The Cincinnati Reds (24-46, 12-23 away) look to knock off the San Francisco Giants (38-32, 19-15 home) for the second game in game two of a three-game series in the Bay area. In four games played this year, the two teams are 2-2 against each other. Sunday’s series finale will be the last time these two teams face each other this season.
Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. EST inside Oracle Park in San Francisco, California. The Giants are a sizeable (-250) in game two, and the over-under total is 7.5 runs.
What to Know – Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati ended a seven-game winning streak with Friday night’s 4-2 victory over the Giants. The Reds, who are in a franchise rebuild, find themselves in last place in the National League Central.
The expected starter for Cincinnati is veteran left-hander Mike Minor (1-3, 6.97 ERA, 1.50 WHIP). The soft-throwing 34-year-old joined the Reds rotation to begin the month and has made four starts this season. Minor’s thrown 20.2 innings, surrendering 16 earned runs on 23 hits and eight walks with 17 strikeouts.
Kyle Farmer leads the Reds with 38 runs driven in, while Brandon Drury is the team leader with 14 home runs and 43 runs scored. Tommy Pham is second on the team with ten home runs and 42 runs.
The Reds are 19th in the majors hitting .238 as a team and averaging 4.3 runs per game. Cincinnati’s pitching staff owns a league-worst 5.33 team earned run average.
What to Know – San Francisco Giants
The Giants hope to end a three-game losing streak on Saturday and snap a stretch of losses in five of their last six contests. San Francisco finds itself in third place in the NL West, 6.5 games behind the leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Right-hander Logan Webb (6-2, 3.26 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) is the probable starter for the hosts. Webb hopes to keep his streak of consecutive quality starts together after two-straight solid outings on the hill. For the year, the 25-year-old has tossed 85.2 innings, allowing 31 earned runs, scattering 79 hits, issuing 20 walks, and striking out 75.
Joc Pederson, playing in his first season in a Giants uniform, has brought instant offense to San Fran with a team-high 16 home runs and 38 RBIs. Pederson is the only Giant player to have double-digit home runs. Wilmer Flores (37 RBIs) and Brandon Crawford (30 RBIs) are second and third in the lineup driving runs in.
San Francisco scores 4.9 runs per game thanks to a team batting average of .240 that ranks 17th in the MLB. The Giants’ pitching staff ranks 19th in the MLB with a 3.98 team ERA.
The Pick is In
Cincinnati stole one Friday night for the Giants, but San Fran bounces back tonight with Webb on the hill. Minor is well past his prime, and the Giants’ offense will give Webb plenty of run support to pitch with confidence and log another quality start.
The Pick: San Francisco Giants ML
