Padres at Giants
The San Francisco Giants play in one of the majors’ most scenic ballparks at AT&T Park, but it’s been a house of horrors for the San Diego Padres, who they'll host on Saturday. The Giants have won 13 of their last 17 home games against San Diego, including Friday’s series opener when Angel Pagan’s walk-off double gave San Francisco a 3-2 victory. The Padres lost despite Chase Headley’s solo homer, his first since coming off the disabled list Wednesday.
Buster Posey will be at catcher when Tim Lincecum takes the mound for the Giants on Saturday, and that’s only news because backup Hector Sanchez has caught Lincecum’s first three starts. Manager Bruce Bochy has repeatedly shot down any rumors of a feud between Posey and Lincecum, claiming that it’s just a coincidence that Sanchez has caught most of Lincecum’s starts over the past year. Posey is struggling at the plate, batting .224 with no home runs.
TV: 9:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports San Diego, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Clayton Richard (0-1, 5.28 ERA) vs. Giants RH Tim Lincecum (1-0, 5.63)
Richard turned in a solid outing Sunday against Colorado while allowing two hits over six shutout innings. The 29-year-old is 6-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 12 career starts against the Giants, including 4-3 with a 5.49 ERA in seven games at AT&T Park. Posey is 6-for-17 (.353) with a home run against Richard, who has a road ERA of 5.02 in 387 career innings. Known as a quick worker, Richard was 1-3 with a 5.26 ERA in four starts against the Giants last year.
Lincecum has shown flashes of his past brilliance, but has also been terribly erratic in his first three starts. He settled down after a rough first inning Sunday against the Cubs, but Bochy pulled the two-time Cy Young winner after he gave up four runs in five innings. He’s 10-5 with a 2.44 ERA in 22 career outings against San Diego, and Headley has given him trouble with three career homers in 35 at-bats. He was 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA in four starts against the Padres last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Giants are 7-1 when scoring first.
2. Padres OF Chris Denorfia is batting .364 (20-for-55) in 18 career games at AT&T Park.
3. San Francisco is 25-12 against the Padres over the last two-plus seasons.