Series Preview: SF Giants vs Phillies - details, stats, and how to watch
It's tough times in the Bay Area after the SF Giants dropped their latest series 3-1 against the rival Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, the 17-23 Giants face the 20-20 Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park, as San Francisco fights to keep from dropping out of contention early on like they did last season.
The Giants have been able to rally around terrific performances from standout players like Logan Webb, Casey Schmitt, and LaMonte Wade as of late. But with slumping bats throughout the lineup, and troubles in the bullpen and back of the rotation, the Giants haven't been able to convert wins as consistently as they should. We'll take a dive into the player and team stats that have told the season of this story so far before diving into series details and how to watch.
Grab Bag Stats:
Giants record when trailing after 6 innings: 1-16
Giants record when opponents score first: 4-13
Giants record in comeback games: 6-12
Starting off with a bit of a bitter pill - the Giants just aren't very good at coming back. Some might even describe this team as "anti-clutch." They've overwhelmingly lost when opponents get leads on them, especially in late innings. The kicker is that they've already lost 12 games when they've had the lead, the latest being yesterday's heartbreaker in Arizona. That alone accounts for over half of their losses.
Giants team OBP: .317 (ranked 18/30)
Giants team HR: 62 (ranked 4/30)
Part of the reason the Giants are struggling to sustain and overcome leads? They're in the bottom half of baseball in average and on-base percentage. They do their part to overcome this with above-average slugging overall, and they're top-5 in home runs in the league. But too often, the home runs and baserunners aren't synching up, and the Giants are forced to find long balls when they don't create the most value. The upside to that is that they're at least able to hit home runs in the toughest situations, which is usually the hardest part of the game.
Casey Schmitt May OPS: 1.291
Mitch Haniger May OPS: .275
Of the Giants' 9 position players with the most at-bats in May, three have an average above .300, and five have an average of .207 or below. It's feast or famine in the Giants' lineup, exemplified best by Schmitt's otherworldly start after his early-May callup... and Haniger's very worldly OPS through 10 games to start the month.
Taylor Rogers WHIP: 0.95 (leads team)
Tyler Rogers blown saves: 2 (leads team)
Giants relievers have posted a 5.95 ERA to date, third-last in the MLB. Between the long-relief struggles of Hjelle, Stripling, and Manaea, and similar struggles in some of the mid-leverage relievers, trying to keep games close in the mid-to-late innings has been an adventure. They just can't seem to catch a break, as even Tyler Rogers - one of the most consistent bullpen options of this year and the last several - leads the team in blown saves after yesterday's walk-off.
Giants record when committing no errors: 5-12
Giants record when committing 1+ errors: 12-10
Sometimes stats are an illuminating insight into the foibles and triumphs of major league sports teams. Sometimes, they're just weird.
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Series details:
Who: SF Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
When: May 15-17, Monday (6:45 PM), Tuesday (6:45 PM), and Wednesday (12:45 PM). All times Pacific.
Giants current streak: L3, 4-6 in last 10
Phillies current streak: L1, 5-5 in last 10
Projected starters:
Monday: Alex Wood (0-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Bailey Falter (0-6, 5.75 ERA)
Tuesday: Alex Cobb (3-1, 1.70 ERA) vs. Zack Wheeler (3-2, 3.80 ERA)
Wednesday: TBD vs. Taijuan Walker (3-2, 5.75 ERA)
*Indicates LHP
How to watch, listen:
- SF Giants broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR 680/1510 AM
- Phillies broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia, WTTM 1680/94.0 WIP
- National broadcasts: MLB Network (Tuesday, out of market only)
