Giants at Padres
At this point, even the San Francisco Giants’ mascot should be considered an injury risk. Already down several key starters, the Giants will likely head into Sunday’s series finale against the host San Diego Padres without third baseman Casey McGehee, who suffered a strained left knee in Saturday’s 10-2 loss.
Right fielder Hunter Pence began the run with a broken arm in the Giants’ second spring training game, and the injury bug hit Brandon Belt (groin), Matt Cain (flexor strain) and Travis Ishikawa (back) all in the last week. While the Giants wait for McGehee's MRI results, they're hoping to get Belt back in the starting lineup Sunday. San Francisco will look to bounce back following a dismal effort against the Padres, who jumped on ace Madison Bumgarner and recorded 20 hits in Saturday’s rout. Newcomers Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Derek Norris have helped the Padres win two of the first three in the series, but they could use more production from second baseman Jedd Gyorko, who has opened the season with three hits in his first 21 at-bats.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), FSN San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Jake Peavy (2014: 7-13, 3.73 ERA) vs. Padres RH Tyson Ross (0-0, 3.00)
Peavy was drafted by San Diego and spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Padres before pitching for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. The 33-year-old was scratched from Tuesday’s scheduled start with a back injury, but was able to avoid a stint on the disabled list after throwing without pain Wednesday. Upton is 7-for-13 with a home run against Peavy, who is making his second career start against the Padres.
Ross is making his first start of the season at Petco Park, where he posted an 8-5 record with a 1.88 ERA in 15 starts last season. The 27-year-old turned in a solid outing Tuesday against the Dodgers but received a no-decision after yielding two runs over six frames. Ross is 2-2 with a 3.78 ERA in seven career games (five starts) against the Giants, including 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in two outings last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Ishikawa began a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.
2. Upton owns an eight-game hitting streak dating back to last season.
3. San Francisco has scored two runs or fewer in nine of its last 12 games at Petco Park.