Tag Archives: lineup

SF Giants lineup: Crawford out again, in fact all Brandons on bench

Before the 2012 season I invented a segment for our blog/podcast called “Brandon Watch”, based on the premise that the Giants could be successful if their young (and cheap) position players performed at the level of major-league caliber starters. What followed was a great defensive season from Brandon Crawford and a really nice all-around performance by Brandon Belt.

There will be no Brandons for Giants fans to watch Friday night against Miami. Crawford sits for the third straight day after spraining two of his fingers on a stolen base attempt Tuesday. Crawford will be available to pinch-run and/or pinch-hit, according to Andrew Baggarly. The only hurdle to starting now is the discomfort he feels when releasing the ball on defense.

Continue reading

SF Giants lineup: Posey sits against red-hot Padres

Buster Posey gets a full day of rest Monday after playing in all nine games of the Giants’ recent road trip. The reigning MVP caught eight of those games, spending Saturday’s game at first base. Posey collected 15 hits on the trip, raising his 2013 batting line to .316/.390/.515. His .905 OPS is tops among MLB catchers and seventh among all position players in the National League. Hector Sanchez gets his fifth start of the season behind the dish and his first since April 18th.

Sanchez caught Zito in 24 of his 32 starts last year, becoming somewhat of a personal catcher for the lefty. Bochy looks to exploit this comfort tonight at AT&T, where Zito has a 1.94 ERA on the season. He is 4-1 in home starts, to go along with an 0-4 road record and 11.28 ERA away from San Francisco.

Continue reading

SF Giants lineup: Arias in for injured Sandoval against Pirates

With Pablo Sandoval headed to the disabled list with a foot strain, utility man Joaquin Arias gets the start at third base in Tuesday’s game at Pittsburgh. Arias will bat eighth, just in front of starting pitcher Tim Lincecum.

Lincecum will be squaring off against right-hander Gerrit Cole, who is making his major league debut. Cole was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft and has been excellent in the minor leagues, with a 2.84 ERA in 200 innings.

Timmy is looking to build on his previous start, when he allowed just four baserunners and one earned run in seven innings against Toronto.

The three-game game set that wraps up Thursday is San Francisco’s only trip to Pittsburgh this season. The Giants will host August 22-25 and the battle of baseball’s beautiful ballparks will be decided.

Here’s the lineup against RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 0.00 ERA):

Continue reading