball history to make the postseason 10+ straight seasons. The Braves went to the playoffs 14 straight years from 1991 to 2005 and the Yankees 13 straight seasons from 1995 to 2007. The Dodgers have the longest active playoff streak in the Majors, ahead of the Houston Astros, who look to make it seven in a row with a berth this season.
SEASON FOR THE AGES: Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman went 0-for-4, but drove in his 94th run of the season with an RBI groundout. On Monday, he became the first Dodger first baseman in history to join the 20- 20 club and just the second first baseman in franchise lore with 20+ steals (Jackie Robinson, 29 – 1947). Also on Monday, he became one of four players in MLB history to post 25+ homers, 50+ doubles and 20+ stolen bases in a single season, joining Grady Sizemore (2006), Alfonso Soriano (2002) and Chuck Klein (1932). Freeman is now four doubles away from becoming the first player with 60+ doubles since Charlie Gehringer (60) and Joe Medwick (64) in 1936. The All-Star ranks second in the Majors with a career-high 124 runs and trails only Ronald Acuña Jr. (139). He is third in the Majors with 198 hits and leads the big leagues with 84 extra-base hits, while his .333 average ranks third. He is just two hits away from reaching 200 knocks for the first time in his career and the California native is closing in on uncharted territory as he is tied for 14th all-time with 56 doubles in a season:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL – ALL-TIME SINGLE SEASON DOUBLE LEADERS
- Earl Webb 67 Boston Red Sox 1931
T-2.. George H. Burns 64 Cleveland Guardians 1926
T-2. Joe Medwick 64 St. Louis Cardinals 1936
T-4. Hank Greenberg 63 Detroit Tigers 1934
T-4. Paul Waner 63 Pittsburgh Pirates 1932 - Charlie Gehringer 60 Detroit Tigers 1936
T-14. Freddie Freeman 56 Los Angeles Dodgers 2023
OH WHAT A RELIEF: The Dodger bullpen allowed two runs (one earned) last night and still own the best September ERA in the National League (1.78), trailing only Tampa Bay (1.68) for the big league lead. In addition, Dodger right-hander Brusdar Graterol tossed another scoreless frame last night and now has a Dodger season-high 22.0 inning scoreless streak dating back to July 25. Dodger right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier has been just as dominant as Graterol, posting a 0.75 (3 ER/36.0 IP) in his 35 games as a Dodger going back to June 21.
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs. GIANTS: RHP EMMET SHEEHAN (3-1, 1 SV, 5.44 ERA in 11 G, 9 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
- The New York native tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief in his last outing on September 16 against the Mariners, allowing one hit while striking out five in the no decision…in his second stint with the Dodgers this season after being added to the expanded roster on September 1
- Picked up his first big league save on August 3, tossing four relief innings and giving up three hits, two runs and two walks while striking out three Became the first starting pitcher since at least 1967 to fire 8.0 consecutive hitless innings to begin his Major League career according to
Elias (Billy Rohr; April 14, 1967) - Made his Major League debut against the Giants on June 16, spinning six no-hit innings, only giving up two walks while striking out three in the no decision… joins Ross Stripling as the only Dodger pitchers to pitch at least six no-hit innings in their MLB debut (April 8, 2016)
- Owns a 4-2 record across 15 games (11 starts) with Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City with a 2.43 ERA (17 ER/63.0 IP) with 102 strikeouts and 29 walks…has limited the opposition to a .131/.253/.252 slashline
- He led the Texas League in ERA, strikeouts, batting average against (.131) and WHIP (0.88)
VS. GIANTS:
- He made his only start against San Francisco in his Major League debut on June 16, 2023, tossing 6.0 hitless innings, allowing just two walks while striking out three in the no decision
