SF Giants to face sliding Pirates: Starters, first pitch times & more

Apr 26, 2024, 9:03 AM

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 23: Michael Conforto #8 of the San Francisco Giants is congratula...

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

After falling a season-low four games below the .500 mark on April 14th, the San Francisco Giants have won six of their past ten games, including four of their past seven contests at Oracle Park.

San Francisco (12-14) will conclude a ten-game homestand this weekend with a three-game set against the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates (13-13).

Pittsburgh burst out of the gates to begin the season, winning nine of its first 11 games before running into a wall in mid-April. The Pirates have lost eight of their past ten games, including two straight contests, coming into Friday’s action against the Giants.

Here’s everything you need to know for this weekend’s series between San Francisco and Pittsburgh, as the Giants will hope to secure a second-straight series win before hitting the road for a ten-game trip.

Yaz knocks in his third RBI of the night 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jcku7f9y4x

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 24, 2024

Giants vs. Pirates starters & first pitch time

Friday, April 26th | Kyle Harrison (2-1, 5.00 ERA) vs. Quinn Priester (0-1, 8.31 ERA) | 7:15 PM PST

Saturday, April 27th | Jordan Hicks (2-0, 1.61 ERA) vs. Martin Perez (1-1, 3.45 ERA) | 6:05 PM PST

Sunday, April 28th | Keaton Winn (2-3, 3.54 ERA vs. Jared Jones (2-2, 2.79 ERA) | 1:05 PM PST

Batter vs. Pitcher

Over seven career plate appearances against Jordan Hicks, Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen holds a .400 batting average (2-5) with one home run and 3 RBI.
Rookie starters Keaton Winn and Kyle Harrison have never faced any of the hitters on Pittsburgh’s roster.
Jorge Soler has hit Martin Perez well during his career: (20 at-bats) .300 avg | 1 HR | 3 RBI | 2 BB
Matt Chapman has also found success during Perez: (17 at-bats) .412 avg | 3 2B | 1 RBI | .444 OBP

Hello, Old Friend

Former Giants first-round pick Joey Bart will make his first visit to Oracle Park as an opposing player on Friday night.

Bart, the second-overall selection in the 2018 MLB Draft, was designated for assignment by San Francisco on March 31st before eventually being traded to Pittsburgh for minor league pitcher Austin Strickland.

The backstop struggled during his time in a Giants uniform, batting .219 to go along with 11 home runs, 38 RBI, and 178 strikeouts (35.4% K-rate) over 162 games from 2020-23.

Since joining the Pirates, Bart has looked like a completely different player.

Joey Bart and the Pirates answer IMMEDIATELY pic.twitter.com/HdTkghxglS

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 25, 2024

During his first seven games with Pittsburgh, Bart has mashed three home runs, driven in eight runs, and posted a slash line of .304/.429/.739 over 28 plate appearances.

“I’ve been at the highs and been at the lows,” Bart said of his career on Thursday. “I feel like I can bring that forward with me and learn from all those experiences. I’m feeling great, super confident.”

Giants fans will get to see the former prized draft pick this weekend in a familiar setting at Oracle Park.

Who’s Hot?

Over hist past five games, Mike Yastrzemski is batting .400 with one home run, 7 RBI, and a 1.038 OPS.
Matt Chapman is batting .292 over his past seven games, raising his average from .200 to .228 during that timeframe.
Over his last two starts (15.0 innings), Logan Webb has not allowed a run and struck out nine batters.