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8/15 Gamethread: Giants vs. Rays

Jakob Junis vs. Zack Littell.

By Brady Klopfer
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Side view of Jakob Junis throwing a pitch Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

After an absolute dud of a series opener, the San Francisco Giants are back in action tonight, trying to find a way to beat the Tampa Bay Rays ... one of the best teams in baseball, but also a team that has been fighting to keep their head above water lately (sound familiar?).

The Giants are turning to an extended opener or short starter or whatever you want to call it. Either way, it’s righty Jakob Junis on the mound, making his 32nd appearance of the year, and his second start. Junis has a 3-3 record, a 4.36 ERA, a 4.13 FIP, and 74 strikeouts to 17 walks in 64 innings. In his last four games, Junis has allowed just one run in 7.2 innings, with eight strikeouts.

On the other side is former Giant Zack Littell, a right-hander. Littell pitched out of the Giants bullpen in 2021 and 2022, and campaigned a few times to be a starter. He’s found a home in Tampa Bay, where he was a late-inning reliever and occasional opener earlier in the season, but kept his starter campaign up. After the Rays suffered injuries to their rotation, Littell was given a chance to start, and he’s running with it. He’s been a starter for the last three games, and has pitched 17 innings while giving up just five runs. In 19 games this year with the Rays and Boston Red Sox, Littell has a 2-3 record, a 4.10 ERA, a 3.54 FIP, and 36 strikeouts to six walks in 41.2 innings.

Enjoy the game, Giants fans. Hopefully it’s a game worth enjoying.

Lineups

WAR data from Fangraphs

Giants

  1. LaMonte Wade Jr. (L) — 1B — 121 OPS+ (+1.8 WAR)
  2. Wade Meckler (L) — CF — -22 OPS+ [4 PAs] (0.0 WAR)
  3. Wilmer Flores (R) — 3B — 141 OPS+ (+1.9 WAR)
  4. Joc Pederson (L) — DH — 109 OPS+ (+0.4 WAR)
  5. Michael Conforto (L) — RF — 106 OPS+ (+1.2 WAR)
  6. Patrick Bailey (S) — C — 98 OPS+ (+2.7 WAR)
  7. Blake Sabol (L) — LF — 96 OPS+ (+0.6 WAR)
  8. Brandon Crawford (L) — SS — 65 OPS+ (+0.4 WAR)
  9. Thairo Estrada (R) — 2B — 106 OPS+ (+2.7 WAR)

P. Jakob Junis — RHP — 4.13 FIP (+0.2 WAR)

Rays

  1. Yandy Díaz (R) — 1B — 154 OPS+ (+3.3 WAR)
  2. Brandon Lowe (L) — 2B — 105 OPS+ (+1.7 WAR)
  3. Isaac Paredes (R) — 3B — 134 OPS+ (+3.3 WAR)
  4. Randy Arozarena (R) — LF — 121 OPS+ (+2.6 WAR)
  5. Luke Raley (L) — DH — 134 OPS+ (+2.5 WAR)
  6. Osleivis Basabe (R) — SS — 125 OPS+ [8 PAs] (+0.1 WAR)
  7. José Siri (R) — CF — 110 OPS+ (+2.0 WAR)
  8. Josh Lowe (L) — RF — 119 OPS+ (+2.1 WAR)
  9. René Pinto (R) — C — 49 OPS+ [19 PAs] (0.0 WAR)

P. Zack Littell — RHP — 3.54 FIP (+0.6 WAR)

Game #120

Who: San Francisco Giants (63-56) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (72-49)

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, 1510 AM KSFN

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