It might be too late for a playoff push, but San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin hopes his team can continue its impressive recent form when it goes for a second straight home win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
On a day that started with bad news, the Giants enjoyed a game Melvin noted “just had a good feel for it” in opening the three-game series with a 5-2 win over the National League Central contender.
The Cubs will take the field Wednesday as the NL wild-card leader, 8 1/2 games ahead of the closest current non-qualifier, the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants are another 3 1/2 games behind the Reds.
The Giants, who have struggled to find a leadoff hitter and rarely have stolen bases, had won only once for Justin Verlander and had traded two key relievers at the deadline last month, but they had no such issues in winning at home for just the third time in its past 18 Oracle Park performances.
“We were making some good plays defensively. We stole another base. We got some big hits,” Melvin told reporters after a third straight win. “It just felt like a good game.”
In the type of close contest the Giants had been losing with tough-luck Verlander on the mound, Matt Chapman hit a lead-extending, two-run homer, and the San Francisco bullpen, even without closer Randy Rodriguez, saved the day to give the veteran Verlander his 264th career win.
The Giants announced before the game that Rodriguez, who was promoted to full-time closer when the team traded Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers last month, would be sidelined indefinitely with soreness in his right elbow.
“I’m not sure what we’re looking at yet. I’m guessing there might be a second opinion or two at some point in time,” Melvin informed the media before the series opener. “Just the way he’s felt after some games, we got to be careful with it. And then it came to a head.”
Hoping to take the stress off the Giants’ short-handed bullpen in Wednesday’s rematch will be rookie left-hander Carson Whisenhunt (1-1, 4.91 ERA), who returned from a minor league stint to throw four effective innings, allowing two runs, in his team’s 5-4 loss at Milwaukee last Friday.
The 24-year-old has made four big league starts this season, none against the Cubs.
Chicago will counter with one of its hottest pitchers, right-hander Colin Rea (10-5, 3.96 ERA), who is unbeaten in four August starts, going 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA and not allowing more than two runs in any of the outings. The Cubs went 3-1 in those starts.
The 35-year-old didn’t get a decision in a 14-5, 11-inning home loss to the Giants in May after allowing five runs (four earned) in five innings. He’s struggled in two lifetime starts at Oracle Park — going 0-2 with an 11.70 ERA — and overall is just 1-3 with an 8.31 ERA in five career starts against the Giants.
The five runs allowed Tuesday were the most by the Cubs since Aug. 18. In between, they’d won six of seven games, giving up an average of just 2.6 runs per game.
“Our starting pitching has been really good,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told the Marquee Sports Network before Matthew Boyd was roughed up for five runs on Tuesday. “They’re keeping us in games, giving us a chance to win.”
–Field Level Media
