8/20 Gamethread: Giants vs. Angels

Win or lose, this will be an exciting game for the San Francisco Giants, as it will be the debut of catcher Joey Bart, one of the team’s top prospects and the second overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.

He was called up on Thursday morning, and slotted straight into the lineup. He’ll face a fellow hot prospect in José Suárez, a 22-year-old left-handed pitcher, whom Fangraphs ranks as the Los Angeles Angels second-best prospect. Suárez was also called up on Thursday for his season debut, though he made his MLB debut in 2019.

Game #26

Who: Los Angeles Angels (8-17) vs. San Francisco Giants (10-16)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 6:45 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area (available through fuboTV)
National broadcast: ESPN+
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM

Lineups

Bart hits sixth. That’s all you need to know.

1. DH — Austin Slater (R) — .341/.453/.659 — 203 OPS+
2. RF — Mike Yastrzemski (L) — .319/.439/.660 — 199 OPS+
3. 2B — Wilmer Flores (R) — .301/.322/.506 — 125 OPS+
4. 3B — Evan Longoria (R) — .254/.303/.433 — 101 OPS+
5. 1B — Brandon Belt (L) — .212/.281/.423 — 92 OPS+
6. C — Joey Bart (R) — N/A
7. LF — Darin Ruf (R) — .243/.349/.351 — 96 OPS+
8. SS — Brandon Crawford (L) — .246/.316/.348 — 84 OPS+
9. CF — Mauricio Dubon (R) — .262/.281/.328 — 69 OPS+
   RHP — Kevin Gausman — 4.21 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 34 K and 5 BB in 25.2 IP

And for Joe Maddon’s club, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are still there, so they’re still terrifying.

1. SS — David Fletcher (R) — .304/.371/.461 — 127 OPS+
2. 1B — Tommy La Stella (L) — .289/.382/.500 — 140 OPS+
3. CF — Mike Trout (R) — .277/.340/.651 — 163 OPS+
4. 3B — Anthony Rendon (R) — .268/.441/.577 — 178 OPS+
5. DH — Shohei Ohtani (L) — .183/.256/.408 — 79 OPS+
6. LF — Brian Goodwin (L) — .286/.359/.571 — 150 OPS+
7. RF — Jo Adell (R) — .200/.243/.200 — 25 OPS+
8. C — Max Stassi (R) — .227/.314/.500 — 119 OPS+
9. 2B — Luis Rengifo (S) — .140/.229/.163 — 11 OPS+
   LHP — José Suárez — N/A

Notes

Slater is DH only: Austin Slater is still in the lineup as a designated hitter, and for now, that’s all he can be.

Buster’s blessing: The Giants are hoping their 2018 first-round pick does as well as the last time they drafted a catcher in the first round. And for his part, Buster Posey is being a supportive teammate from afar.

All the best to the Panda’s family: Pablo Sandoval went through a patch where not only was he struggling at the plate, but he wasn’t getting starts against right-handed pitchers. Gabe Kapler alluded to some family matters that were playing a role, and on Thursday we found out that Sandoval’s wife and children all had contracted the coronavirus. Here’s hoping the whole family is healthy now.

Enjoy the baseball and the Joey Bart, friends.