5/9 Gamethread: Giants vs. Nationals

The San Francisco Giants have won their last two series, both against very good teams. But after a feckless loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday night, the Giants are in danger of dropping a series to a not very good team.

But help is on the way. Prior to the game, the Giants made a flurry of moves. Darin Ruf was designated for assignment. Cal Stevenson was optioned. But the big news is who was called up: infielder Casey Schmitt, one of the top prospects in the organization, who gets an aggressive promotion after just 65 games above A-ball.

Schmitt, who won the Minor League Gold Glove Award at third base in 2022 will make his MLB debut tonight, and will start at shortstop. The Giants have developed him to play third, short, and second base, so you can expect to see him make starts at all three depending on who’s healthy and who needs a day off. You have to go back to Joey Bart in 2020 to find such a notable prospect making their debut for the Giants, so it’s a very exciting day.

Given Schmitt’s defense, you can bet it’s an exciting day for the Giant pitcher starting in front of him, which is right-hander Logan Webb. It hasn’t been a season up to Webb’s standards, as he’s 2-5 with a 3.80 ERA, a 4.06 FIP, and 48 strikeouts to seven walks in 45 innings. His last start was one of his best, when he gave up just two runs over 7.2 innings to the Houston Astros.

On the other side is a former Cy Young candidate who has fallen on very tough times, lefty Patrick Corbin. An All-Star in 2013 and 2018, Corbin is 1-4 this year with a 5.17 ERA, a 4.68 FIP, and 27 strikeouts to nine walks in 38.1 innings. The Giants will have plenty of opportunities against Corbin, who led the Majors (in the bad way) in losses and earned runs in each of the last two seasons, while also giving up the most hits in the Majors in both 2020 and 2022, and the most home runs in 2021. That said, he was very good in his last outing, giving up just two runs in seven innings against the Chicago Cubs.

The Nationals also have a prospect making his MLB debut: outfielder Jake Alu.

Logan Webb day and Casey Schmitt day. What more could you ask for? Well, a win.

Lineups

Giants

1. Austin Slater (R) — LF — 179 OPS+
2. Thairo Estrada (R) — 2B — 155 OPS+
3. Mitch Haniger (R) — RF — 65 OPS+
4. J.D. Davis (R) — 3B — 139 OPS+
5. Wilmer Flores (R) — 1B — 126 OPS+
6. David Villar (R) — DH — 56 OPS+
7. Casey Schmitt (R) — SS — MLB debut
8. Joey Bart (R) — C — 97 OPS+
9. Brett Wisely (L) — CF — 24 OPS+

Nationals

1. Lane Thomas (R) — RF — 108 OPS+
2. Luis García (L) — 2B — 108 OPS+
3. Keibert Ruiz (S) — C — 88 OPS+
4. Joey Meneses (R) — DH — 90 OPS+
5. Jeimer Candelario (S) — 3B — 78 OPS+
6. Dominic Smith (L) — 1B — 83 OPS+
7. Alex Call (R) — CF — 86 OPS+
8. CJ Abrams (L) — SS — 92 OPS+
9. Jake Alu (L) — LF — MLB debut

P. Patrick Corbin — LHP — 4.68 FIP

Game #35

Who: San Francisco Giants (15-19) vs. Washington Nationals (15-20)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area (available on fuboTV)

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM