Phillies at Giants
The San Francisco Giants have sold out their last 308 regular season home games, but they haven’t given their loyal fans much to cheer about lately. The Giants have gone 8-23 in their last 31 games at AT&T Park heading into Saturday’s contest against the Philadelphia Phillies, who snapped a three-game losing streak with Friday’s 5-3, 10-inning victory. San Francisco has lost six of its last seven and stands 5 1/2 games back of first-place Los Angeles in the National League West.
Giants rookie Adam Duvall went 0-for-3 on Friday while starting at first base in place of Brandon Belt, who remains out with post-concussion syndrome. Belt, who is on the disabled list for the second time since being injured July 19, will travel to Chicago next week to meet with a concussion specialist and is not expected to return this month. The Phillies are hoping Friday’s game marks the start of a hot streak for third baseman Cody Asche, who is hitting .245 with eight home runs following his two-run homer in the series opener.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (5-11, 4.88 ERA) vs. Giants RH Tim Hudson (8-9, 2.81)
After pitching seven innings of one-run ball against Houston, Kendrick followed by yielding six runs (five earned) on 10 hits over five frames against the Mets on Sunday. Opponents are batting .279 against the 29-year-old, who has allowed 163 hits in 149 1/3 innings. Kendrick is 2-2 with a 4.55 ERA in seven career games (four starts) against San Francisco while limiting Angel Pagan to five hits in 31 at-bats.
Hudson has allowed exactly three runs in three consecutive starts, including last Saturday when he tossed six-plus innings against Kansas City. The four-time All-Star boasted a 1.81 ERA on June 12, but he has gone 1-7 with a 4.28 ERA in his last 10 starts. Ryan Howard is batting .328 with seven homers against Hudson, who is 11-10 with a 3.60 ERA in 30 career starts against the Phillies, including six strong innings July 24.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Phillies are 16-11 against NL West opponents.
2. Pagan is 13-for-41 during his nine-game hitting streak.
3. Philadelphia OF Darin Ruf is 5-for-9 with a home run and two RBIs over his last three games.