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In must-win territory, Giants host Rockies
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 9/28/2016  at  12:24:00 PM
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By Brad Kallet

COLORADO ROCKIES (73-84)

at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (83-74)

First pitch: Wednesday, 10:00 p.m. ET
Line: Colorado +170, San Francisco -190, Total: 7.5

The Giants, in the thick of the National League wild-card race, desperately need a win as they host the division-rival Rockies in San Francisco.

The Giants (83-74) have five games left on their schedule, and they need every single one of them. Coming into Wednesday night’s game against the Rockies (73-84), the Giants are a half-game behind the Mets for the first National League wild-card berth and a game ahead of the Cardinals for the second. These next two games against the Rockies are especially important because, after this series wraps up, Bruce Bochy’s club will end the regular season against the first-place Dodgers. The Giants came out swinging in the opener of the series, defeating the Rockies, 12-3, in convincing fashion. RHP Jeff Samardzija (12-10, 3.83 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) will get the start for the Giants on Wednesday, and he’ll be opposed by Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood (11-9, 4.08 ERA, 1.41 WHIP). These two teams have been pretty evenly matched in 2016, with the Giants possessing a slight 9-8 edge in the season series. The Giants have won five of the eight games at AT&T Park. The Rockies have struggled mightily away from Coors Field in 2016, posting a lowly 32-47 record. The Giants have gone 41-35 at home.

The Rockies might be a sub-.500 team, but one thing’s for sure: They know how to hit. Sure, the altitude in Denver helps, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Walt Weiss’ squad has the best offense in the National League. The Rockies are first in the NL in runs (830), hits (1,490), average (.274), slugging percentage (.459) and OPS (.795). The Rockies’ lineup is led by 2B DJ LeMahieu (.349, 11 HR, 66 RBI)—the NL’s leading hitter—CF Charlie Blackmon (.318, 28 HR, 79 RBI, 17 SB) and 3B Nolan Arenado (.293, 40 HR, 129 RBI). LF David Dahl (.315, 7 HR, 23 RBI)—in limited playing time—and RF Carlos Gonzalez (.295, 25 HR, 99 RBI) have also had big years. Arenado (6-for-16 with 1 2B, 1 3B) and LeMahieu (5-for-14) have hit Samardzija well, but Gonzalez (4-for-23 with 1 HR, 7 SO) and Blackmon (3-for-14) have struggled against him. 1B Gerardo Parra (.249, 7 HR, 38 RBI) has also seen the ball well against the former Notre Dame wide receiver, going 9-for-24 with a homer and a double. In three starts against the Giants this season, Chatwood is 1-1 and has allowed six earned runs in 18 innings. For his career, he’s 4-3 against the Giants with a 3.33 ERA.

The Giants don’t have as many offensive threats as the Rockies—no one on the club has 20 home runs—but Chatwood will certainly have to be careful with RF Hunter Pence (,294, 13 HR, 56 RBI), C Buster Posey (.288, 14 HR, 75 RBI) and 1B Brandon Belt (.272, 16 HR, 78 RBI). LF Angel Pagan (.272, 11 HR, 53 RBI, 14 SB) and SS Brandon Crawford (.272, 12 HR, 82 RBI) have also had solid years. Belt (6-for-20 with 1 2B) and Crawford (7-for-23 with 1 RB) have has success against Chatwood, but the right-hander has mostly held Pagan (6-for-23), Pence (3-for-19 with 1 HR) and Posey (2-for-15) in check. In three starts against the Rockies this season, Samardzija is 1-1 and has surrendered six earned runs in 22 2/3 innings. For his career, he’s 3-1 against Colorado with a 2.20 ERA.


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