Sliding Giants to open up three-game set against Phillies at Oracle Park

May 15, 2023, 11:16 AM

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MAY 11: Thairo Estrada #39 of the San Francisco Giants is tagged out by Josh Roj...

(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

It seemed as if the San Francisco Giants had turned a corner on May 6th following a fourth-straight win that brought their record to 15-17.

The Giants had just won two-straight series–over the defending champion Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers–and an upcoming matchup against a struggling Washington Nationals team presented San Francisco with a solid opportunity to improve to .500 or better.

Instead, the Nationals took two of three from the Giants. Then, over the weekend, the Arizona Diamondbacks took three of four games at Chase Field to push San Francisco six games below .500 and 8.5 games behind first place in the National League West.

WALK US OFF, LOURDES!! pic.twitter.com/Ts0KHI3nRA

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 14, 2023

Sunday’s 2-1 walk-off loss delivered the latest sting to a rough past week of baseball, and the Giants won’t have much time to lick their wounds before opening up a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park on Monday.

“The wins haven’t been coming our way, but we’ve been in pretty much every single game this season,” San Francisco outfielder Blake Sabol said following Sunday’s loss. “The games are there for the taking. It’s just a couple more shutdown innings and a couple more timely hits. Still like 120 games left, so still a lot of baseball left to play.”

The Giants scored eight runs over the past three games after scoring six runs in two-straight games, while the offense posted a .205 team batting average during those contests.

San Francisco will have to hope their bats can wake up against a Phillies pitching staff currently holding the 23rd-ranked ERA in Major League Baseball (4.66) and has allowed 39 home runs (eighth-most in the league).

Here’s how the three-game set against Philadelphia will look on the mound:

Probables

Monday, May 15th – Alex Wood (2-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. Bailey Falter (0-6, 5.75 ERA) – 6:45 PM PST

Tuesday, May 16th – Alex Cobb (3-1, 1.70 ERA) vs. Zack Wheeler (3-2, 3.80 ERA) – 6:45 PM PST

Wednesday, May 17th – Sean Manaea (1-2, 7.96) vs. Taijuan Walker (3-2, 5.75 ERA) – 12:45 PM PST

Alex Cobb, Painted 95mph Back Door Two Seamer. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/u9hrrffecD

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 12, 2023

Who’s Hot?

Alex Cobb continued his strong start to the season on Thursday, tossing 7.1 shutout innings while striking out three batters. The 35-year-old holds a 1.08 ERA over his past five starts.
Casey Schmitt has been raking since his call-up from AAA Sacramento. The rookie is batting .458 with two home runs, three doubles, and five RBI over six games. Now that Brandon Crawford has returned from the injured list, Schmitt is back at third base, where he spent most of his time at the minor league level.
After a brutal start to the season, Michael Conforto has been locked in over the past three games: five-for-12 (.417), two home runs, one double, 1.000 OPS