Series Preview #43: Diamondbacks @ Giants, Tap Tap, is this thing still on ?

The Giants came in to Chase Field on August 15th and won the first three games of the series before the DBacks finally managed to salvage game four. That series effectively ended any reasonable Wild Card hopes for Arizona while at the same time giving a flicker of life to the Giants. That flame was quickly extinguished as well however as they went to Chicago and got swept three straight from the Cubs.

The Giants then went back home to the Bay Area for two big games against cross town rivals the Oakland A’s in Oakland. In front of over 53,000 fans, and a completely full stadium including Mount Davis, the Giants scored 8 runs in the 8th inning to come back and defeat the A’s 10-5 on Saturday. They followed that up with another come from behind victory yesterday, scoring two in the 7th to take the lead and holding on for a 5-4 victory in front of 47,000 fans.

And all that leaves the giants at........ 65-65, 4 Games back in the Wild Card, and just a half game ahead of the 65-66 DBacks. While the atmosphere and energy in Oakland must have been amazing for those two games in front of 100,000 people, the fact is the Giants playoff odds are similar to the DBacks, on life support in the low single digits. But the players will do what professionals do, which is go play the games, and try their best to win each game, “knowing” reciting the old axiom to themselves and whoever is asking, “ it’s not over til it’s over”

Pitching Matchups

Alex Young will be facing the Giants for the 3rd time out of his 10 MLB starts so far. His MLB debut against them went well, his 2nd start against the Giants decidedly less so, surrendering 8 hits, a homer, and 5 runs in 5 innings to lose that series opener. However Young bounced back in his next game with a quality start in Coors field , going 6 IP and giving up just 3 runs to get the win. Still, with a 3rd look now at Young, they probably have a pretty good idea how to attack him.

Giants batters vs. Young H2H. (Link)

Tyler Beede did not pitch in the series at Chase, which is too bad for the DBacks, as things have not gone well for him lately. In his last 6 starts he has an 8.23 ERA and his team is 0-6 in those games. He faced the DBacks June 22nd and June 27, with one good and one bad start. He also had a 4 inning start against Arizona back in 2018. He throws a mid 90’s fastball, and his most frequently used secondary is his Changeup (20%) . He also throws a Curve and Slider, and per pitch values, the Curve is actually gotten him pretty good results, comparatively.

DBacks batters vs. Beede H2H. Beede will be happy not to have to face David Peralta who is on the IL with shoulder inflammation.

* The Starter for Tuesday’s game is still TBD, but I think it will be either Mike Leake or Taylor Clarke, so posting numbers for both

EDIT: Mike Leake has been announced as starter for tomorrow. Rest of commentary still stands

Clarke worked 2 innings in relief on Aug 23rd, so he probably doesn’t get the start in this game. He could be used in long relief, which could very well be needed if Mike Leake gets the start. I guess he’s been eating innings, having gone at least 5 IP in each of his four starts with Arizona. But in his 21.1 IP so far he’s been tuned up for 37 hits, including 8 HR and a .394/.422/.702, 1.124 OPS against. Basically every hitter has been Babe Ruth circa 1923 against him since coming to Arizona. Somehow his 8.02 ERA in those four games feels like “limiting the damage”

The team may very well bypass Leake and Clarke altogether and give us another surprise though, so stay tuned.

Giants Hitters last 5 Games

Giants Pitchers last 5 Games

DBacks Hitters Last 5 Games

DBacks Pitchers Last 5 Games

Series Prediction:

The Giants probably still feel like they are playing for something, (even though they really aren’t). Coming off the energizing series with Oakland, I think they stay on top for these two games and sweep 2-0, dropping the DBacks to 3 games below .500 for the first time in a very long time.