Well that was rough. Going into a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers a game and a half above them in the National League West, the San Francisco Giants (57-48) get rocked in two games and let the third one get away on Sunday Night Baseball to fall 1.5 games back in the division.
The Dodgers outscored the Giants 17-4, got to Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong, and eventually new starter Jake Peavy in the fifth inning. It was brutal to see the offense also sputter throughout the weekend, but that was expected with the pitching lineup coming in. Don Mattingly organized the pitching staff against the Giants after the All-Star break, and that proved to work wonders.
Now, San Francisco will have to get over it quickly as a three-game pack against the Pittsburgh Pirates (55-49) begins on Monday night, and they're also looking for a playoff spot. It's an important series in case either of these teams are looking for one of the wild card spots at the end of the season. If the Pirates sweep this, they'll have a better record than the Giants.
Pittsburgh is in the midst of a 16-game jaunt against NL West teams. After sweeping the Colorado Rockies earlier, they lost back-to-back 8-1 games before salvaging the final game. Now they'll have to face the beefy portion of the Giants' starting lineup with Madison Bumgarner, Tim Hudson, and Big Time Timmy Jim.
Andrew McCutchen is the only player hitting over .300 (.312) in the batting lineup for the Pirates. Neil Walker has been the second power hitter with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs; Pedro Alvarez has the same number of HRs and just one less RBI. Josh Harrison has reeled in seven hits, four RBIs, and two stolen bases in the last seven games.
Pitching Matchups
- Monday: Madison Bumgarner (L, 12-7, 3.19) vs Vance Worley (R, 3-1, 3.10)
First pitch - 10:15 PM ET | TV: NBC Bay Area, ROOT Sports Pittsburgh - Tuesday: Tim Hudson (R, 8-7, 2.65) vs Francisco Liriano (L, 2-7, 4.18)
First pitch - 10:15 PM ET | TV: CSN Bay Area, ROOT Sports Pittsburgh, MLB Network - Wednesday: Tim Lincecum (R, 9-7, 3.96) vs Charlie Morton (R, 5-10, 3.40)
First pitch - 3:45 PM ET | TV: CSN Bay Area, ROOT Sports Pittsburgh, MLB Network
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