Phillies Opposition Roadblock: San Francisco Giants
The Phillies are coming off of one of the most embarrassing months of baseball in franchise history. They will be challenged to rebound against the Giants.
A sweep to end what was easily the worst stretch of Phillies baseball I have watched in my entire life. The month of May is one we want to all put in the rearview and speed away from down baseball’s highway. The problem is that we are more than likely going to deal with some stop and go traffic from now until September’s end.
Marcell Ozuna went into the series hitless against the Phillies dating back to last season. And after continuing that trend in game one of the series, he exploded. He was six for his next ten with two homers and four runs scored and four runs batted in the final two days of the series. I mean I could essentially give the entire staff a low grade simply for allowing 21 runs in three games, but definitely for not containing a guy who contributed to a fifth of those runs.
Phils Grade: F
The Phillies did not really hit any of the three arms put out against them this week in Miami. Dan Straily was no exception to what had become the rule this month. The 28-year-old righty cruised through 6.2 innings. On his way to his fourth win of the season, Straily allowed two runs (one earned) on nine hits and a walk. He struck out ten of the eventual 15 batters who struck out Wednesday. Essentially, Straily put the exclamation point on what was one of the lowest points in franchise history.
Phils Grade: F
The Team: San Francisco Giants
Next up, the Phillies welcome in an underachieving San Franciso Giants team. A team normally picked to be competing for the wildcard, if not the NL West, the Giants find themselves eleven games under .500 at 22-33 and 11.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies.
They are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Washington Nationals. And in case you were living under a rock on Memorial Day, there was some sort of altercation between Giant reliever, Hunter Strickland, and Bryce Harper. It may be the most exciting thing that has happened in San Francisco’s season.
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The Giants rank 29th in baseball with 183 runs scored. The Phillies rank 27th in baseball with 205 runs scored. I guess I really do not have to emphasize what that could mean for the excitement level of these games.
They rank dead last in home runs with 42, which could actually be a breath of fresh air for a Phillies staff that seems to allow homers at each blink of an eye. San Fran carries the league’s worst OPS into this series at .635 as well.
It would appear that the offense is the perfect cure to the Phillies’ recent woes.
And they are not without many important pieces. Hunter Pence is on the 10-day disabled list with a hamstring injury but has been out since mid-May. He could be close to a return, so keep an eye out for him this weekend.
On the pitching side of things, the Giants find themselves in the middle of the league in most categories (15th in ERA, strikeouts, 24th in batting average against, and ninth in runs allowed). As a reminder, they are without their ace, Madison Bumgarner, due to a shoulder injury in a dirt biking accident.
Defensively, they are one of the more sound teams in the sport. They have one more error than the Phillies, making them tied for seventh. Their .986 fielding percentage is tied for fifth with the Washington Nationals.
Position Player: Buster Posey
Although the Giants have had their struggles offensively this season, it does not mean they are without the pieces to hit. Denard Span, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, and when healthy, Hunter Pence.
There is no argument, though, that when fans think of the Giants that their minds are immediately brought to Buster Posey. The 30-year-old has been the best offensive catcher in baseball for the last eight seasons.
Let’s recap his career so far: Four All-Star Appearances, a Rookie of the Year in 2010, an MVP 2012, three Silver Slugger Awards, and three World Series titles.
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He currently leads his Giants in average (.348), on-base percentage (.445), and hits (54) as we head into June. Posey is a career .308/.376/.478 hitter and has shown little sign of slowing down anytime soon.
This season, the superstar is hitting .313 on the road with a .942 OPS and five of his seven homers. He has not had trouble against righties either, slashing a ridiculous .326/.429/.474 in 155 at bats.
In his 32 games against the Phils, Posey has cemented himself as a Philly Killer. He is hitting .398, slugging .531, and getting on base at a .426 clip.
He has hit three homers, but in very un-Posey style, he has struck out 19 times against the Phils in 128 official at-bats.
The Citizen’s Bank Park factor does not make things any better either. He is slashing .365/.405/.581 in South Philly. All three of his career homers against the home team have come in Philadelphia. He has never faced Jerad Eickhoff or Ben Lively, who I assume will start Saturday afternoon. Against Sunday’s starter, Jeremy Hellickson, Posey is 1-9 with a RBI and walk.
While his power has decreased, Posey is still an incredibly dangerous hitter that the Phils will have to treat carefully this weekend. The problem with Posey is that he can hit fastballs both in and outside the zone. Fastballs on the low, inner-half of the plate have given him trouble, as have fastballs up and away inside the zone.
Offspeed and breaking pitches have been a bit tougher for Posey this season. It will benefit the Phils to try and pitch the catcher backward throughout the series in hopes of confusing him.
If the Phillies can take out the lone strength in an overall struggling lineup, they may be able to start June on a strong note.
The Pitcher: Johnny Cueto
The problem is that the Phillies still have to hit the ball. It has been the problem for the last month. And just when we all put the thought in our heads that they hit rock bottom, the Miami series happened. The Giants pitching is mediocre at best, and they will trot out Johnny Cueto on Saturday afternoon for the important middle game of the series.
Cueto comes into the series at 5-4 with a 4.37 ERA. He has struck out a staff-high 68 hitters this season. The righty has not gone less than six innings since his first start of the season. He has allowed more than three earned runs only three times in his eleven appearances.
He comes in having faced this group of Phillies before and having a decent amount of success against them. Seven of the ten Phils who have faced him have at least one hit with Odubel Herrera leading the way. He has three hits, including a round-tripper, in ten at-bats against Cueto.
The two-time All-Star currently holds a 2.09 ERA at CBP where he has also surrendered six homers in the same amount of games.
Cueto uses a combination of seven different pitches. His two fastball variations sit in the low-to-mid 90s, while his slider dives at a low-to-mid 80s. He has become the type of pitcher who can use any of his pitches to get hitters out. With the exception of his cutter, Cueto has used all the pitches in his repertoires more than two hundred times.
The Phils will have to try and attack early in the game because, historically, as Cueto moves into the later innings, he somehow gains strength. Over the course of his career, the team batting average drops from .272 in the first inning to .145 by the ninth.
Next: Phils-Giants: 5 things to watch for in the series
The Phils are hoping to get Cueto after a series (and new month) opening win. Otherwise, they could drop the series before they bat an eye.