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How’s everybody doing after that long game? Did it break you like it might’ve broken Brandon Belt?
UPDATE: Lineup change - Belt is out with a stiff neck. Sandoval is in, will bat 6th. Longoria moves up to the 5th spot.#SFGiants
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) April 13, 2019
Madison Bumgarner will try to get through six or seven innings without getting progressively worse as the game goes on, but against an injury-weakened Rockies lineup. It’s still formidable, of course, as Nolan Arenado is still in there:
Bud Black: Iannetta struck out 4 times and cost us the game last night on defense? I think I’ll reward him by putting him in the lineup!
— Pepsi Center Playoffs SZN (@MileHighMez) April 13, 2019
I’ll be skipping the the #Rockies today. They clearly don’t care about winning. What an absolute joke. People think he’s a good manager! pic.twitter.com/NCPGRVNcmG
Bumgarner is 13-8 in 30 starts against the Rockies. His 3.04 ERA against is the 2nd-worst against NL West teams, behind the Padres. That 3.04, of course, is Coors-inflated: a 4.32 ERA in 15 career starts there. So, he’s setup to do very well against them today.
Meanwhile, Kyle Freeland became the ace of the Rockies staff after an impressive 2018 where he went 17-7 with a 2.85 / 3.67 ERA/ FIP split and ranked fourth in NL CY Young voting. His strikeouts per 9 (7.7) and walks per 9 (3.1) weren’t all that stellar, but he was effective with his command and control when he had to be in his 202 innings pitched. He also pitches home games in Coors, and his 167 ERA+ reflects that. He was great last year.
He’s allowed 10 runs in 16.2 innings so far this year, though, so it has been a bumpy ride. We’ll see how he does against the reconfigured lineup, and if Pablo Sandoval’s adjusted right-handed swing can keep him in the lineup the entire game.