The San Francisco Giants received a much-needed day off after they were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
San Francisco failed to score more than three runs in a single game that series, which is quite odd considering they outscored the Athletics, 16-5, in the two games prior to playing in Arizona.
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Regardless, the Giants put their 20-30 record to the test against the 25-24 Chicago White Sox. Surprisingly, the White Sox are second in the American League Central Division, a division that is run by the Cleveland Guardians now that the Detroit Tigers have fallen off the face of the earth.
It’s not like San Francisco is guaranteed any wins against the White Sox, far from it. But Chicago did just drop a series to the Seattle Mariners, so this could be the perfect opportunity for the Giants to get back on track.
Sadly for the Giants, they’re tasked with going against a stellar White Sox pitcher in the series opener. Should things go south, that could already derail what was supposed to be a get-right series for a team nearing the bottom of the NL West.
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Friday, May 22
Davis Martin (6-1, 1.61 ERA) vs. Trevor McDonald (2-0, 2.37 ERA).
Saturday, May 23
Erick Fedde (0-4, 4.30 ERA) vs. Adrian Houser (2-4, 5.25 ERA).
Sunday, May 24
Noah Schultz (2-3, 4.93 ERA) vs. Robbie Ray (3-6, 4.28 ERA).
If San Francisco wants to keep these games close, then the last thing they can afford to do is let White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami get hot. The 26-year-old Japanese sensation has taken the league by storm and is second in all of baseball with his 17 home runs. He’s currently slashing .224/.382/.552 with an OPS of .934 and a 1.6 WAR.
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Murakami may have just two home runs in his last 11 games, but both of those came in the same game which shows just how dangerous he can be.
In fact, he has a pair of multi-hit games in his last three, so it’s not like all he does is hit for power. Going along with that, he’s drawn three walks in his last three games and had a three-walk game back on May 14.
One of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind is whether or not Bryce Eldridge will get consistent playing time now that the team had a day off to recalibrate.
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Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey made his stance on that clear, but it almost already feels like do-or-die time for the Giants if they want to be in the running for the NL West crown.
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