Tough stretch continues for Giants as powerhouse Rays enter Oracle Park

A brutal stretch of play that saw the San Francisco Giants lose six of seven games ended on Sunday thanks to rookie catcher Patrick Bailey’s late-game heroics against the American League powerhouse Texas Rangers.

Now that the Giants (63-55) have picked up their first win in a week, they will have another tall task ahead of them as another American League juggernaut–the Tampa Bay Rays–arrive at Oracle Park for a three-game set that begins Monday night.

Tampa Bay (71-49) enters play on Monday as the top Wild Card spot in the American League standings, while San Francisco holds a two-game lead over the surging Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card standings.

PATRICK BAILEY FOR THE WIN 👊 pic.twitter.com/fySa0A8c5L

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 13, 2023

The Giants’ lone win over the past week came off the bat of Bailey on Sunday, while San Francisco was one out away from a devastating loss that started with Rocklin-native Logan Webb’s near-complete-game-shutout.

Webb tossed 8.2 innings of shutout ball before allowing a two-out double in the top of the ninth. Although All-Star closer Camilo Doval couldn’t hold Texas scoreless, Bailey’s walk-off blast hopefully acted as a jump-start for the Giants’ offense entering this week-opening series against Tampa Bay.

Over the past eight games, San Francisco is batting .205 as a team while averaging 3.5 runs per game. During that same period, the Giants pitching staff has struggled to a 4.43 ERA, allowing opponents to score 4.6 runs per game.

Can San Francisco find a rhythm on offense against a Rays team that holds a 5.71 ERA over their past seven games?

It’s shaping up to be another interesting series at Oracle Park as the Giants’ buzzsaw schedule continues with three games against Tampa Bay before San Francisco heads to Atlanta for a series against the MLB-best Braves.

Giants vs. Rays Pitching Matchups

*subject to change*

Monday, August 14th – Ryan Walker (4-1, 2.40 ERA) vs. Tyler Glasnow (5-3, 3.15 ERA) – 6:45 PM PST

Tuesday, August 13th – Tristan Beck (3-1, 3.03 ERA) vs. Zack Littell (2-3, 4.10 ERA) – 6:45 PM PST

Wednesday, August 30th – Ross Stripling (0-5, 5.10 ERA) vs. Aaron Civale (5-3, 2.61 ERA) – 12:45 PM PST

Upcoming San Francisco Giants Schedule

• Monday, August 14th-Wednesday, August 16th – vs. Tampa Bay Rays
• Friday, August 18th-Sunday, August 20th – @ Atlanta Braves
• Monday, August 21st-Wednesday, August 23rd – @ Philadelphia Phillies
• Friday, August 25th-Sunday, August 27th – vs. Atlanta Braves
• Monday, August 28th-Wednesday, August 30th – vs. Cincinnati Reds

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