Monday BP: Giants set rotation vs. Guardians

Happy Monday, San Francisco Giants fans.

The Giants finally look like a competent baseball team again, so that’s pretty cool. They’ll try and keep that going for the next three days, as they host the Cleveland Guardians.

After concluding their sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, the Giants announced their rotation for the Cleveland series, and it’s a touch surprising. Alex Cobb starts the opener tonight, after an extra day of rest to help him deal with some ailments. Kyle Harrison starts on Wednesday, as expected and anticipated.

But in between? Sean Manaea! I didn’t see that coming, but I kind of like it.

Manaea hasn’t made a start since May 10, but in his last nine appearances he has a 2.93 ERA, with 30 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. It’s been more than a month since he pitched four innings in a game, but on August 31 he tossed 86 pitches, so his arm strength should be fine if the Giants are using him as an honest-to-goodness starter. We can’t be sure that they are, but it certainly seems like there’s on effort to give the team a more traditional rotation right now. And with how Keaton Winn pitched on Sunday, perhaps that traditional rotation will emerge with Winn, Manaea, Cobb, Harrison, and Logan Webb.

Still not sure where that leaves Ross Stripling, who doesn’t seem super stoked about the situation.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants and Guardians play tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT.