7/24 Gamethread: Giants @ Tigers (makeup game)

The past five games notwithstanding, I think you’d agree that April was “the bad old days” of this season, when the San Francisco Giants couldn’t compete against anybody and it all felt pretty dire.

The Detroit Tigers were able to take advantage with a couple of extra inning wins at Comerica Park and only a rainout saved the April squadron from the ignominy of a sweep against a team they were projected to be much better than. About three and a half months later, the Giants have returned to finish up that series, the final game in a four-city, eleven-game road trip that started off great, but has now fallen into this one final gasp for survival.

I’m being melodramatic, but after riding out of the break with a five-game winning streak — in fact, a seven-game winning streak overall — they’ve crashed against the rocks of their ambition and have lost five in a row. Heading home 6-5 will be disappointing, given how the road trip started off, but far better than 5-6.

I guess it’s tough to get too high or too low in a perfectly mathematized season, because winning streaks and losing streaks happen to every team every season. The Tigers are 6-4 since the All-Star break and 10-8 in July, and lest we forget, they walked off Camilo Doval back in April.

Today’s Detroit starter, Tarik Skubal, had flexor tendon surgery last year and this morning’s game will be his fourth start of 2023. The power lefty’s 2022 was a great step forward in his age-25 season (110 ERA+ in 117.2 IP), and he features a fastball-slider guy with a devastating changeup as his put away pitch (33.3% Whiff rate this year, 47.5% last year).

Offensively, they’ve scored the third-fewest runs in MLB, ahead of just the Royals and A’s. Their main standouts are Riley Greene (129 OPS+), Matt Vierling (101), Kerry Carpenter (127). They’re averaging 3.9 runs/game at home, so expect an explosion today.

For the Giants, hitting continues to be an impossible struggle. They’ve averaged 4 runs/game in the second half and 3.33 runs/game since July 1st! Ross Stripling has walked just one batter in his last 19.1 IP. Maybe a shutout from Big Strip is in the cards and that will allow the Giants to scratch out a run...

Where they stand

Tigers

Record: 45-54, 5th in AL Central
Run differential: -87, 13th in AL
Postseason standing: 9.5 games back of Wild Card, 7 games out of the division
Momentum: 1-game winning streak; 6-4 in their last 10 games

Giants

Record: 54-46, 3rd in NL West
Run differential: +21, 5th in the NL
Postseason standing: 3rd Wild Card, 4 games out of the division
Momentum: 5-game losing streak; 5-5 in their last 10 games

Prediction time

Game #101

Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Detroit Tigers
Where: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
When: 10:10 a.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area (available on fuboTV)
National broadcast: n/a
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM