Pirates at Giants
The San Francisco Giants will play the unfamiliar role of spoiler over the next two months, starting with a three-game set against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates that begins on Monday. The Giants head into the series opener looking to derail the Pirates, who used a six-game winning streak to climb back into the National League Central race before dropping back-to-back contests in Colorado.
San Francisco's Eduardo Nunez recorded three hits but committed a costly baserunning error in Sunday’s 5-2 loss to San Diego, while the Pirates allowed seven runs in the sixth inning and fell 13-3 to the Rockies. Both teams will look to bounce back Monday at AT&T Park, where the Giants are 20-28 this season. Brandon Belt leads San Francisco with 16 homers and 55 runs scored but is mired in another slump, notching only two hits in his last 23 at-bats. The Pirates are using the trio of John Jaso, Adam Frazier and Jose Osuna in right field in place of Gregory Polanco, who is expected to miss several weeks with a left hamstring strain. Jaso is hitless in his last 26 at-bats, which could prompt general manager Neal Huntington to consider adding another outfielder before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, NBCSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (7-7, 4.18 ERA) vs. Giants RH Matt Cain (3-8, 5.49)
Cole settled for a no-decision Wednesday against Milwaukee despite turning in one of his best outings of the year, allowing one run while registering a season-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings. The 26-year-old has gone 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA over his last seven turns, suffering his lone loss in that span on June 30 at San Francisco. Brandon Crawford is 2-for-15 with five strikeouts against Cole, who is 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA in five career starts versus the Giants.
Cain is set to make his second straight start in place of Johnny Cueto, who remains out indefinitely with blisters on his pitching hand. The 32-year-old Cain has dropped seven straight decisions but produced an encouraging outing against Cleveland on Wednesday, allowing three runs over six frames. The 11-year veteran is 3-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 12 career starts against Pittsburgh while limiting Andrew McCutchen to five hits in 21 at-bats.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates LHP Felipe Rivero has made nine straight scoreless appearances covering 10 2/3 innings.
2. The Giants completed a three-game sweep of the Pirates on July 2 and have won six of the last nine meetings between the teams.
3. Pittsburgh 3B David Freese is 6-for-15 with a home run and four RBIs during his five-game hitting streak.