The Diamondbacks (29-24) and Giants (22-32) have been running into each other a lot lately, and it has been one-sided. Arizona swept the 3-game set in Phoenix from May 18-20 and then took the series opener at Oracle 6-2 on Monday behind a 4-hit night from Ketel Marte and 7 strong innings from Merrill Kelly. San Francisco needs to find a counter, and fast.
The pitching tilt does the Giants no favors. Eduardo Rodriguez is in the middle of a legitimate bounce-back at 4-1 with a 2.24 ERA after back-to-back 5-plus ERA seasons. He has cooled slightly with 10 earned over his last 14.2 innings, but compared to what San Francisco is rolling out, it is not close. Tyler Mahle is at 1-6 with a 6.10 ERA and has given up 4-plus earned in 4 of his last 5 starts, including a 6-run, 5-inning outing against this same Arizona lineup last week.
Mahle owned it after his last start, saying he is not giving the Giants a chance every fifth day. That is a problem when the offense is already short-handed. Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, and Logan Webb are all on the IL, although Tony Vitello said there is a good chance Webb returns for the Coors Field series this weekend. Tonight, that does nothing.
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich CF — no
- Day-To-DayDerek Law RP — no
- Day-To-DaySpencer Giesting SP
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt RP — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 10-Day-ILLourdes Gurriel Jr. LF — Gurriel's hamstring injury is believed to be fairly minor, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports. Manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday the hope is Gurriel will be able to return from the injured list when first eligible.
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann C — Manager Torey Lovullo said Tuesday that McCann (quad) will likely be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
- 10-Day-ILCarlos Santana 1B — Santana suffered a setback with his right adductor strain Sunday while on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
- 60-Day-ILPavin Smith 1B — Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said that Smith (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with the Arizona Complex League affiliate Monday, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
- 10-Day-ILJung Hoo Lee RF — Lee (back) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILHeliot Ramos LF — Ramos received a PRP injection in his injured right quadriceps and will be shut down for one week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILLogan Webb SP — Giants manager Tony Vitello said Monday that there's a good chance Webb (knee) will rejoin the rotation this weekend at Coors Field, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILReiver Sanmartin RP — Sanmartin (hip) tossed a scoreless inning in Triple-A Sacramento's 11-6 win over Sugar Land on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILJason Foley RP — Foley (shoulder) earned a hold in Triple-A Sacramento's 6-5 loss to Round Rock on Wednesday, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning.
- 60-Day-ILJared Oliva CF — The Giants transferred Oliva (wrist) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILRowan Wick RP — The Giants placed Wick (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILHayden Birdsong RP — Birdsong underwent successful UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Arizona is not exactly whole either — Corbin Burnes, Pavin Smith, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., James McCann, and a long list of arms are still out — but the lineup that has been beating up on San Francisco has Marte locked in and Geraldo Perdomo producing. They do not need to be at full strength to handle a team playing this poorly.
The market reflects the gap. Arizona is laying -1.0 on the Pinnacle runline at +121 and is essentially a pick on the moneyline despite the Giants being at home, with the total sitting at 8. The DK side is loaded on Arizona's runline (78% of bets, 42% of handle — public on the favorite, sharps hesitating). EV is negative across the board, so there is no obvious smash spot here. Just a Giants team that cannot stop bleeding against this specific opponent.