Two of Andrew McCutchen’s former employers (suddenly, he’s on his fourth team, and we’re all getting very old) square off in Pittsburgh for a weekend series.
The Giants remain old, on the downswing and aren’t presumed to be a factor in an otherwise exciting and competitive National League West. They did nab Farhan Zaidi from the rival Dodgers over the offseason to be their President of Baseball Operations — much better than just getting another Evan Longoria or (again, we’re getting old) Cutch.
San Francisco dropped two of three this week in Washington, including a 4-2 getaway-day loss while the Pirates were off on Thursday.
The Bucs (10-6) have won three in a row, including a pair of 10-inning midweek contests in Detroit.
Schedule
Friday, 7:05 p.m. — Madison Bumgarner (1-2, 3.12 ERA) vs. Jordan Lyles (1-0, 0.82), TV: AT&T SportsNet
Saturday, 4:05 p.m. — Derek Holland (1-2, 4.09) vs. Jameson Taillon (0-2, 3.43), TV: FS1
Sunday, 1:35 p.m. — Dereck Rodriguez (2-2, 3.63) vs. Chris Archer (1-0, 2.00), TV: AT&T SportsNet
Giants
8-12 (9-11 Pythag, 3.10 RS/G, 3.55 RA/G)
Offense
Brandon Belt leads this group, at .242/.356/.532 with four home runs. The only other regular with an on-base percentage above .300 is Gerardo Parra (.302). The Giants acquired Kevin Pillar in an early-, early-season trade. He’s hit four homers, but struggled on the whole, so far. Former Pirates farmhand Connor Joe went 1-for-15 for the Giants before being DFA’d and returned to the Dodgers as a Rule 5 pick.
Pitching
Dereck Rodriguez (18 strikeouts, 4 walks in 22 1-3 innings) is off to a solid start coming off a surprising rookie season. Both Mark Melancon and Tony Watson are serving as setup men for closer Jason Grilli Will Smith.
Poll
How many times will the Pirates beat the Giants?
This poll is closed
-
24%
3
-
61%
2
-
10%
1
-
3%
0