SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: SF aims to end its season-opening six-game, 10-day road trip with a win in today’s series finale against the White Sox…SF dropped the first series of this trip two games to one in New York and will look for a series victory here today to head home with a .500 record…the only other time that the Giants have won a series here in Chicago against the Southsiders was their first visit here back in 2003 (2-1).
FEAST OR FAMINE…: In the Giants three losses on this road trip, they have scored three runs, been outscored 18-5 and have a total of 11 hits…in SF’s two wins on this road trip they’ve totaled 19 runs, outscored the opposition 19-8 and have 26 hits that includes nine home runs.
TRUTH SERUM: SF dropped yesterday’s game 7-3 despite drawing nine walks…the Giants had won their previous 19 games in which they walked at least nine times…their last loss in such a game prior to yesterday was May 15, 2012 vs. Colorado on coincidentally enough a Marco Scutaro homer in the 9th inning (Sports Info Solutions).
TOUGH TIMES IN THE CHI: Since 2005, the White Sox have had the Giants number during Interleague play, going 12-3 (.800) vs. SF…according to Stats, LLC, the .800 winning percentage is tied for fourth-best in the Majors vs. any single Interleague opponent (min. 10 games) in that time.
Best Record vs. Any Single Interleague Opponent – Since 2005 (min. 10g) (Stats, LLC)
Team vs. Opponent Record
Yankees vs. Cubs 14-2 (.875)
Red Sox vs. Reds 14-3 (.824)
Braves vs. A’s 13-3 (.813)
Team vs. Opponent Record
White Sox vs. Giants 12-3 (.800)
Mariners vs. Reds 12-3 (.800)
Astros vs. Mets 8-2 (.800)
ARRIVEDERCI!: With IF J.D. Davis slugging a homer yesterday, the Giants now have hit 10 homers through their first five games…that total is tied for most by a Giants team since at least 1901 through its first five games…the club’s most through six games is 11 homers (2021, 2016, 2003 and 2002).
Giants, Most Home Runs Through Five Games (1901-present)
Year, Team Home Runs
2023 SF Giants 10
2021 SF Giants 10
1947 NY Giants 10
Year, Team Home Runs
Eight Teams 9
GOING DEEP(ER): The Giants 10 homers are tied for fifth-most in the Majors heading into action today (tied for second-most in the NL with Atlanta and Cincinnati)…the Dodgers lead the Majors with 13 homers…if you look at it a bit differently, SF has averaged one homer every 17.00 at-bats so far in 2023, fourth-best in MLB behind the Dodgers (14.62), Rays (15.46) and Reds (16.10)…for reference, the Giants season average for HR/AB in 2022 was one HR every 29.46 at-bats (12th in MLB) and was one homer every 22.66 ABs in 2021 (3rd-best).
THAT’S A BIG PIECE OF PIE: According to Sports Info Solutions SF has scored 14 of its 22 runs this year on home runs (64%)… that’s third-highest in MLB behind the Marlins (73%) and Reds (also 64%).
CAN WE PUT AN ESPRESSO MACHINE IN THE DUGOUT?: The Giants are 1-for-16 in the 1st inning this season (SIS).
DON’T YOU…FORGET ABOUT ME: LHP Alex Wood starts the series finale for SF and is the only pitcher on the 26-man active roster yet to play in a game for the Giants this season due to the two off days the team has had to start the year…Wood last threw in a game back on March 26 at the Oakland Coliseum vs. the A’s, working into the 6th inning and striking out 10 batters while allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits in the 94-pitch effort…Wood went 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA a season ago in 26 starts for SF.
EARLY POLLING NUMBERS…: The Giants have struck out 63 times through their first five games, second-most in the Majors behind only the Miami Marlins who have struck out 74 times but have played two more games (seven)…SF is striking out at a 31.7% clip this year (63 strikeouts in 199 plate appearances), also second highest in the Majors behind Miami (31.9%)…for reference in 2022, SF’s strikeout percentage was 23.9% while in 2021 it was 23.6%).
YOU GOTTA EARN IT: Giants pitching has walked only 13 batters through its first five games (42.0 innings), fourth-fewest in the Majors just behind the Dodgers (six), Yankees (12) and Orioles (12)…SF’s 2.79 BB/9ip ratio is ninth-lowest in the Majors early on.
HEADING HOME: Following today’s game, the Giants will head back to San Francisco for their first homestand of the year…SF is 40-25 (.615) in home openers since 1958, including a 16-7 mark (.696) at Oracle Park (since 2000)…SF has won 16 of their last 22 home openers and each of their last two dating to 2021…last season, the Giants opened the season with a 6-5 extra inning, walk-off victory over the Marlins.
TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX WOOD LHP #57
WITH THE GIANTS: Begins his third season with the Giants…signed a two-year Major League contract with San Francisco on December 1, 2021 after spending the 2021 season in a Giants uniform…today marks his first appearance this year and will mark his 241st game and 191st start in his career.
SPRING TRAINING: Made four starts this spring, going 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA (6er, 15.0ip) with 24 strikeouts and 0.87 WHIP…his last spring start came on March 26 at Oakland where he tossed 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts.
VS. WHITE SOX: Has faced the White Sox only once in his career on August 15, 2017 when he was a member of the Dodgers…threw 7.0 innings and allowed just one run on six hits with six strikeouts.
2022 SEASON: Went 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA (74er, 130.2ip) in 26 starts with SF going 12-14…in two seasons with the Giants Wood is 18-16 (133er, 269.1ip) with 69 walks, 31 homeruns and a batting average against of .249 (257-for-1033).
AWAY VS. HOME: While pitching on the road last season Wood finished 5-7 with a 5.51 ERA (41er, 67.0ip), struk out 68, walked 18 and allowed 12 home runs…he fared better at home in 2022, posting a 4.66 ERA (33er, 63.2ip) while going 3-5 and striking out 63 batters in 63.2 innings.
LEFTOVERS: Wood dominated left-handed batters last season, holding them to a .193 average (23-for-119) with five walks and 36 strikeouts…he allowed just three extra-base hits against lefties (one HR and two doubles) all year and posted a .464 OPS overall… right-handers hit .283 (109-for-385) with a .800 OPS.
MY SALES PITCH: His go-to pitch last season was the sinker, as he used the pitch 45.5% of the time…he recorded 68 of his 131 strikeouts last year with his sinker…that was in contrast to his first season with SF in 2021 where he still used the sinker about the same percentage of the time (46.4%) but his main strikeout pitch was the slider as he recorded 91 of his 152 strikeouts (59.8%) that year.
ORDER UP…: In 2022, Wood limited opposing hitters to a .645 OPS and a .241 average the first time through the order…the second time through those numbers went up to a .706 OPS and a .256 average…the third time through opponents had a .941 OPS and a .326 average off Wood.
PACING: Averaged 15.1 seconds between pitches when the bases were empty during the 2022 season, 25th-quickest in the Majors last year (league average is 18.1 seconds)…with runners on however, Wood slows it down a bit, averaging 21.3 seconds between pitches…that rate was still well under league average (23.3 seconds).
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox conclude their first homestand of the season this afternoon against the San Francisco Giants.
RHP Lance Lynn, who is 7-4 with a 2.56 ERA (26 ER/91.1 IP) in 15 starts since the 2022 All-Star Break, is scheduled to start for the White Sox.
The teams have split the first two games of this series, with the Sox posting a 7-3 victory yesterday after dropping a 12-3 decision on Monday in their home opener.
Following today’s game, the Sox take a six-game trip to Pittsburgh (4/7-9) and Minnesota (4/10-12) before returning home vs. Baltimore (4/14-16) and Philadelphia (4/17-19).
The White Sox play just three games vs. AL Central teams in April (4/10-12 at the Twins) … from 4/14-30, they play 16 straight games vs. AL/National League East clubs.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
The White Sox have won six of their last seven games against San Francisco and are 12-3 since 2008.
Lance Lynn has thrown 21.0 consecutive scoreless IP over his last three starts against San Francisco (all at Oracle Park), allowing 10 hits … Lynn threw 7.0 IP on 8/29/15, 8.0 on 9/2/17 and 6.0 on 7/1/22.
Yoán Moncada is tied for the American League lead with six extra-base hits and 21 total bases and ranks among the leaders in numerous other categories.
The Sox have recorded 10-plus hits in five of six games.
White Sox pitchers have issued a MLB-high 35 walks this season, including 17 through two games of this series.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Dylan Cease combined with five relievers on a four-hitter, Gavin Sheets drove in three runs, and Elvis Andrus collected his 2,000th career hit to lead the White Sox to a 7-3 victory over San Francisco.
Cease allowed one run on one hit with five walks and eight strikeouts over 5.0 IP, improving to 5-3 with a 1.35 ERA (13 ER/86.2 IP) in his last 14 home starts since 5/29/22.
Sheets hit a RBI single in the first inning and a two-run single in the seventh … Andrus became the fourth active player and 290th in MLB history to reach 2,000 hits with a fifth-inning single
off Giants starter Logan Webb.
The White Sox outhit the Giants, 13-4, and went 7-12 with RISP … Luis Robert Jr. was 3-4 with a double, RBI and two runs scored, and Andrew Benintendi (2-4, 2 R) and Yoán Moncada (2-4, RBI) also posted multihit efforts.
Jake Diekman (1.0 IP), Aaron Bummer (0.2) and Reynaldo López (0.1) all posted holds with scoreless outings.
Sox pitchers issued nine walks, their most in a victory since 4/20/21 at Cleveland, but held Giants hitters to a 1-10 mark with RISP (11 left on base).
Tim Anderson was ejected in the third inning (eighth career).
ELVIS BECOMES MR. 2,000
Elvis Andrus yesterday became the 290th player in MLB history to record 2,000 hits with a fifth-inning single off San Francisco starter Logan Webb.
Andrus ranks fourth among active players in hits, trailing only Miguel Cabrera (3,090), Joey Votto (2,093) and Nelson Cruz (2,019) … he has recorded 1,743 hits with Texas, 205 with Oakland and 52 with the White Sox.
SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .271/.337/.430 (337-1,242) vs. left-handed pitching since the start of 2022 … during that span, the Sox led the American League in average, rank second in on-base percentage and OPS (.767) and fourth in slugging.
Since 2019, Tim Anderson owns a .349/.379/.560 (137-393) slash line vs. LHP, while Hanser Alberto is hitting .343/.362/.484 (169-492) … Luis Robert is a career .353/.405/.605 (67-190) hitter vs. lefties.
WHITE SOX VS. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
The White Sox lead the all-time series, 13-5, going 7-1 at Oracle Park and 6-4 at Guaranteed Field Park.
The Sox swept a three-game series at Oracle Park from 7/1- 3/22 and won two of three games at Guaranteed Rate Field in the last meeting in 2017, with José Abreu hitting for the cycle on 9/9/17.
INTERLEAGUE INSIGHT
The White Sox are 254-231 (.524) all-time in interleague play (131-111 at home), the seventh-best winning percentage in MLB.
The Sox went 11-9 last season after posting a 14-6 record in 2021 … they are 22-11 since 7/25/21.
The White Sox rank second all-time with 607 home runs, trailing only Toronto (647) and the Yankees (616).
CEASE AND DESTROY
Dylan Cease, who finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting last season, has gone 11-6 with a 1.51 ERA (25 ER/148.2 IP) and 174 strikeouts over his last 25 starts dating to 5/29/22.
During that stretch, Cease leads MLB in ERA and opponents average (.167) … he has allowed one or no earned runs in 20 of the 25 starts.
SEARCHING FOR HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
The White Sox went 37-44 (.457) at home in 2022, the 12thbest winning percentage in the American League … by comparison, the Sox were 53-28 (.654) at home in 2021, the best record in the AL and their best mark since 2008 (54-28).
The White Sox hit 77 home runs at Guaranteed Rate Field, their fewest in a season since 2015 (73) … they ranked 11th in the AL with a 4.36 ERA, up from a 3.53 mark in 2021 when they were second behind only Tampa Bay (2.93).
BEST ABILITY IS AVAILABILITY
RHP Lance Lynn (21 starts), All-Star SS Tim Anderson (79 games), 3B Yoán Moncada (104) and OFs Eloy Jiménez (84) and Luis Robert Jr. (98) all missed significant time in 2022.
The White Sox projected Opening Day lineup was together for just one game last season, a 3-2 loss on 8/4 at Texas.
ON DECK: AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES
The White Sox begin a six-game trip tomorrow afternoon at Pittsburgh in the Pirates home opener.
RHP Lucas Giolito is scheduled to start the opener of the three-game series … Giolito is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA (8 ER/23.1 IP) and 28 strikeouts in four career starts against the Pirates … he threw the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history on 8/25/20 at Guaranteed Rate Field, walking none with 13 strikeouts. l The Sox lead the all-time series, 23-19, including a 10-12 record in Pittsburgh (8-9 at PNC Park) … they have won six of the last eight games following an eight-game losing streak.
Andrew Benintendi is a .375/.444/.667 (9-24) hitter with two home runs and 10 RBI in six career games against the Pirates.
TODAY’S STARTER – #33 LANCE LYNN RHP
LYNN AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his second start of the season and first at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Went 6-2 with a 2.26 ERA (17 ER/67.2 IP), .220 (56- 254) opponents average and 68 strikeouts over his last 11 starts dating back to 8/14/22.
Ranks among MLB active pitchers in HR/9.0 IP (4th, 0.90), SO/9.0 IP (7th, 9.05), opponents average (8th, .241), opponents SLG (8th, .380), wins (9th, 123), opponents OPS (10th, .691), ERA (11th, 3.52), IP (11th, 1,711.0), WHIP (11th, 1.26), opponents OBP (11th, .311), starts (T11th, 286) and strikeouts (13th, 1,721).
Signed a two-year contract extension with a club option with the White Sox on 7/17/21 … under terms of the extension, he will receive $18.5 million in both 2022 and 2023, with the Sox holding an $18-million option for 2024 with a $1-million buyout.
Is a two-time All-Star (2012 and 2021) … has finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019, sixth in 2020 and third in 2021.
Was a member of the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.
Was acquired from Texas in exchange for RHP Dane Dunning and LHP Avery Weems on 12/8/20.
LAST START
Received a no decision in his season debut on 3/31 at Houston, allowing two runs on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts over 5.2 IP … held the Astros scoreless before allowing a two-out, two-run home run to Kyle Tucker in the sixth inning.
Left the game in the sixth with the White Sox leading, 3-2 … threw 96 pitches (55 strikes) … the Astros outscored the Sox from the seventh-ninth to earn a 6-3 win.
Owned a 52.2 first-strike percentage and 16.7 swinging-strike percentage (16 swing and misses) vs. 23 batters … threw 30 cutters (88.5 mph avg; 90.5 mph max), 29 four-seam fastballs (93.0 avg; 95.1 max), 17 sinkers (92.3 avg; 94.4 max), 12 curveballs (81.7 avg; 83.5 max) and
eight changeups (86.1 avg; 87.6 max).
2022 SEASON RECAP
Was limited to 21 starts after missing the first two-plus months of 2022 with a knee injury sustained during spring.
Ranked among the American League leaders in numerous categories in the second half, including walks per 9.0 IP (2nd, 1.05), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd, 8.90), WHIP (3rd, 0.97) and ERA (5th) … limited opponents to a .222/.257/.374 (46-152) slash line in the second half, compared to .303/.355/.480 (73-329) before the break.
Struck out 9.17 batters per 9.0 IP (124 SO/121.2 IP), his fifth straight season averaging 9.0 or better … set career bests with a 6.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio (19 BB) and an average of 1.41 walks per 9.0 IP.
Went 1-3 with a 7.50 ERA (30 ER/36.0 IP) and 35 strikeouts over seven starts in the first half, compared to 7-4 with a 2.52 ERA (24 ER/85.2 IP) and 89 strikeouts over 14 starts after the All-Star Break.
Went 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA (9 ER/43.0 IP) and .215 (35-163) opponents average in his final seven road starts … his 1.88 ERA during that span ranked fifth in the AL.
VS. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS || INTERLEAGUE
Is scheduled to make his eighth career start against the Giants, fifth at home and 40th (43rd appearance) during interleague play.
Owns a 21.0 scoreless IP streak over his last three starts vs. San Francisco … all of those starts have come on the road … last faced the Giants on 7/1/22 at Oracle Park, allowing three hits over 6.0 scoreless IP.
Has gone 5-2 with a 2.03 ERA (16 ER/71.0 IP), .172 (44-256) opponents average an 70 strikeouts in 11 interleague starts since 2020.
