Series Preview #27: Diamondbacks @ Giants

The Diamondbacks finished up their rough homestand with a surprisingly fun series against the Dodgers, taking two games from the division leaders in pretty commanding fashion. They now head off to San Francisco for a four game series against the same Giants who beat the holy living crap out of them during the home stand.

Game 1: Andy Young (4-3, 6.09 ERA, 1.683 WHIP, in Reno) vs Tyler Beede ( 1-2, 6.96 ERA, 1.948 WHIP)

Andy Young will be making his MLB debut in the first game of the series. He was drafted by the Dbacks back in the 2015 Draft in the second round. He’s been having a very Reno season so far, with a sky high ERA and WHIP. He’s got an HR/9 of exactly 1.0 and a BB/9 of 4.3, which is his highest so far in his minor league career. He gets a soft landing, however, getting to make his first start in a strong pitcher’s park and also against a weak offensive team.

Beede is making back-to-back starts against the Diamondbacks. He didn’t have a great outing, only going four innings and getting hit for four earned runs on six hits and four walks. He has struggled this year, giving up four or more runs in more than half of his starts so far. The Dbacks will look to continue where they left off in his last start and get to him early.

Game 2: Merril Kelly (7-7, 3.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) vs. Shaun Anderson (2-2, 3.94 ERA, 1.34 WHIP)

Kelly managed to lead the team to the only win they recorded against the Giants last time, though it took ten innings for them to pull it out. He went six innings, giving up only two runs, on four hits and two walks. Kelly continues to impress this season. Other than a couple of stinkers so far, he’s been a very nice pick up for the Diamondbacks, far better than I was hoping for from his return from Korea.

He will be facing off against Shaun Anderson, just like in his last start. It was a well pitched game for Anderson as well, who also went six innings with two runs. Should make for a good rematch of a game that was tied at two going into extra innings.

Game 3: Zach Greinke (8-3, 3.08 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) vs. Drew Pomeranz (2-8, 6.79 ERA, 1.75 WHIP)

Greinke is coming off of a couple of starts that weren’t quiet up to his standard and have also pushed his ERA back above three. The Dodgers got him for four runs in six innings in his last start and the Rockies got him for five runs over seven innings the start before that. A start against a weaker team in a pitcher’s park will be a welcome change of pace for him.

Pomeranz is not having a good season. Lots of short starts and lots of runs given up. He did put together a decent start against the Rockies the last time out, though, going five innings and only giving up two runs. Given how his season has gone, I wouldn’t bet on that continuing, however.

Game 4: Robbie Ray (5-5, 3.90 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) vs. Madison Bumgarner (4-7, 4.21 ERA, 1.23 WHIP)

Robbie has slowly seen his season start to turn around. He has gone at least six innings in each of his last five starts, and he has given up three runs or less in four of them. He isn’t quite dominating the other teams like we know he is capable of, but he’s getting closer and closer.

Bumgarner is currently the probable starter for the Giants. However, that could quickly change. Since he is a free agent at the end of this season, the Giants are widely expected to ship him out so they at least get something from his departure. There’s nothing specifically saying that he’s going to be traded, but it seems that the rumors have been increasing recently, leading me to think that it’s coming sooner rather than later.

If he does play, he hasn’t been exactly the Bumgarner of old. He still is an inning eater, but he hasn’t been shutting down the opposition during those innings. He is still a good pitcher, though, and not one to be taken lightly.

Conclusion

For me, a lot of this series hinges on whether or not the Diamondbacks actually face Bumgarner. I like the Greinke start for the Diamondbacks, but I always get nervous with pitchers making their MLB debuts, so I like the Giants in Young’s start. Kelly’s start is a straight toss up for me. I think the Diamondbacks stand a chance against Bumgarner regardless, but obviously if he isn’t in the picture it will get easier. I will say, regardless of that, the Diamondbacks win the series and go 3-1 against the Giants.