Giants at Padres
The San Francisco Giants have lost their last five series at Petco Park but took a step toward reversing the trend with Thursday's convincing 7-0 victory over the host San Diego Padres. Buster Posey is 15-for-34 with two home runs during his 10-game hitting streak for the Giants, who continue their four-game series against the Padres on Friday.
New third baseman Evan Longoria entered Thursday’s game with a .132 average before recording two hits and an RBI, offering hope that he’ll break out of his early season slump during the Giants’ 11-day, 10-game road trip. “I’ve just got to relax a little bit, understand we’ve got a ton of good players on this team and I don’t need to do more than I’m capable of doing,” Longoria told reporters. “I’ve been put in some big situations, and those are situations where I’ve got to come through.” While the Giants evened their record at 6-6, the Padres fell to 4-10 and managed only a pinch hit by pitcher Clayton Richard in the third inning of Thursday’s loss. The Padres have dropped four of their last six games and clearly miss outfielder Wil Myers, who is on the disabled list with an elbow injury but hopes to begin a brief minor-league rehab assignment this weekend.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, NBC Bay Area (San Francisco), FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Ty Blach (1-1, 4.11 ERA) vs. Padres RH Tyson Ross (1-1, 5.25)
Blach bounced back from a rough outing against Seattle and allowed one run on four hits over six innings Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 27-year-old native of Colorado made his first career start at Petco Park on Sept. 25, 2016 and surrendered two runs in three innings. Blach is 0-2 with a 3.65 ERA in five career games (four starts) against San Diego.
Ross pitched well but took the loss Sunday against Houston after giving up four runs while striking out seven in six innings. “I think there will be a lot more wins if I can throw the ball like that consistently,” Ross told reporters. “I’ve got some things to learn from this one and get better for next time.” Ross is 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 10 career games (eight starts) against San Francisco while limiting Brandon Crawford to three hits in 21 at-bats.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Giants are 5-0 when scoring first and 1-6 when their opponent gets on the board first.
2. San Diego optioned LHP Buddy Baumann to Triple-A El Paso and recalled RHP Colten Brewer.
3. San Francisco optioned Andrew Suarez to Triple-A Sacramento and recalled fellow left-hander Derek Law.