Padres at Giants
Hunter Strickland quietly has emerged as a reliable closer for the San Francisco Giants, who begin a three-game series against the visiting San Diego Padres on Monday. Taking over for injured veteran Mark Melancon, the 29-year-old Strickland has converted five consecutive save opportunities for the Giants, who have won three straight series for the first time since May 2017.
The Giants took three of four from the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend but could be without Joe Panik for an extended period after the second baseman suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb on Friday. Kelby Tomlinson and Alen Hanson are expected to step in for Panik, who was hitting .267 with three home runs but could miss 6-8 weeks if surgery is required. San Diego has dropped six of its last eight games and placed Wil Myers on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday with a strained left oblique. The Padres received another lackluster pitching performance from Bryan Mitchell in Sunday’s 14-2 loss to the New York Mets, but Eric Hosmer went 3-for-5 and has reached safely in eight of his last nine games.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS San Diego, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Eric Lauer (0-1, 18.00 ERA) vs. Giants RH Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 6.23)
Lauer had an inauspicious major-league debut against Colorado on Tuesday, allowing seven runs - six earned - in three innings of an 8-0 loss. “We like a lot of things about him, and that doesn’t change on one cold night at Coors Field,” manager Andy Green told reporters. “He got the first outing out of the way. Now it’s, 'Go pitch and compete and show why we believe in you.'” The 22-year-old led the NCAA with a 0.69 ERA at Kent State in 2016 and posted a 3.00 ERA in 35 appearances (34 starts) in the minors.
After tossing five scoreless innings in his season debut on April 20, Samardzija gave up six runs over 3 2/3 frames against Washington on Wednesday. The 33-year-old still is rounding into form after missing the beginning of the season with a strained pectoral muscle. Manuel Margot is hitless in 10 at-bats against Samardzija, who owns an 8-3 record and 3.64 ERA in 16 career games (14 starts) versus San Diego.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Francisco is 11-3 when opening the scoring and 3-11 when its opponents gets on the board first.
2. The Padres recalled OF Travis Jankowski from Triple-A El Paso to replace Myers on the roster.
3. The Giants will recall RHP Andrew Suarez from Triple-A Sacramento to start Tuesday’s game.