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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.
- DH — Austin Slater (R) — .341/.453/.659 — 203 OPS+
- RF — Mike Yastrzemski (L) — .319/.439/.660 — 199 OPS+
- 2B — Wilmer Flores (R) — .301/.322/.506 — 125 OPS+
- 3B — Evan Longoria (R) — .254/.303/.433 — 101 OPS+
- 1B — Brandon Belt (L) — .212/.281/.423 — 92 OPS+
- C — Joey Bart (R) — N/A
- LF — Darin Ruf (R) — .243/.349/.351 — 96 OPS+
- SS — Brandon Crawford (L) — .246/.316/.348 — 84 OPS+
- 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
Here is today's lineup against the Angels.
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 20, 2020
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And for Joe Maddon’s club, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are still there, so they’re still terrifying.
- SS — David Fletcher (R) — .304/.371/.461 — 127 OPS+
- 1B — Tommy La Stella (L) — .289/.382/.500 — 140 OPS+
- CF — Mike Trout (R) — .277/.340/.651 — 163 OPS+
- 3B — Anthony Rendon (R) — .268/.441/.577 — 178 OPS+
- DH — Shohei Ohtani (L) — .183/.256/.408 — 79 OPS+
- LF — Brian Goodwin (L) — .286/.359/.571 — 150 OPS+
- RF — Jo Adell (R) — .200/.243/.200 — 25 OPS+
- C — Max Stassi (R) — .227/.314/.500 — 119 OPS+
- 2B — Luis Rengifo (S) — .140/.229/.163 — 11 OPS+
LHP — José Suárez — N/A
#Angels Lineup 08/20/20
— Daily MLB Lineups (@DailyMLBLineup) August 20, 2020
1. David Fletcher SS
2. Tommy La Stella 1B
3. Mike Trout CF
4. Anthony Rendon 3B
5. Shohei Ohtani DH
6. Brian Goodwin LF
7. Jo Adell RF
8. Max Stassi C
9. Luis Rengifo 2B
Starting Pitcher : Jose Suarez
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.
Kapler said Austin Slater needs about 2 more days of throwing before getting back out on the field #SFGiants
— Amy Gutierrez (@AmyGGiants) August 20, 2020
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.
Joey Bart said he got a text from Buster Posey earlier today congratulating him. "It meant a lot to me," he said.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) August 21, 2020
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.
Just wrapped my pregame zoom with Pablo Sandoval. Did not realize his entire family in Miami had Covid. They are better now, but WOW - lot to deal with. We also talked about his orange bat. He nicknamed it. Check it out at https://t.co/CupTIiXkx9 later tonight.
— Amy Gutierrez (@AmyGGiants) August 20, 2020
Enjoy the baseball and the Joey Bart, friends.