6/13 Gamethread: Giants @ Cardinals

After winning a thrilling back-and-forth affair Monday’s series opener, the San Francisco Giants will look for a valuable road series victory today against the St. Louis Cardinals. The good news is that if they fail, they’ll get a second chance tomorrow. The better news is that if they succeed, they can go for a sweep tomorrow. I love sweeps.

The Giants are giving the ball to righty Alex Cobb, who makes his 14th start of the year. He’s been delightful this year, with a 5-2 record, a 3.01 ERA, a 3.30 FIP, and 71 strikeouts to 19 walks in 74.2 innings. He’s been all over the place in his last three starts though, with 11 runs in nine innings against the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies sandwiching 7.2 scoreless innings against a much better team, the Baltimore Orioles. If Cobb doesn’t go deep in this game — or if the Giants find themselves in a blowout — we might see the MLB debut of righty Keaton Winn, who was called up on Monday.

For the Cardinals it’s righty Jack Flaherty on the mound. Flaherty is only 27 years old, yet he doesn’t look much like the guy who burst on the scene in his early 20s, and who finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2018 after posting a 2.75 ERA and leading the National League in WHIP and hits per nine innings. This year he’s 3-4 with a 4.15 ERA, a 4.31 FIP, and 72 strikeouts to 40 walks in 69.2 innings. He’s only given up six home runs in his 13 starts, so he might take away the Giants favorite offensive weapon, but he’s given up more walks than any other pitcher in the NL, so the Giants should have ample opportunity there.

Enjoy the game, Giants fans!

Lineups

WAR numbers are from Fangraphs

Giants

1. LaMonte Wade Jr. (L) — 1B — 139 OPS+ (+1.7 WAR)
2. Thairo Estrada (R) — 2B — 125 OPS+ (+2.4 WAR)
3. Joc Pederson (L) — DH — 154 OPS+ (+0.8 WAR)
4. J.D. Davis (R) — 3B — 130 OPS+ (+1.8 WAR)
5. Michael Conforto (L) — RF — 112 OPS+ (+0.8 WAR)
6. Mitch Haniger (R) — LF — 78 OPS+ (0.0 WAR)
7. Mike Yastrzemski (L) — CF — 104 OPS+ (+0.8 WAR)
8. Patrick Bailey (S) — C — 143 OPS+ (+1.0 WAR)
9. Brandon Crawford (L) — SS — 74 OPS+ (+0.3 WAR)

P. Alex Cobb — RHP — 3.30 FIP (+1.5 WAR)

Cardinals

1. Brendan Donovan (L) — 2B — 102 OPS+ (+1.3 WAR)
2. Paul Goldschmidt (R) — 1B — 139 OPS+ (+2.2 WAR)
3. Nolan Gorman (L) — DH — 134 OPS+ (+1.5 WAR)
4. Nolan Arenado (R) — 3B — 122 OPS+ (+1.3 WAR)
5. Willson Contreras (R) — C — 78 OPS+ (+0.3 WAR)
6. Dylan Carlson (S) — RF — 91 OPS+ (+0.3 WAR)
7. Jordan Walker (R) — LF — 113 OPS+ (-0.2 WAR)
8. Paul DeJong (R) — SS — 108 OPS+ (+1.1 WAR)
9. Tommy Edman (S) — CF — 90 OPS+ (+0.9 WAR)

P. Jack Flaherty — RHP — 4.31 FIP (+0.8 WAR)

Game #67

Who: San Francisco Giants (34-32) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (27-40)

Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

When: 4:45 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