The San Francisco Giants have good feelings going into their Friday night game against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.
The Giants, who were off Thursday, have won five of their last six games, including the last two contests in a three-game road series against the Chicago Cubs this week.
“We’ve played pretty well on the road this year,” San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s always nice to win right before an off day.”
The Giants seem to have found the right combinations, and confidence is on the rise.
“It’s just the will of the guys,” San Francisco second baseman Christian Koss said. “We have a great group in that clubhouse.”
The Giants’ success has coincided with the ability to come up with clutch offense and respond when falling behind.
“We’ve never felt out of any game we’ve been in,” Koss said. “The pitching staff has been a great part of that.”
The Twins are riding high, too, with a season-best five-game winning streak that includes a three-game sweep of the visiting Baltimore Orioles. Minnesota capped that series by winning 5-2 on Thursday afternoon despite producing only five hits.
Manager Rocco Baldelli’s team has won four of its past five series.
Minnesota made rotation adjustments this week, putting right-hander Chris Paddack (0-3, 5.57 ERA) in the Friday night spot. The Twins didn’t play Monday, so there were options for tweaks when right-hander Joe Ryan became ill and had his start was pushed to this weekend.
“We had to talk to the other starters about adjusting their schedules,” Baldelli said.
Paddack didn’t receive a decision in either of his past two starts, which both lasted five innings. He hasn’t reached the sixth inning in any of his seven outings this year.
In eight career starts vs. the Giants, Paddack is 1-1 with a 3.53 ERA.
The Twins have relied on strong pitching, giving up a total of 12 runs across their five-game win streak. They also have benefited from defense, such as center fielder Byron Buxton throwing out a runner at the plate Thursday.
“It was another play for his reel,” Baldelli said. “You’ve got to make a perfect throw from 250 feet away. He’s the man. It’s not something you put past him. You’re not shocked when he does it, I’ll tell you that.”
Minnesota’s Ty France compiled six hits during the sweep of Baltimore. He has three three-hit games in his past nine contests.
San Francisco will send right-hander Jordan Hicks (1-3, 6.03 ERA) to the mound on Friday. He hasn’t notched a victory since his season debut March 31, though the Giants have won in each of his past two outings.
Hicks’ past three starts all came in home games, lasting five innings each time. Hicks has surrendered only two home runs in 37 1/3 innings this season, and he posted a season-high seven strikeouts Saturday vs. the Colorado Rockies.
In his only career outing vs. Minnesota, Hicks worked one scoreless inning in relief and secured a victory in 2018, his second major league win.
Melvin said the way the series vs. the Cubs played out, the Giants are in good shape in terms of the bullpen, particularly with the off day.
–Field Level Media
